captain lee rosbach yacht

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With the stud of the sea.

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After 10 seasons starring on Bravo's Below Deck,

CAPTAIN LEE  ROSBACH  sailed his way into viewer's hearts, becoming a beloved fan favorite. While the ‘stud of the sea' never saw the ocean until moving to Turks & Caicos at the age of 35, the 'Running Against the Tide' author has spent the past three decades circling the globe as a mega yacht captain. known for his witty one-liners and no-nonsense attitude. Whether he's appearing before Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live or lawmakers on Capitol Hill, Captain Lee always brings his signature swagger. 

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RUNNING AGAINST THE TIDE

From the star of Bravo’s hit reality show Below Deck comes Running Against the Tide, the “Stud of the Sea’s” first-ever memoir recounting his journey from landlocked Saginaw, Michigan to the high seas, where he has spent more than twenty-five years as a superyacht captain.

We anchor our efforts in education, awareness, and community engagement, reaching out to society at large to dispel stigmas and advocate for empathy in the face of addiction's relentless storm. With resilience forged from personal tragedy, we aspire to ignite a beacon of hope for those who have lost their way, proving that even amidst the darkest tempests, there is always a path to recovery.

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Are you ready to set sail on an unforgettable journey with Captain Lee and his crew? Well, hold onto your sailor hats, because we've got some exciting upcoming events for you! Whether you want to support positive changes or enjoy captivating sea stories over cocktails, our upcoming events have it all! Events will be posted soon, so don't miss the boat! Sign up for our exclusive events today.

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How Captain Lee became TV’s favourite yacht captain

It was supposed to be a simple delivery job from Fort Lauderdale to St Maarten. But when the first captain lined up to take the helm of Bravo’s hit new series dropped out, it was captain Lee Rosbach who became the unlikely star. Holly Overton catches up with Below Deck’s beloved captain…

Captain Lee or ‘Stud of the Sea’, as he’s known among fans, is the frontman of superyacht reality series Below Deck . Famed for his no-nonsense attitude and sharp one-liners, Captain Lee is the longest-serving captain on the show and has been a staple cast member since the first season began filming in 2011. But it was only by complete accident that he first landed the role.

“I didn’t apply for the job. I didn't even audition,” Captain Lee explains. At the time, he was the captain of the 50 metre Benetti motor yacht Cuor di Lione when he received a phone call from the owner. “He said there’s a TV network that wants to charter the boat for eight weeks (…) they've got their own captain and crew and all you need to do is drop the boat off in St. Maarten.”

But when Captain Lee arrived in St. Maarten, the captain Bravo had originally lined up to front the first series had pulled at the last minute. “Somebody said, ’why don't we use the old guy’,” Captain Lee explains. As a result, he was slingshotted into the spotlight – and almost a decade later he’s still at the helm. “We didn't know whether the show was going to be a hit or be a one and done. We had no clue. But after that first season it just took off like a rocket.”

Below Deck follows the lives of a yacht crew over an intense eight-week charter season. Captain Lee himself once described it as “Downton Abbey on the water” for the way it lays bare the upstairs-downstairs culture of yachting. The series’ winning formula of badly behaved guests, crew love triangles and Verve Cliquot-fuelled feuds has continued to pull in millions of views, transforming it into one of Bravo’s flagship shows. Despite his newfound fame, Captain Lee is reluctant to call himself a celebrity. “I'm just a captain doing his job,” he says. “I run the boat the way I've always run a boat. I just happened to have cameras that follow me around watching me while I do it.”

Of course, this wasn’t captain Lee’s first gig. “I'd been a captain for 25 years at that point,” he explains. “Like everybody else I started out with smaller boats 70- or 80-footers, then gradually you work your way up as you increase the scope of your license and eventually, I got into superyachts.” Over his career, he’s built up a hefty portfolio of yachts, including the 46 metre Burger flagship Sycara IV ( now Nadan ) and the 50 metre Cuor di Leone (now Barents ), which was chartered for season one under the pseudonym Honor .

While most reality TV series have scenes that are manufactured or re-shot in the name of entertainment, Below Deck is completely unscripted with cameras rolling 24/7. The yacht is rigged with cameras with up to 15 additional camera, light and sound crew on board at any one time – including the show’s producers who eavesdrop from one of the cabins on board. Bravo has to charter a second boat to accommodate them all. The team ends up filming some 45,000 hours of film which gets condensed into around 15 forty-minute episodes in post-production per season.

As a veteran captain, Captain Lee is no stranger to onboard drama. But the guests in front of a camera and it's a whole different ball game. “When the cameras start rolling, it’s like someone flips a switch,” says Captain Lee. Crazy guest requests are not uncommon in yachting; from sundeck foam parties to phallic cakes nothing is off limits. “It always seems to revolve around food, for some reason,” says Captain Lee. He recalls a time an owner demanded a particular suckling pig be flown into Baltimore from New Zealand for New Year’s Eve with just four days’ notice. “By the time you calculate the bills of lading and air freight, and of course we had to grease customs a little, it was probably a $10,000 pig.”

Despite the perks and pitfalls of fronting Below Deck , Captain Lee insists it’s a great opportunity for budding crew looking to take their first steps into the yachting industry.  “There are a lot of perks that go along with it,” he says. “The money is pretty good and almost all of it is disposable income.” It’s true – everything is paid for when you’re on board from your socks down to your toothbrush. “That's the best way to go boating I think,” he laughs, “on somebody else's boat.”

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The Untold Truth Of Below Deck's Captain Lee

He's the unlikely star of a hit reality show, but fame hasn't changed Harold Lee Rosbach  — better known to " Below Deck " viewers as Captain Lee — one little bit. The Michigan native's no-nonsense attitude and snappy one-liners made him an instant hit with fans of the Bravo series, which follows the captain and his crew as they attempt to keep a luxury yacht full of rich passengers running smoothly. The pilot episode received a poor write-up in The New York Times when it aired in 2013, but with exotic locations and regular drama guaranteed, "Below Deck" would go on to become the most-watched series on Bravo. In 2021, it was nominated for its first Emmys, a huge moment for Rosbach. "Being part of 'Below Deck' since the beginning has been a wild ride that has been filled with many surprises," he said in a statement (per Variety ). "Finding out today that we received two Emmy nominations is the most exciting surprise yet."

The so-called Stud of the Sea is in his 70s now, yet, despite some recent health challenges, he shows no signs of slowing down. He's rubbished rumors that he's thinking about quitting the show ("I'm still having way too much fun," he told Metro ahead of the "Below Deck" Season 9 premiere), which simply wouldn't be the same without him. How does he stay in such good shape? Was he always a sailor? And what does he really think of that nickname? This is the untold truth of "Below Deck" star Captain Lee.

He used to own several restaurants

Before he was the Stud of the Sea, Lee Rosbach was a restaurateur who owned a number of eateries across the country. "I had restaurants in Indiana, Georgia, and Florida," he told the Midland Daily News . He fell in love with the water when he moved to Florida and would later open up another restaurant in the Turks and Caicos Islands, a British Overseas Territory located southeast of the Bahamas. Staring out at the pristine ocean just wasn't enough for him, however. "It got to the point that I wanted to spend more time on boats than in the restaurant," he recalled. When he found himself needing some extra cash, he decided to earn it at sea.

"I took a job delivering a sailboat to the British Virgin Islands," the "Below Deck" star told GQ . "I was supposed to get paid $50 a day as a deckhand, and I was seasick the whole time. The guy screwed me out of half my pay, so I was actually working for $25 a day." The low pay and the seasickness — which stopped after about a year of being at sea, he revealed — was ultimately worth it. The trip confirmed to him that he was a sailor at heart, and he decided a career change was in order. "When I got back, my wife and I moved back to the United States and saved enough money so I could pursue my captain's career in Florida," he recalled.

Captain Lee wasn't supposed to be on the show

Believe it or not, Captain Lee wasn't part of Bravo's plans when they set about making the first season of "Below Deck." By this point in time, Rosbach had obtained his captain's license ( he was 35 when he passed the test, meaning he's been a captain for more than half of his life) and was happily running a luxury yacht called Cuor di Lione. His path would be forever altered when he got a call from the yacht's owner one day. "He said there's a TV network that wants to charter the boat for eight weeks," Lee told Boat International . "They've got their own captain and crew and all you need to do is drop the boat off in St. Maarten." Rosbach delivered the boat to St. Maarten as planned, but there was a big problem when he got there.

The captain that Bravo execs had lined up decided to pull out of the show at the last minute, and the producers on location found themselves in quite the tight spot. The original captain's loss would be Rosbach's gain, as he recalled during an interview on " The Ellen DeGeneres Show ." "They had a conundrum because we were already late into the game," the straight-talking reality star said, "and they needed a captain, so they said, 'Well, I guess we'll use the old guy.'" Little did they know that "the old guy" would go on to become the show's main attraction.

He used to be an amateur boxer

One thing that "Below Deck" viewers can't help but notice is that Captain Lee is in remarkable shape for a man of his age. You might think that his physique comes from years of tying knots and hoisting sails, but he actually started packing on the muscle long before he took to the seas. "I've always been in pretty good shape," he told  GQ . "I've been a gym rat my whole life." Rosbach revealed to the magazine that he had a spell as an amateur boxer in his early 20s, going all the way to "the state finals in Michigan" one year. "I promised myself I'd fight until I lost, which happened at the state finals," he said. "Guy really rung my bell. I lost TKO."

His defeat in the ring didn't dampen Rosbach's enthusiasm for the gym. In fact, he started hitting the weights even harder when he began his career as a restaurateur. "I changed my workout when we moved out to Indiana and got our first restaurant, and I started going to a gym where a lot of the athletes from Notre Dame went," he explained. "Some of the guys from the football team would come in, and they're just beasts. " Those who have gotten to know Captain Lee on "Below Deck" won't be surprised to learn that he became friendly with the young football stars. "I used to work out with them all the time," he revealed.

Captain Lee still works out every day

Despite being in his 70s, Captain Lee is still the same " gym rat " he was all those years ago. He lifted the lid on his workout routine during his candid GQ  interview, telling the men's mag that he's "usually at the gym for two hours" every single day. "I do a lot of repetitions without really heavy weights," he explained. "I'll switch it up every couple of weeks so that my muscles don't remember the same routine." Of course, this only applies when the captain is at home in Florida and he can frequent a fully functional gym — so what does he do when he's at sea? "It depends on the boat," he said. "If there isn't a gym, I'll take some weights with me or I'll buy some when we're docked. If there's a local gym, I'll hit that."

