Captain Sandy Yawn is addressing the ramifications of bosun Nathan Gallagher damaging the boat in the season 10 premiere of Below Deck Mediterranean.
During the Monday, September 29, episode of the hit Bravo series, Nathan joined the Bravado crew after dealing with food poisoning. As a result, he felt behind while adjusting to running the deck team made up of Max Salvador, Christian Trimino and Tessa Budd.
The end of the premiere showed Sandy helping Nathan secure the WaveRunners, where had to be lifted onto the boat and maneuvered into place.
“As a deckhand, I was in charge of doing one job and moving on to the next,” Nathan said in a confessional. “Don’t get me wrong, I was good at those jobs. But now as a bosun, I am in charge of all the jobs. This is overwhelming.”
Below Deck Mediterranean’s Biggest Drama Through the Years
Nathan’s attempt to move the water toys into place led to the WaveRunners crashing into the front of the boat. Sandy tried to step in, but the damage was done as the WaveRunners ran over — and broke — several parts of the vessel, in full view of the guests.
“It was all over the place for him in the beginning,” Sandy exclusively told Us Weekly. “In my experience, that has happened before. Crew have done that. They’re just not paying attention, and it was a mistake.”
The captain was confident that Nathan would “never” let that happen again.
“He’ll pay attention. But he has got to learn it’s a learning curve. I don’t care whatever role you’re in, it is all new. Nathan transforms into this child when he sits on a WaveRunner and he forgets about whatever else is going on around him,” Sandy noted before quipping, “That’s something he has to figure out on his own because I don’t know how to make that happen for him. In the meantime, I don’t want him to hit the boat anymore.”
Despite causing some visible damage, Sandy confirmed that Nathan didn’t have to pay for it, adding, “He wouldn’t have to. Not at all. Accidents happen. Nathan didn’t purposely run into the boat. Trust me, it was an accident.”
She continued: “I’ve had crew run the tenders into the ground — that’s expensive. Sometimes interior drops some glasses. But in my career, I haven’t seen a lot of damage.”
Season 10, which returned on Monday, reunited Captain Sandy with Nathan after they previously worked together one year prior. The show also brought back Aesha Scott and deckhand Max. The rest of the crew is made up of chef Josh Bingham, stews Kizzi Kitchener and Victoria SanJuan and deckhands Christian Trimino and Tessa Budd.
Former ‘Below Deck Mediterranean’ Stars: Where Are They Now?
“Consistency makes a better boat,” Sandy told Us about hoping to remain with some of the same crew season to season. “You’re not always training people and they’re not always finding their feet. But to be honest, every boat that we get every season is different. It’s rare we get the same boat every season.”
Sandy explained that there are always obstacles, sharing, “No matter if you return or not, you’re still going to have to figure out the boat because it’ll probably be a different one. Having consistency when we return is great because the trust factor for me is there — or the watch factor to make sure I keep an eye on them. Because sometimes they’re just not great at certain things but they’re great at others.”
She concluded: “Aesha is well-rounded. [With Nathan], I think unless you’re pushed into something, you’re never going to know if you’re a fit. I think pressure makes us better. I do apply the pressure and let’s see how well Nathan handles that pressure.”
Below Deck Med airs on Bravo Mondays at 8 p.m. ET. New episodes stream the next day on Peacock.
