Staying neutral. Below Deck Adventure‘s Captain Kerry Titheradge broke down why he isn’t choosing sides in Captain Lee Rosbach and Captain Sandy Yawn‘s recent conflict.
“I have a personal rule [which is that] I don’t judge another captain’s decision. I don’t have an opinion on that. It wasn’t my deal,” the Bravo star exclusively told Us Weekly on Monday, January 30. “So, if I’m in a situation [where] I’m filling in for somebody and I make a decision — that’s for me to make and I don’t want anyone else to judge it.”
Kerry noted he wasn’t “siding with either of them” amid Lee, 73, and Sandy’s public feud, adding, “I’m saying I have no judgment because I just don’t.”
The Australia native also clarified that he didn’t want to involve himself in issues between other captains.
“I don’t like judging other captains period. I just don’t do that,” he shared with Us. ”It all depends on their conversation when they first met [in season 10]. That’s why when a drunken guest is jumping off a boat and a captain says, ‘Don’t jump off.’ That’s pretty cut and dry. There’s no ambiguity or any of that kind of stuff.”
The reality star concluded: “But when someone is relieving another person — it depends on the conversation. … I wasn’t there. At the end of the day, the captain who is on board has to make a decision for the safety of the vessel. And that safety isn’t always falling [or someone] hurting themselves. It’s mental health as well and how the crew is working together.”
Earlier this month, Lee made headlines when he called out Sandy, 57, for not keeping him informed about cast departures after temporarily filling in for him.
“So, I found out after the fact that she fired one of my crew, not before. Ok?” the OG Below Deck star tweeted after a new episode showed the Florida native calling him after Camille Lamb was let go. “Then why contact me after and tell me at all? Plenty of time to call me after, but not before. She made the right call. But lacked in procedure and respect. Just the way I roll.”
The Michigan native said he was unhappy to be kept out of the loop, adding, “Had I been replacing Capt Sandy on her boat temporarily and felt the necessity to fire one of her crew, I would have called her first to let her know what I was doing and why. I agree with her decision, just not how she went about it.”
Sandy, for her part, seemingly reacted to being called out by Lee when she shared a cryptic quote via social media, which read: “If someone treats you bad, just remember that there is something wrong with them, not you. Normal people don’t go around destroying other people.”
As tension builds up between the Below Deck captains, Kerry is focused on his spinoff show’s finale. Ahead of the season 1 conclusion, the newcomer opened up about what he learned from the experience.
“As a captain, you need to observe and you need to listen more than you talk. I genuinely care for my crew so if I see someone not handling something well and I see a situation that may arise, I’ll get involved,” he detailed. “But I can’t be their dad all the time. But I am there as a fatherly figure. If they need somebody to come and talk to or need to get off the boat. Or if just need to sit in the wheelhouse — be away from everyone else and not even talk to me — to have some peace. I’m there for you too.”
Below Deck Adventure‘s season finale airs Tuesday, January 31, on Bravo at 9 p.m. ET.