When he's really pressed for time, Rosbach will break out the resistance bands that he travels with and do his workout up on deck at first light. "I like working out outside," he explained. "It just really puts you in a great frame of mind to start your day." Glimpses of the captain's sunrise workouts are rare, but that's not for a lack of trying on the show's part. According to Rosbach, he often rounds on the camera crew when they try to film him in action. "They're like, 'Cap, I'm just doing my job!' I'm, like, 'Get the f*** outta here!'"

The seafarer insists the show isn't scripted

It's no secret that many reality TV shows are partly (or even fully) scripted , but that doesn't appear to be the case with "Below Deck." In 2014, Captain Lee told the Midland Daily News : "I still run the boat the same way, regardless if it is on TV or not." When he sat down for a wide-ranging interview with Men's Health in 2020, Rosbach confirmed that this was still the case. "I don't know if anybody could make this stuff up," he said. "The cameras start rolling at 6:30 in the morning and they don't stop until the last person goes to bed. Static cameras are rolling all the time. So whatever happens, happens. There's no lack of content."

When asked about ex-cast member Caroline Bedol (who called the show "heavily manipulated" in a Reddit AMA ), the captain got a little salty, putting it down to "people trying to maintain their relevancy for longer than they should be." The former third stew made it clear that she has a pretty low opinion of Rosbach following her unceremonious exit in Season 6 (she left halfway through the charter after accusing colleagues of bullying ), telling Reddit that he has "a broken moral compass." That's not how one of the charter guests from that season remembers him, however. "Captain Lee is every bit as funny, charming, and smart as he appears on the show," Linda P. Jones wrote in a blog post . "He's the real deal."

His studly nickname makes him blush

Captain Lee got his catchy nickname in 2015 when a teaser trailer for "Below Deck" Season 3 referred to him as the Stud of the Sea for the first time. The name stuck, but Rosbach would later reveal that he didn't know what was happening when the camera crew arrived to film the now-iconic clip. "I had no idea they were going to do this," he told Lifestyle Magazine (via Showbiz Cheat Sheet ). "A special team came down and did some camera shots. The next thing you know I'm looking at the teaser, and they are talking about the Stud of the Sea. I said to them, 'Oh, someone is going to pay for this!'" The show's executive producer loved the new name, however, and so did the charter guests.

Writing about her experience on "Below Deck," Linda P. Jones revealed that she made Rosbach blush when she called him by his nickname at dinner one evening. "I've seen every 'Below Deck' show ... so I had to tease him and call him the Stud of the Sea," she said on her blog . "I looked back a minute later and he had put his white linen napkin over his head to hide his red face!" This isn't an unusual reaction from the captain, who finds the whole thing "kind of embarrassing," he told  GQ . "It's flattering, but I don't do anything special," he added. "I'm just a guy who gets filmed doing his job."

Captain Lee's wife keeps him grounded

Even after he said yes to appearing on "Below Deck," Captain Lee had no idea that he was destined to become a reality TV star. When the "Stud of the Sea" teaser went viral ahead of Season 3, he quickly realized just how " unprepared  for" fame he was. "No one gives you a playbook to be a celebrity all of a sudden," Rosbach told Lifestyle Magazine (via Showbiz Cheat Sheet ). He went on to reveal that he's often stopped by fans these days ("It doesn't help that he has 'Capt. Lee' as his license plate," his wife joked), but he really doesn't mind posing for pictures with them. In fact, he rather enjoys it. "My philosophy is that if you can put a smile on someone's face and it takes 10 or 15 seconds of your time, why wouldn't you do that?"

Rosbach seems to cherish his belated fame, but has it gone to his head at all? He admits that it's easy to get carried away when you're in front of the cameras, but at the end of the day, he has a job to do. "If I find myself drifting in that direction, I kind of slap myself upside the head and say, 'Get a grip!'" the captain told  GQ . He revealed to the men's mag that his wife, Mary Anne, helps him to "stay grounded," adding, "I talk to her every day. And before wireless cellular, it used to get quite expensive."

His son died of an accidental overdose

Captain Lee and his wife Mary Anne have had five children together: a daughter and four sons. In 2019, their son Josh (the youngest of the four boys), died from an accidental drug overdose. "After a twenty-year struggle, he finally succumbed to the demons he fought so long and so hard," Rosbach tweeted . Josh was 42.

In 2020, Rosbach shared an Instagram  photo of his tattoo tribute to his late son: Josh's likeness inked on his chest. And when he appeared on " The Ellen DeGeneres Show " the following year, Rosbach revealed why he decided to discuss his son's death on "Below Deck," explaining that he felt the need to speak up about the way addiction is viewed in America. "They don't realize that addicts aren't the dregs of society," he said. "It crosses all social boundaries: it doesn't make any difference how much money you have or you don't have."

According to the captain, drug addiction has become "the elephant in the room that nobody wants to confront," and he wants to be the man to finally do something about it. "I don't believe in the last two years I've talked with anyone that doesn't know of someone personally that has paid a steep price for this opioid crisis we have, and nobody says anything about it," Rosbach stated. "Somebody has to step up." In the meantime, all he can do is take life "one day at a time" as he continues to deal with the loss.

The captain is opening a rehab center at sea

When he appeared as a guest on Bravo's " Watch What Happens Live " in 2021, Captain Lee told host Andy Cohen that he planned on honoring his late son by opening a rehab center — at sea. The silver-haired skipper revealed that the facility will be on a 470-foot barge out in the water and will be able to accommodate up to "200 patients at a time." It's not just about kicking the drugs, however. "We're also converting it into a vocational rehabilitation center so that not only do we try to get them clean, but we try to get them back into the mainstream of the community with an ability to make a living," Rosbach explained.

The reality star has even been to Congress to call for more help in dealing with what he's called "the worsening opioid/fentanyl crisis," he revealed in an Instagram  post. He was able to address the Bipartisan Addiction and Mental Health Task Force personally, telling them the tragic story of his son and urging them to act before more parents had to go through the same thing he and his wife did. "The hole in your heart's never gonna go away — you can't replace it with anything else," Rosbach said on " The Ellen DeGeneres Show ." "We're not generally constructed to bury our children. From the time you're born, you grow old and your parents pass away. It's not the other way around. And when that happens, it's completely devastating."

Charter guest Delores never apologized to him

Captain Lee has had to deal with some pretty out-there requests from his guests during his time. "This wasn't on the show, but we had to have a suckling pig flown from New Zealand [to Baltimore]," he told Men's Health . "Like anything else that billionaires want, when they want it, they want it. They throw some money at it and you make it work." Money doesn't solve every problem, however. In one of the most famous "Below Deck" moments to date, Captain Lee lost his rag when a drunk guest ignored his rules and went swimming at night, something he described as "the ultimate f*** you to the captain."

Rosbach rounded on Delores Flora (who dived into the water while still wearing her evening dress), reminding her that it wasn't safe. When she told the captain that she had "paid a lot of money" for the trip, he fired back with, "I don't give a s*** what you paid!" Rosbach later confirmed on Twitter that Flora never said sorry for her behavior. When she appeared on " Watch What Happens Live " to discuss the incident, she said that she doesn't feel like she owes the captain any apologies. "You know, the water was just beautiful," she told Andy Cohen . "I do have a problem with authority, and the first time I remember getting in trouble was for jumping in the deep end of a pool, so I've always had a problem with jumping in the water."

Captain Lee responds to Below Deck's racial slur controversy

"Below Deck" hit the headlines in December 2021 when chief stewardess Heather Chase used the N-word twice during an episode. A clip from the crew's drunken night out showed Chase (who is white) repeating the word after Black deckhand Rayna Lindsey said it, and she appeared to use it again while rapping in front of Lindsey later that evening, which prompted a response. "You cannot say n****, you're white as f***," Lindsey said . "It's not 2002 anymore, you know?" Fans had little sympathy for Chase after she stormed off to bed complaining about being called out, saying, "It just made me feel bad." Lindsey addressed her colleague's use of the racial slur while speaking to the cameras the following morning. "It hurts me," she said, per E! News . "It hurts my heart. It hurts everything in me."

When Captain Lee saw the episode for the first time, he went straight to his personal blog and penned a scathing post. "I was truly disgusted by some words used in this week's episode that I will not repeat," Rosbach wrote . "I find them despicable. The word I heard used casually on this week's episode is not one I tolerate in any way shape or form on my boat." Chase was also watching the episode, and she was embarrassed by her behavior. "While I apologized to Rayna throughout the season, I cannot express enough how remorseful I am," she said in an Instagram  post.

Lee Rosbach

Capt. Lee Rosbach has spent more than three decades circling the globe as a mega yacht captain. Born and raised in landlocked Saginaw, Mich., the onetime Wendy’s manager never even saw the ocean until moving to Turks & Caicos with his bride, Mary Anne, to run a restaurant in his mid-30s. In need of cash, he responded to an ad he saw seeking a mate for a delivery on a sailboat – no experience necessary. At 35, Lee obtained his captain’s license and left the restaurant business behind to pursue his newfound passion. Since then, the “Running Against the Tide” author has commanded more than a dozen super yachts. Read More

Capt. Lee Rosbach has spent more than three decades circling the globe as a mega yacht captain. Born and raised in landlocked Saginaw, Mich., the onetime Wendy’s manager never even saw the ocean until moving to Turks & Caicos with his bride, Mary Anne, to run a restaurant in his mid-30s. In need of cash, he responded to an ad he saw seeking a mate for a delivery on a sailboat – no experience necessary. At 35, Lee obtained his captain’s license and left the restaurant business behind to pursue his newfound passion. Since then, the “Running Against the Tide” author has commanded more than a dozen super yachts. The “Stud of the Sea” is known for running his ship with a no-nonsense attitude and salty one-liners. Lee is excited to reunite with his former Chief Stew Kate Chastain – on dry land– as they catch up on Bravo’s latest shows. 

