‘Below Deck Med’s Captain Sandy Is Focusing on All the Wrong Things After Season 9 (2024)

The Big Picture

Season 9 of Below Deck Med featured an incompetent crew making more errors than previous seasons, causing Captain Sandy to intervene.
Captain Sandy gave many opportunities to the crew even when they showed poor performance and clashing attitudes.
Captain Sandy ended her feud with ex-coworker Hannah Ferrier and made coincidental public appearances, raising suspicions of a likability-focused distraction.

The poor performance of the crew from Below Deck Mediterranean Season 9 may have caused Captain Sandy Yawn to focus on all the wrong yachting aspects to become more likable. Having inexperienced crew members on Below Deck is a common phenomenon, but the Season 9 staff seemed to have made more mistakes than any other previous cast members. Although BosunIain MacClean has over five years yachting experience, he struggled charter after charter with basic docking maneuvers. He also made questionable decisions that hindered Captain Sandy's ability to provide a smooth sailing vacation. While most of the deckhand team also showed poor judgment, so did the interior team.

This season, the interior team welcomed two new members and their lack of experience was evident. While the first stewardess, Aesha Scott, was on her A-game, the rest of the stews couldn't get along or launder the whites properly. Despite the poor performance and clashing attitudes, Captain Sandy gave second, third, and fourth chances. The season is clearly plummeting, with both the interior and exterior crews lacking, but off-screen, Captain Sandy is on damage control. Instead of admitting her own misdoings or acknowledging the lessons she needs to learn, it seems like she's trying to distract fans and viewers by seeming more likable in the public eye. Although many Captains and crew members try to connect with fans outside traditional reality TV methods, the timing of Captain Sandy's escapades is raising suspicions throughout the Below Deck franchise.

‘Below Deck Med’s Captain Sandy Is Focusing on All the Wrong Things After Season 9 (1)

Below Deck Mediterranean

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Captain Sandy Gave Her Crew Many Chances

Inexperienced yachties, silly mistakes, and firings are expected in every Below Deck series. Some stars have the skills and knowledge or appeared on the franchise previously, so they often have the upper hand. However, the opposite could also be argued, which appeared to be the case for Captain Sandy and her Season 9 crew. The latest season of the Below Deck Mediterranean started rocky as Chef Johnathan Shillingford performed terribly in the beginning episodes. He neglected the preference sheets and created dishes not up to par with the seven-star service required for yachting. Bosun Iain was also an issue, since he had a habit of making tough calls without consulting the team of Captain Sandy. Then there are the issues between second stew Ellie Dubiach and third stew Bri Miller.

Unfortunately, though, their ability to put discrepancies aside and focus on work came to an end after they both were interested in the same deckhand, Joe Bradley. Despite being spoken to and warned, the women still butted heads, interfering with the charter season and causing Captain Sandy to step in and smooth over the situation. Compared to previous seasons, it's obvious that Captain Sandy is struggling with an incompetent crew that's affecting the charter and its guests. However, she also chooses to let situations get out of control and let the second hands figure it out for themselves before stepping in. As a result, Captain Sandy has received a lot of backlash this season; Captain Sandy, who's otherwise known for her stern demeanor, seemed to be giving way too many chances. The crew was suffering. The charters were suffering. And, as a result, so was the Captain's reputation.

Captain Sandy Ended Her Feud With Ex-Coworker Hannah Ferrier

Despite receiving multiple chances, Captain Sandy's crew still wasn't up to par. While Chef Jono seemed to find his stride and make up for his past mistakes, the same couldn't be said of the other crew members. Ellie and Bri were still at each other's throats, and Sandy reached her breaking point with Iain, finally cutting him loose from the team. However, her actions may have come too late in the season, forcing her to be creative off-screen. In real-time, Captain Sandy made amends with a previous crew member, Hannah Ferrier. Ferrier left the series Season 5 when Malia White discovered that the long-term Chief Stew had valium and a CBD pen on board without proof of a prescription.

However, when Captain Sandy learned about the drugs in her quarters, she made the controversial decision to fire the stewardess. Since then, the two have been on frigid terms, or at least that's how they appeared. According to Sandy, though, she never had any ill will towards any cast members. She claimed she "cared about Hannah" and that she hoped the stewardess was "listening." To show her sincerity, she even reached out to the stewardess to apologize. While Sandy's sentiments might be true, and she might have harbored no ill will towards Hannah, the timing of her apology is suspicious. With Sandy receiving backlash and poor performance reviews, her appeal seems like a tactic to distract viewers and appear more likable.

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Captain Sandy Is Making Public Appearances

Another sign of the Captain's potential damage control tactics is the recent public appearances she made. In the Captain's defense, she's always tried to maintain a positive spotlight in the public eye. Captain Sandy is a renowned public speaker, known to motivate women in male-dominated industries. She's also not a force to be reckoned with, as she's a huge advocate of not accepting no for an answer if it means accomplishing her goals. However, the Captain has gone above and beyond this year, making appearances at some of the world's most important gatherings. On Instagram, she shared a series of photos of her time at the Olympics.

She appeared to be having a lovely time “meeting new people” and could be seen with Chrissy Teigen, John Legend, and her wife, Leah Shafer. In a later post, the Captain could be seen walking through the opening ceremony with her wife and then afterward she showcased her collaboration Q&A with the Olympics. Although Sandy is a renowned public speaker and figure, the timing of these posts and collaborations is a little suspicious. With the rumors swirling around about her crew's poor performance, the posts appear to be a common "smoke and mirror" tactic. Instead of letting viewers soak up the drama from the season, the Captain is trying to turn the viewers' attention to current-day affairs.

In the end, these instances may all be coincidences. The Captain is known for marching to the beat of her own drum and doesn't usually care about how the public perceives her — as long as she stays true to herself. Considering the Olympics schedule was set in stone before the Below Deck season aired, this suggests that the timing was probably a coincidence. Furthermore, the Captain and Hannah developed a solid relationship in their earlier seasons, so it's possible that Sandy genuinely felt bad about their falling out. Additionally, even if these are smoke and mirror tactics, the truth is that it wouldn't work because a true fan would still do a deep dive to get the answers they desire. However, it still cannot be denied the timing of squashing the feud she had with a previous worker and the public appearance at the Olympics is suspicious, and she might be focused on the wrong things after a particularly grueling season.

Below Deck Down Under is available to stream on Peaco*ck in the U.S.

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