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Below Deck yacht names revealed - and how much it costs to rent the celebrity superyachts

By Editorial Team |   Last Updated 10 October 2023

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Since 2013, Below Deck has been captivating TV audiences across the globe by offering a voyeuristic peek into life on board multi-million dollar luxury charter yachts . Taking readers behind the scenes, YachtCharterFleet identifies the yachts featured on the show, as well as those which have appeared on the celebrated spin-off series Below Deck: Mediterranean , Below Deck: Sailing , Below Deck: Down Under and the latest iteration, Below Deck: Adventure .

Bravo’s hit reality TV series Below Deck chronicles the lives of crew members who work and reside aboard a luxury yacht during the charter season.

Each season features a different crew configuration, and the episodes show how the crew members interact and deal with personal issues alongside their working lives. The seasons are filmed over six weeks, with every episode featuring a new group of charter guests.

Getting even closer to these Below Deck superstars, we take a look at each of the stand-out features of every yacht that has appeared on the show.

Below Deck (US)

Many crew members are recurring on the show;  the longest-standing is Captain Lee Rosbach, who been on the show since 2013. A fan favourite, he has been at the helm of every yacht on Below Deck and seen a number of different crew formations.

The latest Below Deck season 10 is rumoured to be his final swan song, although his legacy on the show is such that whoever replaces him will have very big shoes to fill.

Among the crew members, Chief Stewardess Kate Chastain was an integral member of the team from season two to season seven. Alongside her, Chef Ben Robinson was a permanent fixture of the crew from season one to season four, before stepping out for season five.

Throughout the course of the show, the yachts have played an important role. 

Hiring a Below Deck yacht will cost from €140,000 per week - and that price doesn't include expenses such as fuel. While some of the yachts were given an alias over the course of filming, their real names can now be revealed below; as well as the exact cost to rent them. 

The largest yacht in the show's history, the 10th and 11th seasons of Below Deck  are set around the Caribbean islands of St Lucia  and Grenada onboard the luxurious 60m (197ft) superyacht ST DAVID . Delivered in 2008 by Italian shipyard Benetti, the yacht has an impressive sleek, supercar-inspired profile that instantly turns heads. 

Onboard highlights include her well-appointed sundeck with sunloungers and sunpads where guests can kick back and relax, a spa pool and her al fresco cinema screen set up for unforgettable movie nights.

One of the yacht's most distinctive features is her sophisticated spiral staircase that leads through all three decks and is lit by a skylight in the spa pool of the sun deck. The yacht is very versatile for a variety of charter party configurations, with room for 12 guests across six elegantly appointed cabins. 

STARSHIP (aka MY SEANNA)

Making an appearance on seasons 9, 8 and 6 of Below Deck , the majestic motor yacht STARSHIP (known on the show as MY SEANNA) is a yacht charter favorite.

The yacht has traveled far and wide for the show cruising to the jaw-droppingly beautiful St Kitts and Nevis in season 9, the sun-kissed Caribbean in season 8 and the  South Pacific  islands of  Tahiti in season 6.

Known for being among one of the most opulent yachts on the charter market due to her ornate interiors and glossy fittings that have been brushed in 22-carat gold, it is safe to say that this yacht is one of the most opulently styled and extensively equipped yachts on the water. Refitted in 2021, the Delta Marine yacht can accommodate 12 guests across 6 cabins and is extremely versatile for a variety of yacht charter party configurations. 

VALOR (aka BG)

Appearing three times on the hit show, the 47m (153ft) charter yacht BG (known on the show as VALOR) featured in seasons 7, 5 and 4 of Below Deck , taking charter guests to a variety of sun-kissed and beautiful locations. The yacht's real name is BG, and she was built in 1990 by the world's most revered shipbuilder Feadship . Since then, she has undergone many interiors refreshes to keep her in tip-top condition. 

The yacht traveled around Thailand in Season 7  where the crew and viewers were treated to a truly memorable South East Asian experience. From the iconic Phi Phi Islands to the beautiful beaches of Ko Yao Yai, there were plenty of fascinating landmarks to see on the way. Season 5 took viewers to the tranquil cruising grounds of  Saint Martin whilst season 4 saw M/Y BG in the glistening waters of the  Virgin Islands .

Accomodating 12 guests across 6 cabins, she is also capable of carrying up to 10 crew onboard to ensure a relaxed luxury yacht charter experience.

EROS (aka STAY SALTY)

Season 3 of Below Deck was announced after a hugely successful second-season finale, which was the highest-rated episode of the series. The new season saw the crew head to the Bahamas onboard  superyacht STAY SALTY  known on the show as EROS. 

She is equipped with an array of luxurious amenities including an eight-person sundeck Jacuzzi, barbecue and yacht-wide sound system. She also boasts timeless interior styling with intricate wood panelling and a neutral colour palette which helps create an inviting atmosphere for those on board.

The yacht was sold in November 2013 - just before filming for season 3 began - for an asking price of $17.9 million.

OHANA (aka STAR DIAMOND)

Premiering in August 2014, season 2 of Below Deck returned with 13 episodes documenting life on board the slightly smaller superyacht STAR DIAMOND in the British Virgin Islands . Among many other features, the yacht is equipped with a large sundeck, outdoor bar and luxury accommodation for 10 guests.

After filming the series, M/Y STAR DIAMOND was sold for an asking price of $10.9 million and is now on the charter market with a charter rate of $160,000/week. Extensively refit in 2022, the work on the superyacht has included a complete interior refresh, the yacht now features light, modern styling - an engine rebuild and a cabin conversion.

HONOR (aka BARENTS )

The first season of Below Deck premiered on 1 July 2013 after being announced in April 2012. Chartering around the Caribbean , the starring superyacht was named HONOR for the show but chartered under the name CUOR DI LEONE which translates to ‘Lion Heart’ in Italian. She now goes by the name BARENTS . 

Built by Italian shipyard Benetti in 1999 and refit in 2021, the famous vessel has undergone a complete makeover, bringing her up to modern standards. She can accommodate up to 12 charter guests and features luxury amenities for guests to enjoy including state-of-the-art TVs and a sundeck Jacuzzi.

Following the show, superyacht BARENTS was sold for around $15 million and her new owner commissioned a major refit. A great deal of money was spent on updating her interior with a classic-modern style of design as well as on brand-new exterior furniture and entertainment systems.

Below Deck: Mediterranean

Following on from the success of Below Deck , the spin-off  Below Deck: Mediterranean premiered in May 2016. While the original series takes place during the winter charter season when the Caribbean is at its peak, Below Deck: Mediterranean is filmed during the summer charter season.

Season one of Below Deck: Mediterranean saw Captain Mark Howard at the helm, but the baton was passed to Captain Sandy Yawn from two onwards. Chief Stewardess Hannah Ferrier was another permanent fixture on the show from season one to five, before leaving the show in season six.

As its name suggests, the show is based in the Mediterranean , the world’s most popular yachting hub from May to October. Despite the change in location, the same format and accompanying on-water antics from the crew and guests alike can be expected. Below, all the names of the superyachts which have appeared on the show, and the cost to rent them.

Season 8 of Below Deck: Mediterranean was aired in September 2023 and brought back yet more antics that included some tense franchise firsts. Set in the Ligurian Riviera, the hit Bravo series returns to Italy for the first time since season 3. The series followed the crew from mid-August until mid-September of 2022 onboard the 180-feet superyacht MUSTIQUE .

Holding up to 12 guests across 6 classically decorated cabins, this yacht is the epitome of elegance with its glossy mahogany paneling and cream upholstery. She is replete with water toys, including kayaks, a seabob, waterskis, and Zapata Flyboards, and has expansive deck areas– offering plenty of scope for both crew and guest antics which make Below Deck: Mediterranean so entertaining.

Season 7 of Below Deck: Mediterranean returned to the screens in July 2022 and brought back more drama and wealthy clientele, creating endless entertainment for viewers at home. Set in Malta , a destination never seen before on the show, the series followed the crew over an eight-week charter season onboard the 49m (160ft) superyacht HOME .

Accommodating up to 12 guests across 6 beautifully decorated staterooms, this yacht is described as a home away from home, the perfect platform for guests to soak up the sunshine, kick back and relax. From her convivial sundeck setup replete with a Jacuzzi and glowing cocktail bar to her panoramic sky lounge and state-of-the-art water toys, this yacht certainly had the wow factor that was required for Below Deck: Mediterranean .

LADY MICHELLE (renamed NEXT CHAPTER)

Season 6 of Below Deck: Mediterranean premiered in June 2021 and saw a new vessel,  motor yacht LADY MICHELLE , since re-named NEXT CHAPTER, take center stage. It also saw the return of Captain Sandy and Bosun Malia, plus a brand new crew. 

A floating paradise that turns heads on the water, this heavenly Benetti vessel comfortably accommodates 12 guests across 6 sumptuous staterooms, with additional capacity for up to 12 crew members. She also boasts an open-air cinema, a split-level owner's suite and an impressive array of water toys.

This season takes the crew to one of the most idyllic cruising grounds in the East Mediterranean : Croatia . Abounding with serene golden beaches, crystalline waters and gorgeous coves to explore, it's one of the most popular yacht charter destinations.

THE WELLINGTON (aka THE WELLESLEY)

Season 5 of Below Deck: Mediterranean premiered in the summer of 2020. The show was shot on board the motor yacht THE WELLESLEY , and the superyacht was given the alias THE WELLINGTON over the course of filming. 

The yacht has an elegant 1920's theme, with a chic club lounge complete with a bespoke humidor. She features plenty of marble accents and ample alfresco deck areas, as well as a jacuzzi with innovative spill pool features.

The yachties set course for Spain for this season, cruising around the azure waters of the Balearic Islands . The homeport was Port Adriano on the island of Mallorca .

Featuring in both Season 4 and Season 2 of Below Deck: Mediterranean ,  superyacht SIROCCO  is a yacht charter sensation. An elegant and sophisticated Heesen -built motor yacht, she features plenty of alfresco sunning areas and an 8-person jacuzzi pool; the perfect spot for the charter guests to unwind after a long day exploring.

Season 4 took the crew to one of the most iconic destinations in the Mediterranean ; the South of France . Between the luxury yachting hub of Monaco to the beautiful beaches in St Tropez , this season promises lashings of glitz and glamour. During Season 2 of Below Deck: Mediterranean , M/Y SIROCCO cruised the picturesque waters of  Croatia .

TALISMAN MAITON

Premiering in 2018, season 3 of  Below Deck: Mediterranean saw familiar and new faces head to the sublime cruising grounds of Italy. This time, the crew treated their discerning guests to a world of luxury on board the 54m/178ft motor yacht TALISMAN MAITON .

Built in 2006 and refit to an exacting standard in 2016, the yacht boasts a range of exciting features that make her particularly appropriate for the waters of the Amalfi Coast . Indeed, her entertainment options range from a stunning selection of water toys to a sundeck Jacuzzi and a refreshingly modern interior.

IONIAN PRINCESS

Premiering on 3 May 2016, the very first season of Below Deck: Mediterranean , a spin-off of the increasingly popular franchise, took to viewers' screens. This time the ‘yachties’ took care of their guests onboard the motor yacht IONIAN PRINCESS  in the Mediterranean  destination of Greece . 

The starring yacht IONIAN PRINCESS was delivered from Christensen in 2005 and was later refit in 2016 and again in 2021. Truly opulent, she bears interiors that are sleekly finished with a range of warmly toned woods and plenty of comfortable furnishings. She also boasts one of the largest sundecks for a yacht of her size.

Below Deck: Mediterranean Season 1 yacht IONIAN PRINCESS is not currently available for private yacht charter vacations.

Below Deck: Sailing Yacht

This is the first time the Below Deck franchise branched away from gleaming motor yachts, with the various weather issues that sailing yachts have to contend with adding even more drama and excitement.

The design of luxury sailing yachts  also creates far more confined crew areas than we are used to seeing on the original Below Deck . In general, sailing yachts tend to feature smaller galleys, compact stew stations and cramped crew quarters which are in closer proximity to the guests’ living areas, putting crew under increased pressure to deliver their signature silver service.

In addition, deck crew are placed in a far more demanding role, with sailing yachts requiring increased accuracy and precision to safely maneuver and plenty of deck duties taking place in the midst of guest areas.

PARSIFAL III

An iconic and suitable yacht for the much-loved series Below Deck: Sailing , the 54m (177ft) sailing yacht PARSIFAL III has blessed our screens for all four series of the hit maritime show.

Season 1 saw the sailing yacht cruising around the beautiful islands of Greece , an  East Mediterranean destination that is peppered with an incredible variety of islands. Season 2 was set around the glistening waters of Croatia and in  Season 3 of Below Deck Sailing , M/Y PARSIFAL III came back to where she traditionally charters in the beautiful Balearic island of Menorca . For the latest Below Deck: Sailing Yacht season she ventured around the glittering coastline of Sardinia .

The yacht can comfortably charter up to 12 guests across 5 luxurious cabins with a layout comprising a master suite, two double cabins and two twin cabins.

Below Deck: Down Under

Venturing to the mesmerizing Whitsunday islands in Australia , the much-beloved maritime show released another spin-off of the hit show in April 2022, Below Deck: Down Under . Recorded on Queensland's shores, viewers can see for themselves the impeccable Australian islands and all their beauty as the superyachts, their crew and charter guests travel to some of the most sought-after destinations in the world.  

NORTHERN SUN

Below Deck: Down Under  returns to our screens for its second outing, this time on board the 51m (167ft) explorer yacht NORTHERN SUN , with the coastal paradise of Cairns in Australia’s northern Queensland providing the glittering backdrop.

Headed up once more by the handsome Captain Jason Chambers, he is joined by returning chief stewardess, Aesha Scott, along with a brand new crew, including Chef Tzarina Mace-Ralph, Bosun Luke Jones and stews Laura Bileskaine and Margot Sisson.

Promising another round of crew antics and high drama, the bulk of the action takes place on board the classic explorer yacht, primed for adventure and boasting a wealth of luxurious amenities and an eye-catching exterior, charter guests will be in for a treat.

KERI LEE III (AKA THALASSA)

The perfect yacht for season 1 of Below Deck: Down Under , the 55m (181ft) yacht KERI LEE is the prime candidate for anyone looking for a taste of the superyacht lifestyle. Described as being like Downton Abbey on a boat, the yacht is home to an expansive beauty salon, massage room, gym, jacuzzi and movie theater, so there is definitely enough to keep all charter guests entertained.

In the first season of Below Deck: Down Under , this yacht traveled to some pretty spectacular destinations from the Great Barrier Reef , including the Whitsunday's , Hook Island, Block Reef and Henning Island, giving charter guests the opportunity to witness the outstanding beauty and clear waters of the Pacific .

Below Deck: Adventure

Airing its inaugral season at the end of 2022, Below Deck: Adventure brings more drama than ever before as the show takes viewers beyond the deck and off the yacht as thrill-seeking charter guests embark on a range of extreme and unforgettable experiences around the Norwegian Fjords. Some of the activities include paragliding, exploring unique caves and taking extreme helicopter rides, Below Deck: Adventure provides endless entertainment as well as giving viewers a glimpse of the astonishingly beautiful landscapes in and around  Norway . 

In  Below Deck: Adventure season 1, Capt. Kerry Titheradge leads the crew with Jessica Condy as Chef and Faye Clarke as Chief Stew.

As seen in season 1 of Below Deck Adventure , the 49m (164ft) motor yacht MERCURY is a high-quality and highly reliable Dutch-built luxury charter yacht. Delivered by Amels in 2001, the yacht is to the highest standard and pedigree and boasts a wealth of convivial spaces, perfect for relaxing, unwinding and socializing onboard. 

Home to an impressive array of amenities, standout highlights include an expansive Jacuzzi, a large swim platform for easy access to the water and a gym. An advanced stabilization system on board reduces the side-to-side roll of the yacht and promises guests exceptional comfort levels at anchor or when underway.

Interested in a Below Deck yacht rental?

For more details on chartering any of the above yachts, speak to your preferred charter broker . They can provide you with personalized information and advice concerning your vacation, creating an itinerary that perfectly caters to your individual needs.

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BELOW DECK YACHTS FOR CHARTER

60m Benetti 2008 / 2019

56m Delta Marine 2001 / 2021

56m Oceanco 1993 / 2016

55m Benetti 2003 / 2024

54m Turquoise Yachts 2006 / 2016

54m Perini Navi 2005 / 2012

51m Narasaki Shipyard 1976 / 2007

50m Benetti 1999 / 2021

50m Amels 2001 / 2006

50m Heesen 2017

47m Feadship 1990 / 2022

47m Heesen 2006 / 2013

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Below Deck Shocker: Captain Lee Rosbach Announces He's Leaving the Boat

Below deck 's longtime captain lee rosbach stunned his crew by revealing he's leaving the mega yacht mid-season because of an ongoing health issue on the bravo series' dec. 12 episode..

Captain Lee Rosbach 's time aboard the St. David is ending early

The beloved Below Deck star shocked his crew on the Bravo series' Dec. 12 episode by announcing he's leaving the mega yacht mid-season. Captain Lee's tough decision came amid an ongoing nerve problem affecting his ability to walk.

"My injury is getting worse," he shared in a confessional. "The left side of my body, I don't feel anything. I expected a lot more progress than I'm experiencing and the most frustrating part about it is I can't do a goddamn thing about it. It's hard."

The health issue forced Lee to use crutches to get around the boat, which also affected his ability to do his job.

"One of my biggest problems now is I'm not able to observe," he explained. "I don't know who's doing what, it's my job."

"I owe it to my crew to do right by them," he continued. "They expect that out of me. There comes a point if a captain is really being objective, he should be putting the best interests of his crew first."

Once the teamed wrapped another successful charter hosting a group of female doctors, Lee gathered his crew to update them on his health.

"As you guys know I've been struggling with my mobility," he said, "and it's been hard and I've let you guys down and for that I apologize. So I've made a decision to leave the boat."

The bombshell episode ended with a "to be continued" message, meaning fans will have to tune in next week for more details on Captain Lee's departure from the yacht.

Below Deck airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on Bravo.

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Captain Lee Rosbach Forced to Exit 'Below Deck' Season Early: 'One of the Most Humbling Experiences of My Life'

Rosbach, who has helmed the Bravo yachting series since its debut in 2013, could not overcome health issues and decided to leave the charter season early: "I owe it to my crew to do right by them"

Lanford Beard is the former Senior TV Editor at PEOPLE. She worked at the brand from 2015 through 2024.

Captain Lee Rosbach is disembarking from Below Deck .

The Bravo personality (nicknamed "The Stud of the Sea") announced his exit on Monday's episode, informing his crew that persistent health issues meant he'd need to bow out of season 10 early.

Rosbach was admittedly struggling with nerve issues when he boarded motor yacht St. David at the start of charter season, but he hoped his symptoms would subside over time. Instead, he shared in a confessional interview: "My injury, it's getting worse. The left side of my body, I don't feel anything:"

He continued, "I expected a lot more progress than I'm experiencing, and the most frustrating part about it is, I can't do a god d--- thing about it, and it's hard."

Later, he told chef Rachel Hargrove , "This has probably been one of the most humbling experiences of my life."

As Monday's episode went on, Rosbach realized he had to consider that his health concerns might have an impact on the whole boat. "The pain's getting worse, not better. I owe it to my crew to do right by them. They expect that out of me," he said.

For more on Captain Lee Rosbach, listen below to our daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day.

"There comes a point if a captain is really being objective, he should be putting the best interests of his crew first because that's your primary responsibility," he affirmed. "As soon as you step on board, check your f---ing ego at the dock. That's where you leave it."

At the end of the hour, he called an all-hands meeting, telling his crew: "As you guys know, I've been struggling with my mobility, and it's been hard. And I've let you guys down, and for that I apologize. So I've made a decision to leave the boat."

It remains to be seen who will step into the wheelhouse, but an earlier scene showed Rosbach calling an unnamed fellow captain as he prepared for the premature end of his yachting season. Next week's episode is sure to pick back up and show the fallout of Rosbach's bombshell news.

Below Deck debuted with Rosbach at the helm in July 2013, with this most recent season premiering on Nov. 21. Season 10 features fan-favorite Rosbach, Hargove and chief stew Fraser Olender joined by a new crew in and around the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia.

Before Rosbach's mobility issues led to his early departure, he was enjoying his time with some, ahem, spicy charter guests — one of whom asked him during an elegant dinner: "Is dessert gonna be you, Captain?"

Showing his good humor, Rosbach fanned himself and declared, "I think I'm schvitzing!"

It's not the first time Rosbach has had to take a step back to take care of himself — season 9 also set sail under the guidance of Captain Sean Meagher while Rosbach missed part of the charter season after an injury.

"I have a condition. The whole boat is your ballgame now." he told friend and first officer Eddie Lucas in the October 2019 premiere, prompting Lucas to later quip in a confessional: "Come back to me, Captain Lee. Come back to me, my boat daddy!"

After a few episodes, Rosbach was able to return to My Seanna and tour St. Kitts with the yacht's crew and charter guests.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Below Deck airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo.

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‘Below Deck’ was just ‘a terrible idea.’ This salty captain turned it into reality TV gold

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At a sceney hotel in the Meatpacking District, Capt. Lee Rosbach glances disapprovingly at the waiter, who sports a severe undercut.

“How do people walk out of their house in the morning, look in the mirror and think, ‘This hair looks good’?” Rosbach says once the server has delivered his coffee and is out of earshot.

This brand of unvarnished honesty has endeared Rosbach, a.k.a. “The Stud of the Sea,” to fans of “Below Deck,” now in its 10th season. Like a real-life hybrid of “The Love Boat” and “Downton Abbey,” Bravo’s compulsively watchable reality show follows the hard-partying crew members and entitled guests aboard luxury yachts in stunning locations around the world — and has introduced millions of viewers to terms like “aft deck” and “bosun.”

As a gruff, heterosexual, 73-year-old white male who has never been implicated in financial crimes or launched a line of scented candles, Rosbach is not your typical Bravo-lebrity. He never wanted to be on TV in the first place.

“I’m just a blue-collar guy who does his job. I just happened to get filmed while I’m doing it,” says Rosbach, who is in town for BravoCon , a three-day gathering for fans of the network’s unscripted programming. But wearing a coral-pink zippered sweatshirt in a tropical print (and a large silver medallion) over his bare chest, he looks like he got lost on the way to Margaritaville.

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“I don’t really do anything any different on my boat than I did 30 years ago,” he continues, “And if the camera doesn’t like it, well, that’s not my problem. But I guess people like it, because it’s still going after 10 years.”

Rosbach has been the sensible anchor on “Below Deck” since it premiered in 2013, outlasting dozens of lackluster deckhands, stewards and chefs along the way. Once an unlikely fit for Bravo, he now seems indispensable, much like “Below Deck” itself, which has become the network’s most valuable franchise since “The Real Housewives.” There are now four spinoffs, each with a different captain and a distinct flavor: “Below Deck Mediterranean,” “Below Deck Sailing Yacht,” “Below Deck Down Under” and “Below Deck Adventure,” which launched last month. Over the last year, four of the top 10 programs on Bravo were incarnations of “Below Deck,” which draw a larger male audience than is typical on the female-skewing network.

But in last week’s episode, Rosbach dropped a bombshell, telling the crew of the motoryacht St. David — sailing in St. Lucia this season — he was leaving the boat because of nerve issues impairing his mobility.

On social media, fans responded to the news of their beloved boat daddy’s departure with a torrent of tearful emojis. But the change is not necessarily permanent: Rosbach has repeatedly said he has no interest in retiring.

‘There was nobody with gray hair on Bravo’

When Bravo bought the idea for “Below Deck” about a decade ago, executive producer Courtland Cox remembers thinking, “Oh s—. Now I have to figure out how to make this show.”

As he and the team at 51 Minds, the company that produces four of the “Below Deck” shows, quickly learned, making a show set aboard a functioning yacht is a logistical, financial and legal nightmare.

Particularly in the early seasons, the learning curve was steep, and producers faced intense skepticism within the charter industry.

Rosbach, who gave Cox an informational tour of the boat he was helming at the time (and which appeared in Season 1 of the show) was one of those skeptics. “I could tell that he wanted nothing to do with us,” Cox recalls. “Like, ‘I’m doing this because the owner wants me to do it, but I can’t wait until you get off my boat.’”

Originally, Rosbach was only supposed to play a behind-the-scenes role on “Below Deck,” by transporting the boat to St. Martin, where a younger, more Bravo-friendly but less experienced captain would step into the role for TV. When it became clear this arrangement wasn’t going to work, Rosbach was forced to take over. (In Rosbach’s telling, his wealthy boss gave him little choice: Either do his job on TV, or lose the job.)

Rosbach barely watched reality TV — and still doesn’t. He occasionally checked out “The Deadliest Catch” — “stuff that was actually real,” he says. But the glossy shows on Bravo about, as he puts it, “rich, spoiled, never-grown-up little girls trying to act like they put their big girl pants on”? “They didn’t interest me at all.”

“At the time, there was nobody with gray hair on Bravo. It was a very controversial thing,” Cox says. But when the show premiered, people immediately responded to Rosbach’s paternal presence, like a weary dad supervising a slumber party.

With his salty aphorisms (“I’m madder than a pissed-on chicken”; “I would rather drag my d— through 10 miles of broken whiskey bottles”), Rosbach is the tough-but-fair boss we all wish we had. After deckhand Ashton Pienaar was dragged off the boat in Season 6 — a potentially fatal scenario — Rosbach delivered a heartfelt safety lecture to his crew: “We need to really care about ourselves and our loved ones. ’Cause in the end, that’s all you got.”

Though Rosbach has yet to make it through a season without firing someone (often several people), “I have put up a concerted effort,” he says, laughing. And he’s pleased that “Below Deck” has introduced the industry to a wider audience of potential yachties — “especially people from the Midwest. We’re just raised differently.”

“What our fans have always loved about Bravo is the authenticity of our characters,” says Noah Samton, senior vice president of current production at NBCUniversal Television, who oversees “Below Deck” for Bravo. Someone like Teresa Giudice, the “Real Housewives of New Jersey” star who served a year in prison for fraud, “may be as different from Capt. Lee as possible,” he says, “but they both are incapable of being anybody but themselves all the time.”

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Unlike most of the 20-something crew members on “Below Deck,” Rosbach got a late start in the business. In the mid-1980s, Rosbach was running a restaurant in the Turks and Caicos Islands that went under. Unemployed, with a wife and kids to support, Rosbach spotted an ad at the dive shop for a mate to help deliver a boat to Tortola — no experience necessary. He took the job and, in between bouts of seasickness, discovered a calling.

“I’d never been on a g— boat,” he says. “I’d never even seen the ocean till I was 35.”

After moving back to the U.S. and earning his captain’s license, he worked his way up until he was running a superyacht. “If anybody tells you captains don’t make good money,” he says, “they’re lying to you.” (Salaries are based on the length of the boat.)

Kate Chastain was also a seasoned yachtie before she joined “Below Deck” in Season 2. By then, she’d already ascended to the role of chief steward — a.k.a. “chief stew,” like the housekeeper and butler rolled into one — but she was getting bored.

“‘Below Deck’ was a perfect way to take what I’d been doing and do it a new way,” says Chastain, wearing a pink gown and white sneakers as she relaxes in a windowless green room at BravoCon.

She ended up staying for six seasons, becoming a fan favorite for her ability to deliver both excellent service and wildly entertaining TV. (Known for her wicked one-liners, Chastain famously took revenge on a rude guest by folding his blanket into the shape of a penis, which she claimed was a rocket ship.) Still, she says, “I didn’t fully realize at first how it is two jobs — a TV job and a boat job. You have to learn which corners to cut to be able to do both jobs.” After a few seasons, Chastain told her stewards to stop vacuuming so much “because the cameras only shoot from here up,” she says, gesturing to her waist.

Cutting corners is one thing, but the stunt casting typical of other reality shows isn’t possible on “Below Deck” because the show takes place on a working yacht, Cox says: “You can’t put someone on a boat that can’t do the job. The lives of my production crew are literally in the hands of the kids on this boat who we are filming. If something goes wrong, they’re the ones that have to get us off safely.”

Besides, he adds, “If somebody is there for the wrong reasons. Lee’s gonna suss that out immediately.”

‘This show is a terrible idea’

On a network overrun with people who spend lavishly but work infrequently, much of the action of “Below Deck” is manual labor: The yachties spend hours folding laundry, inflating slides and preparing 10-course meals in kitchens not much larger than an airplane bathroom.

And its greatest source of suspense is how much the guests, who rotate every few episodes, will tip at the end of each charter. To watch crew members trash talk about their demanding, boorish customers in confessional interviews is not only cathartic, but novel: “Below Deck” is a rarity in TV, the show that sympathizes with working people over obnoxious one-percenters.

“The audience loves different things about ‘Below Deck’ than they like about other shows,” says Samton, the Bravo executive. “Our audience has this tremendous respect for workplace hierarchy. Who would have thought that would be something people were interested in watching on a reality show?”

Because of this built-in authenticity, “Below Deck” appeals to people who don’t necessarily watch much Bravo — or reality TV in general. John Fetterman, the hoodie-wearing Senator-elect from Pennsylvania, has praised the show for its bipartisan appeal. Filmmaker Steven Soderbergh told Rolling Stone he finds “Below Deck” completely gripping because “it’s a show about going to work.”

Fittingly, “Below Deck” also takes a lot of work to make, says Cox, who once knew nothing about yachting but now understands the intricacies of watercraft insurance and maritime law.

“Below Deck” films around the clock for about six weeks. Cameras installed around the boat capture whatever the film crew can’t. (When producers learned two Season 3 crew members were meeting for trysts in the laundry room because it didn’t have a camera, they added one.) Producers deal with three different boat crews: the on-camera yacht crew, the crew who provides catering in a separate vessel and the water taxis that shuttle the production crew, which doesn’t sleep on the boat, back and forth every day.

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“This show is a terrible idea,” Cox says.

Maybe, but the “Below Deck” format has proved surprisingly durable. With five yachting shows in the current lineup and more than 300 episodes in the franchise so far, there could be more on the way, says Samton: “It’s an open question that we’re talking about all the time over here.”

The role that Rosbach will play going forward remains to be seen. In addition to his health challenges, the captain is also grieving his son, Josh, who died in 2019 of an opioid overdose.

“Some days are better than others. Other days I’m just a f— train wreck. I’ll be sitting at a stoplight, something will trigger it and I just come apart like a cheap suit,” says Rosbach, who carries some of his son’s ashes with him in the medallion around the neck. “I stopped playing music the day he died, and all my guitars sit in the corner getting dusty. He left such a hole, and that’s never gonna go away. The dumba— that said ‘Time heals all wounds,’ God, he was so full of s—.”

Still, Rosbach’s reluctance to retire fully from the rigors of yachting — and reality TV — points to why the franchise has made armchair nautical experts out of its legion of fans, buoyed Bravo through a time of transition for its “Real Housewives” juggernaut and silenced the naysayers who predicted “Below Deck” would kill his career.

“The phone rings and it’s a lot of people I haven’t heard from in 25 years,” he says. “It’s like, ‘How do you like me now?’”

‘Below Deck’

Where: Bravo When: 8 p.m. Monday Streaming: Peacock , anytime Rating: TV-14 (may be unsuitable for children under the age of 14)

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What Is Below Deck’s Captain Lee Rosbach’s Net Worth: How The Bravo Star Makes Money

It pays to be the Stud of the Seas! For eight seasons, Captain Lee Rosbach has helmed the superyachts on Bravo’s Below Deck , and also had to deal with plenty of drama with his crew along the way. Keep scrolling to find it his net worth, how he makes money and more.

What Is ‘Below Deck’ Star Lee Rosbach’s Net Worth?

According to Cinemaholic , the Florida-based skipper is worth approximately $1 million.

How Does ‘Below Deck’ Star Lee Rosbach Make Money?

The beloved but sharp tongued captain likely brings in up to $210,000 a year by helming the yachts featured on Below Deck,   Worldwide Boat reports, as that’s the salary for skippers of boats in the 150 feet to 177 feet range. His current yacht, My Seanna, measures in at 185 feet.

Captain Lee grew up in Michigan, and even though he spent plenty of time on boats growing up, he worked in the restaurant industry until the age of 35. That’s when he moved into the world of yachting and became a captain. After more than three decades skippering vessels throughout the Caribbean and South Pacific , he’d been able to earn a healthy living from his captain’s salary.

Lee’s paycheck from Below Deck has not been disclosed, but his presence on the show beginning in 2013 has helped raise his profile to branch out into other ventures. He became a published author in 2018 when his memoir, Running Against the Tide: True Tales from the Stud of the Sea , was released . 

Deal of the Day

In February 2023, it was revealed that Lee will only appear in a few episodes of season 10 due to health issues. While he will be returning at the end of the season, the Bravo veteran will be leaving the show for good ahead of season 11.

How Else Does ‘Below Deck’ Star Lee Rosbach Make a Living?

The tome’s description on Amazon reads: “From having to reclaim his drunk captain’s lost papers in the Dominican Republic to unwittingly crewing a drug boat out of Turks and Caicos to navigating the outrageous demands of the super-rich in New York City, Captain Lee’s tales from the high seas run the gamut, proving time and time again why he’s a fan favorite: he’s occasionally profane, he’s often surprising, but he’s never dull and, for the first time, he’s here to tell all.”

In the book, Lee wrote about his time on Below Deck : “Working on a TV show has been a learning experience, but at the same time, it hasn’t changed who I am or what I do. First and foremost, I’m still a captain, a sailor. Whether there are cameras there or not , I do my job … I’ve got a lot more people who know who I am now, but I don’t think working in TV has changed me.”

Captain Lee has his own online store , where fans can purchase mugs with some of his salty sayings on them, coaster sets, T-shirts and autographed photos. And if that’s not enough, fans can purchase a Cameo message from Captain Lee for $250 for a personalized video, $4,000 for a message to a group or company, $750 for a live video call or $3 for a quick message.

Have a tip? Send it to us! Email In Touch at [email protected] .

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Captain Lee exits ‘Below Deck’ season early amid persistent health issues

Captain Lee Rosbach's cruise on the yacht St. David is over.

On Season 10, Episode Four of "Below Deck," Rosbach said that his nerve issues are getting worse and he needs to leave the show.

“As you guys know, I’ve been struggling with my mobility, and it’s been hard," he said while addressing his crew. "And I’ve let you guys down, and for that, I apologize. So I’ve made a decision to leave the boat.”

Earlier in the episode, Rosbach shared the extent of his health issues.

“My injury, it’s getting worse. The left side of my body, I don’t feel anything," he said in his confessional. “I expected a lot more progress than I’m experiencing, and the most frustrating part about it is, I can’t do a God d--- thing about it. And it’s hard.”

Due to his health issues, Rosbach has been using crutches to get around the boat.

Although he told costar Bosun Ross McHarg that he was "doing OK," in the episode, McHarg quickly noticed that Rosbach was in "a lot of pain."

"I got a lot of respect for Captain. If he tells me that he's good to go, I believe that," McHarg said in a confessional. "And until he tells me he's not, then we just get on with the job."

It wasn't long until Rosbach noticed that he couldn't do his duties as well as before. With a full crew on deck, Rosbach told chef Rachel Hargrove that his biggest problem with his mobility was that he couldn't keep an eye on his crew.

"One of my biggest problems right now is I'm not able to observe," he said. "I don't know who's doing what. That's my job.

“I couldn’t tell you if my shoes are on or off,” he added.

In a confessional, he shared that he feels responsible for his crew.

“There comes a point if a captain is really being objective, he should be putting the best interests of his crew first because that’s your primary responsibility,” Rosbach said. “As soon as you step on board, check your f---ing ego at the dock. That’s where you leave it.”

The next episode of "Below Deck" on Monday, Dec. 19 will reveal more about Lee's departure. After all, the captain still has yet to share who'll be taking the reins on his ship.

Joyann Jeffrey is a trending news reporter based in New York City

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Ranking Every ‘Below Deck’ Show From Most to Least Memorable: Mediterranean, Adventure and More

Bravo’s Below Deck series has inspired several spinoffs — but not every one has left an impression.

Below Deck , which debuted on Bravo in 2013, introduced viewers to various crew members who reside and work on a superyacht during charter season. The original series quickly became a major success for the network, spawning spinoffs that include Below Deck Mediterranean, Below Deck Sailing Yacht, Below Deck Down Under and Below Deck Adventure .

The show has since become an example of Bravo’s rare all-year long programming with a Below Deck series airing new episodes at any given moment. While most of the cast has changed from season to season, viewers have gotten invested in some of the mainstays , which are usually the captains and the chief stews or bosuns.

However, not every show has stuck with fans the exact same way. Certain iterations didn’t last longer than a season while others have become more memorable than the OG Below Deck show.

Related: A Guide to 'Below Deck' and Its Many Spinoffs

Keep scrolling to see Us ‘ ranking of the Below Deck shows — in order from most to least memorable.

1) ‘Below Deck Mediterranean’

When some of Us weren’t looking, Below Deck Mediterranean surprisingly became the backbone of the franchise that earned it first place on this list . A large part of that is Captain Sandy Yawn , who for better or for worse has gotten viewers reinvigorated about Below Deck . It takes a special kind of captain to not always make decisions everyone likes but that keeps fans coming back for more.

Sandy’s priority is being a good captain but somewhere along the way she became Below Deck gold. Everything else is just icing on the cake when Sandy is at the center of every season in the Mediterranean.

2) ‘Below Deck’

The original show paved the way for every other iteration to find its place on Bravo. Without Below Deck — and Captain Lee Rosbach — fans wouldn’t know just how compelling drama on the high seas can actually be.

One reason why Below Deck isn’t at the very top is tied to the show’s decision to fix what wasn’t broken. Captain Lee was the face of the franchise — so it wasn’t easy to say goodbye when he was replaced following a decade on Below Deck . The switch came several seasons after chief stew Kate Chastain left and it was too much change at once for some of Us .

Related: A Guide to Below Deck' Chief Stews: From Kate Chastain to Hannah Ferrier

3) ‘below deck sailing yacht’.

Speaking of shows overshadowed by controversy, Below Deck Sailing Yacht had it all when it originally premiered on Bravo in 2020 . Paternity scandals, love triangles and Below Deck alums that overstayed their welcome by making the audience turn on them again.

Captain Glenn Shephard confidently steered Below Deck Sailing Yacht into a successful future but other factors ultimately got in the way.

First of all, Daisy Kelliher ‘s messy feelings for Colin Macrae and Gary King sounded like good reality TV on paper but it wasn’t as interesting on screen. The trio actually made it harder to come back around each week because it was exhausting to see them hash out their confusing issues.

Season 4 wrapped up with the promise of more episodes before Gary made headlines for his sexual misconduct scandal. He has maintained his innocence and no official statement has been given on the future of the show but Below Deck Sailing Yacht has yet to release any news about another season since the drama.

4) ‘Below Deck Down Under’

The spinoff set in Australia should have been a slam dunk with Bravo’s favorite hottie Captain Jason Chambers and fan-favorite chief stew Aesha Scott by his side. However, Below Deck Down Under initially struggled because it was premiering on Peacock instead of Bravo meaning viewers didn’t know to look for a new show.

Season 2 was what put Below Deck Down Under on the map but not for the reason anyone was hoping. A shocking consent scandal halfway through the season resulted in Luke Jones and Laura Bileskaline getting fired from the boat , which Below Deck Down Under was applauded for as new episodes continued to cover the aftermath.

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Despite the fact that Jason and Aesha received praise for how they handled the situation , there has been no news about the show’s future. It is possible that the drama overshadowed the show itself — and not in a good way.

Related: A Guide to Every Captain in the 'Below Deck' Franchise: From Lee to Sandy

5) ‘below deck adventure’.

The fourth spinoff was meant to be the most action-packed as guests signed up for thrill-seeking activities along the Norwegian Fjords. After premiering in November 2022, Below Deck Adventure failed to find an audience week to week and subsequently faded out of everyone’s mind.

Bravo never announced the show’s cancellation but it’s probably safe to assume that not many fans were asking for a status update. Instead, Captain Kerry Titheradge was moved to Below Deck and everyone forgot the first failed Below Deck spinoff series.

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Captain Lee Rosbach Doesn’t See a Future Friendship With Captain Sandy Yawn

Captain Lee Rosbach was a staple on Below Deck since the beginning of the series. His gruff approach and salty one-liners kept both crew and guests in line. Captain Lee didn’t take nonsense from anyone.

But over the last couple of years, viewers watched the “Stud of the Seas” deal with mobility issues following back surgery before Season 10. Despite every effort to continue his job on crutches, his nerve condition worsened.

He was ultimately forced to step away from his job to seek further medical treatment and to heal. Captain Sandy Yawn from Below Deck Mediterranean was brought on board to take over during his absence. That’s when their working relationship, as well as their friendship, sprung a leak.

Captain Lee Rosbach and Captain Sandy Yawn’s friendship sinks

The problem started when Captain Lee got his feelings hurt because Sandy fired “one of his crew” while she was filling in on the St. David superyacht. Incidentally, while she was captain on that boat, it was her crew.

Rather than speaking privately to Sandy, he publicly criticized her for not informing him ahead of time when stew Camille Lamb was dismissed.

Sandy’s response was a cryptic social media post saying that Lee had “never supported” her. She added that he was “a man in a man’s world who doesn’t like a woman being a captain.” The final straw was Sandy leaving Captain Lee off the guest list when she married her longtime partner Leah Shafer in May.

Can their friendship ever be repaired? Sadly, that ship has sailed. In an interview with The Standard , Lee indicated there was no chance they would ever mend their relationship. “You’d probably [have] a better chance of seeing God twice in the next 30 seconds than that happening,” he joked.

Will Captain Lee Rosbach and Captain Sandy Yawn be friends again?

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Captain Sandy (@captainsandrayawn)

When he was questioned whether he thought they could ever navigate their way back to a friendship again, Lee was his usual blunt self.

“No, I don’t,” he admitted. “I did an interview, and they asked me, point blank, ‘Do you like Captain Sandy?’ And I said, ‘Well, you asked a question, so I’ll give you the honest answer: no. It’s that simple.’ … Let’s just say my wedding invitation got lost in the mail.”

Though his fans miss Captain Lee and hope he can return at some point, the man is 74 years old. He may be in great shape, but the demands of being a superyacht captain may be beyond him at this point. Plus, just my opinion, but I don’t like the way he continues going after Captain Sandy, nor do I think she deserves it. Would he treat a man that way? It’s very unprofessional to talk about a co-worker the way he does, especially publicly. I think Bravo’s probably done with him.

TELL US – DO YOU THINK LEE WENT OVERBOARD WITH HIS REACTION WHEN SANDY FIRED CAMILLE? DO YOU THINK HE’LL EVER RETURN AS A CAPTAIN?

The post Captain Lee Rosbach Doesn’t See a Future Friendship With Captain Sandy Yawn appeared first on Reality Tea .

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Captain Lee Rosbach recounts near-death experience on Below Deck involving crew member

Below Deck 's Captain Lee Rosbach shared a harrowing near-death experience from his time on the show.

During an exclusive chat with the Daily Star about his upcoming UK tour, An Evening With Captain Lee: Nightcap, he recounted one particularly terrifying incident.

Discussing the most frightening moments he's encountered, Captain Lee said: "The scariest moment was when Ashton Pienaar] got pulled overboard by a line, a tow line and he almost died. So that was pretty scary."

Below Deck star announces 'absolutely surreal' new career opportunity Link

Below Deck Med's Ellie apologizes to Bri as she admits she was 'the villain' Link

He elaborated on the measures taken after the incident, emphasizing the importance of safety protocols: "Afterwards, I got everybody up into the sky lounge and we actually had the footage on our closed-circuit TV system, that most mega yachts have. I just wanted to impress upon everybody, like one of my pet peeves has always been radios. Carry your g-----n radio!"

Captain Lee explained the crucial role communication plays in emergencies: "Because it's the difference between somebody living and dying, or it could be, and so had somebody turned out to be Riley had she not had her radio and said 'Man overboard'. He would have been dead."

Reflecting on the potential aftermath and addressing the crew, he added: "Then how do I call up his parents and tell them that I'm responsible for killing their son? So, I got everybody up in the sky lounge to show everyone exactly where the mistake was made."

He detailed the fateful error and his mixed emotions towards the crew member involved: "Ashton had just finished telling the crew to never do this, and then he did it, and it wrapped around his leg and pulled him overboard. When I got him back to the boat I said 'I wasn't sure whether to hug or slap you, I feel like doing both.' That was the most graphic and scary thing that's ever happened."

The former Below Deck star has a treasure trove of tales to tell and is gearing up to share them on his upcoming tour.

The seasoned seafarer will be journeying across the UK to spend an evening with his dedicated fans.

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Discussing his tour, Lee expressed: "I'm really excited about that and I can't wait to get stuck in with the tour. It's just me and a microphone and two fingers of vodka and some ice and we'll go through some crazy stories, questions and answers and we will play some games. We have a lot of audience participation that's what makes it fun."

An Evening With Captain Lee: Nightcap will be touring nationally from October 8.

UK fans can nab tickets of their own at http://aegpresents.co.uk .

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20 Best Reality TV Shows Right Now

Welcome to plathville: micah plath’s secret girlfriend veronica peters’ reason for finally going public is heartbreaking, big brother 26: week 6 head of household (hoh) results (spoilers).

• Captain Lee was fired from Below Deck due to Bravo wanting to go in another direction.
• Lee is hosting a new true-crime series, Deadly Waters, after leaving Below Deck.
• Captain Lee has started his own podcast, Salty with Captain Lee, discussing Bravo gossip.

Captain Lee Rosbach was a mainstay on Below Deck , and it was shocking when he left; so what is the beloved captain up to now? The inaugural season of the Bravo series began in 2013 with Lee at the helm. During the first season, he was known as the no-nonsense captain and quickly gained a fanbase for his grumpy attitude. Even though Captain Lee didn't seem like he was always in the best mood, he was still a fan favorite in the franchise. Now that he's no longer the captain, there is a huge hole in the Below Deck franchise.

Through his time on Below Deck , Captain Lee was the one cast member viewers could count on. When he was replaced for a short time during seasons 9 and 10, it was strange to watch the series without him in charge. Despite Below Deck not being the same without Captain Lee, it was revealed in 2023 that Lee wouldn't be returning for Below Deck season 11 ; Captain Kerry Titheradge from Below Deck Adventure took over the role as captain. So far, the season's been great, but die-hard fans will always have a special place in their hearts for Captain Lee.

Reality TV is more popular than ever. With so many to choose from, here are some of the best reality TV shows to stream or watch right now.

Captain Lee Was Fired From Below Deck

Bravo wanted to go in another direction.

In an interview with Us Weekly from May 2023, Captain Lee opened up about getting fired from Below Deck and how he was shocked by his sudden departure. Lee said the firing came " out of left field ," not expecting to get the boot from the show so soon. Lee didn't get an exact reason behind the firing; the higher-ups simply told him they wanted to go in a different direction .

" That came right out of left field. I did not see that one coming at all ," Lee said to the publication at the time.

Lee went on to say that what the network told him is kind of a " cliche that everybody uses when they find themselves in that situation where they’re going to let somebody go ." The reality star did say that these types of firing clichés are getting a bit " tired " and "overused." Even though Captain Lee was let go from Below Deck , he would come back if they ever needed him back one day. Lee clearly loved doing the show, especially in the beginning, so he would be down to give his role as the captain on Below Deck another spin.

Captain Lee Is On A New TV Show

Lee is hosting a true-crime series.

Shortly after Captain Lee confirmed his departure from Below Deck , Deadline revealed that the Stud of The Sea would be joining a new TV series. After spending over 10 years on Below Deck , Captain Lee will now host the new true-crime series, Deadly Waters . The Oxygen series, which is a sister network to Bravo, follows murders that have taken place in the open waters and ocean. The show is currently in production with no exact release date; however, X user @BelowDeckSailng revealed that the series will likely premiere sometime in late 2024.

Captain Lee Has He's Own Podcast

Lee talks about bravo on new podcast.

Now that Captain Lee no longer has his Bravo paycheck, he's been searching down other avenues to make some money. Besides his new hosting duties on a true-crime series, Captain Lee also started his own podcast called Salty with Captain Lee . The podcast is part of the PodcastOne Network which is also home to other big-name podcasts such as Off The Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe , Ladygang , and more. Captain Lee's podcast centers around Bravo gossip and other pop culture news. In a recent episode, Captain Lee even spoke about the shocking separation between Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright, alums of Vanderpump Rules .

Will Captain Lee Ever Return To Below Deck?

Lee would return but likely won't.

If given the chance, Captain Lee would definitely return to Below Deck . In the Us Weekly piece mentioned earlier, Lee did say he would return if the network ever wanted him back on the show. He was a beloved character in the series, so of course, Lee would want to return for the fans.

However, now that Below Deck season 11 has aired , and viewers seem to be enjoying Captain Kerry at the helm, it remains to be seen if Lee will ever be asked back. Besides, Captain Lee has suffered through some serious medical issues in the last two seasons he was on, so it may not be safe for him to return . As much as he's missed, Captain Lee shouldn't return to Below Deck .

Below Deck airs Mondays at 8 p.m. EST on Bravo.

Sources: Us Weekly , Deadline , @BelowDeckSailng /X

Below Deck is a popular reality TV franchise that focuses on a group of crew members as they work on luxurious yachts and cater to their client's needs. After the original series proved to be a success, Bravo developed a handful of spinoff shows including Below Deck Selling Yacht, Below Deck Adventure, Below Deck Down Under, and Below Deck Mediterranean.

Captain Lee Rosbach Doesn’t See a Future Friendship With Captain Sandy Yawn

Captain Lee Rosbach was a staple on Below Deck since the beginning of the series. His gruff approach and salty one-liners kept both crew and guests in line. Captain Lee didn’t take nonsense from anyone.

But over the last couple of years, viewers watched the “Stud of the Seas” deal with mobility issues following back surgery before Season 10. Despite every effort to continue his job on crutches, his nerve condition worsened.

He was ultimately forced to step away from his job to seek further medical treatment and to heal. Captain Sandy Yawn from Below Deck Mediterranean was brought on board to take over during his absence. That’s when their working relationship, as well as their friendship, sprung a leak.

Captain Lee Rosbach and Captain Sandy Yawn’s friendship sinks

The problem started when Captain Lee got his feelings hurt because Sandy fired “one of his crew” while she was filling in on the St. David superyacht. Incidentally, while she was captain on that boat, it was her crew.

Rather than speaking privately to Sandy, he publicly criticized her for not informing him ahead of time when stew Camille Lamb was dismissed.

Sandy’s response was a cryptic social media post saying that Lee had “never supported” her. She added that he was “a man in a man’s world who doesn’t like a woman being a captain.” The final straw was Sandy leaving Captain Lee off the guest list when she married her longtime partner Leah Shafer in May.

Can their friendship ever be repaired? Sadly, that ship has sailed. In an interview with The Standard , Lee indicated there was no chance they would ever mend their relationship. “You’d probably [have] a better chance of seeing God twice in the next 30 seconds than that happening,” he joked.

Will Captain Lee Rosbach and Captain Sandy Yawn be friends again?

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Captain Sandy (@captainsandrayawn)

When he was questioned whether he thought they could ever navigate their way back to a friendship again, Lee was his usual blunt self.

“No, I don’t,” he admitted. “I did an interview, and they asked me, point blank, ‘Do you like Captain Sandy?’ And I said, ‘Well, you asked a question, so I’ll give you the honest answer: no. It’s that simple.’ … Let’s just say my wedding invitation got lost in the mail.”

Though his fans miss Captain Lee and hope he can return at some point, the man is 74 years old. He may be in great shape, but the demands of being a superyacht captain may be beyond him at this point. Plus, just my opinion, but I don’t like the way he continues going after Captain Sandy, nor do I think she deserves it. Would he treat a man that way? It’s very unprofessional to talk about a co-worker the way he does, especially publicly. I think Bravo’s probably done with him.

TELL US – DO YOU THINK LEE WENT OVERBOARD WITH HIS REACTION WHEN SANDY FIRED CAMILLE? DO YOU THINK HE’LL EVER RETURN AS A CAPTAIN?

Just a California girl with an English Lit degree who watches way too much reality television and likes to talk about it. Favorite shows: Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, New Jersey, New York, Orange County, Salt Lake City; Vanderpump Rules; all Below Decks; Summer House; Bachelor in Paradise. Reality Tea News/Recap Writer since 2022.

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Captain of doomed yacht that capsized off italian coast speaks out as desperate search for survivors is carried out.

The captain of the doomed Bayesian superyacht that capsized off the coast of Italy on Monday said the crew and passengers had no idea a tornado was about to rage through the region until their ship sank.

Captain James Catfield, who piloted the 184-foot, British-flagged luxury yacht, was among the 15 crew members and passengers to survive after the tornado struck Monday before sunrise.

“We didn’t see it coming,” Catfield told Italian newspaper La Repubblica from the hospital, where he was limping due to an injury.

One person, believed to be the on-ship chef, died in the wreck and six people remain missing, including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and top New York City lawyer Christopher Morvillo .

Morvillo’s wife, Neda, a jewelry designer, is also one of the six passengers still missing, officials said. 

In addition to the Morvillos and Lynch, the missing include Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, as well as Jonathan Bloomer, a chairman at Morgan Stanley Internationa l, and Bloomer’s wife, Judy.

What to know after a tornado sank the yacht Bayesian off the coast of Sicily:

• A superyacht capsized off the coast of Sicily after a tornado hit the area early Monday, killing seven passengers.
• British tech tycoon Mike Lynch was identified as one of the bodies pulled from the wreckage. His teenage daughter, Hannah, was the final one to be recovered.
• Lynch — known as “Britain’s Bill Gates” — had invited guests from Clifford Chance, a legal firm that represented him, and Invoke Capital, his own company, on the voyage,  according to the Telegraph . 
• Security camera footage shot from 650 feet from where the  Bayesian sank Monday  shows it disappearing.
• A rare and unexpected “black swan” weather event may have led to the  Bayesian’s speedy demise , maritime experts say.

Morvillo, 59, helped Lynch, the owner of the capsized luxury boat, win his fraud trial earlier this year.

Lynch had invited guests from the legal firm that represented him, Clifford Chance, and Invoke Capital, his own company, on the voyage, according to the Telegraph . 

The boat left the Sicilian port of Milazzo on Aug. 14 and was last tracked east of Palermo on Sunday evening, according to vessel tracking app Vesselfinder.

Police divers continued their search for the missing passengers Tuesday, focusing on an area some 164 feet underwater, where officials believe people may be trapped.

The search thus far has been slow because the Bayesian sits 50 meters below the surface, where divers can only stay for 12 minutes at a time, fire rescue officials said Tuesday.

Fire officials have said the six people unaccounted for will be referred to as “missing” until they are located in the wreckage. 

With Post wires

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What’s Going On With ‘Below Deck Down Under’s Captain Jason Chambers After Season 2?

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The Big Picture

• Captain Jason fired crew members for making unwanted advances, received praise for swift action.
• Captains are known for working with nonprofits and speaking engagements during off-season.
• Season 3 of Below Deck Down Under is being filmed in Seychelles with new transformations.

After a particularly grueling and dark Below Deck Down Under Season 2 , many are curious about what's going on with reality TV star Captain Jason Chambers. Last season, the series took on a tragic and uncomfortable storyline revolving around non-consensual physical contact. Halfway through Season 2, two crew members, bosun Luke Jones and Laura Bileskalne, were caught on camera making unwanted advances toward other crew members. Both instances required outside intervention and led to Captain Jason firing them. In the end, the team received praise for their swift action and the season continued to be an amazing addition to the Below Deck franchise. After the dark turn of events, New Zealander Luka Brunton took over Luke's spot and Jamie Neale took Laura's position.

The rest of the season would follow suit with Below Deck history, and be filled with hookups, arguments, and endless drama to keep viewers satisfied. However, between the response from the storyline and the long wait from Season 2, the possibility of a Season 3 return seemed miniscule. The longer the wait, the more silent the crew became and the harder to believe the series would return. The more extended break between seasons is causing a shift to focus on the crew and what they've been up to. Luckily though, since the season has ended, the popular Captain has stayed occupied while he waits to board the next superyacht. Along with some influential charity work, the Captain has been super busy, and here's what he's been up to.

Follows the crew of a multi million dollar charter boat in the Caribbean.

Jason Chambers Was Working With a Nonprofit

When captains are not at sea, many are known for making public appearances and even volunteering their time. For example, Captain Sandy Yawn is a renowned public speaker who hopes to provide inspiring and courteous offerings of advice. In many of her speeches, she stresses the importance of not taking no for an answer, breaking barriers, and being a woman in a male-dominated industry. It seems that Captain Jason may have similar goals. With the series on hiatus, Captain Jason has kept himself engaged and dedicated as a public servant . One way he has kept occupied during the off-season was through volunteering efforts and working on nonprofit projects, specifically in Indonesia. Recently on Instagram , Captain Jason shared his collaboration efforts with Classroom of Hope , a charity for children's education. The stalwart Captain raised over $80,000, which was enough money to build two new schools in Indonesia.

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In the videos, he can be seen interacting with the children, helping build the schools, and showcasing his pride in philanthropy. Between his efforts and collaboration with Classroom of Hope , Captain Jason made education more accessible for hundreds of young children. While helping third-world countries improve their education is important to the captain, that doesn't seem to be his only mission in Indonesia. His social media posts also highlight his time on conservation and safaris, while also expressing his "weekend mode" as he enjoyed off-charter water adventures. His Instagram also showcased him "rediscovering his heart" by engaging in a Balinese cleansing ritual by a Hindu priest. Ultimately, Captain Jason has become a major role model in the sea and philanthropy world. He's an inspiration to many people as he continues forth with his efforts to improve land and sea.

Captain Jason Hung Out With Scheana Shay From Vanderpump Rules

While being a captain and looking after a crew is a serious and demanding occupation, Jason isn't only about business . He certainly knows how to have fun and enjoy life. The captain showed off his charming personality in the franchise through his witty banter and friendly connection with Aesha Scott . He also showed how much fun he could have through something as small and silly as jumping in the water randomly. However, the Captain also knows how to switch it up and have fun off the superyacht as well. During the break from Season 2, Captain Jason was spotted at Universal Studios.

‘Below Deck Sailing Yacht' Season 1 Almost Sank the Series

The first season of 'BDSY' traveled some rough seas.

He wasn't alone though, because alongside him was Vanderpump Rules star and fellow Bravo TV co-star Scheana Shay . Scheana was there with her husband, New Zealander Brock Davies . Having a fellow Australian native was sure to make Jason more comfortable throughout their outing. At Universal, Captain Jason's kids and Scheana's daughter hung together, while she and her husband showed the Captain an amazing time. The post on Instagram is a highlight reel of their gathering, sandwiched between the Captain's adventures in Indonesia. While his time at Universal isn't highlighted on Instagram as much as the rest of his activities, it shows the Captain loves to play just as hard as he works.

Captain Jason Is Most Likely Preparing for Season 3

Aside from hanging out with fellow reality TV stars and volunteering his time, there's one particular Below Deck activity fans would likely be excited for: the return of season 3. While the Captain himself is tightlipped about the upcoming Below Deck Down Under Season 3, Noah Samton , the Senior VP of unscripted current production at NBCUniversal, announced the third season was currently filming. He also teased that Season 3 had a few new transformations underway that were sure to keep fans entertained. Noah's comment could be in reference to the new filming location, which is suspected to be in La Digue, Seychelles. According to the Below Deck subreddit , there have been various sightings of a film crew for an “unnamed boat show.” However, the crew sighted was claimed to have Below Deck franchise apparel.

Additionally, there have been various sightings of possible charter guests . For example, hairdresser Jessica Weldon was found on Instagram with photos tagged with the Seychelles location and a handful of posts on a yacht with a film crew. After a deep dive, her friend's list revealed she followed some of the Below Deck stars, and they followed her back. The same could be said for the founder of Luna Media Group, Nikita Sachdev's Instagram , along with her traveling companions. Along with the confirmation of Season 3 and the rumored sightings of charter guests, various Below Deck stars, such as Harry van Vliet and Chef Tzarina Mace-Ralph, were also believed to be involved with the filming of the new season. So while the Captain may not be giving much away, it might be safe to say that he's been behind the scenes filming for the show as well.

Overall, Season 2 ended almost a year ago. While normally the next season wouldn't take so long to air, that hasn't stopped the captain from being an involved and contributing member of society. It's obvious the Captain cares much about the environment too . In the last year, he's focused his efforts on enjoying life and making the world a better place. However, aside from volunteering his time in Indonesia, he was recently at the Bali Turtle Conservation farm in Balian, West Bali. The conservation was where he released baby Olive Ridley turtles into the sea. He has also been working on creating healthier products like sunscreen to help improve human skin while also boosting the marine ecosystem. In the end, Captain Jason has proven to be a valuable member of society and the Below Deck franchise and his return is highly awaited.

Below Deck Down Under is available to stream on Peacock in the U.S.

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