Not here for it. After the Below Deck Mediterranean season 7 trailer showed second stew Kyle Viljoen potentially kissing a guest, Captain Sandy Yawn shed light on why that behavior is considered taboo in the yachting world.
“Let’s not forget seasons back when that happened with another crew member. You just never want to cross that line. In the corporate world, it doesn’t happen,” Sandy, 57, exclusively told Us Weekly on Wednesday, July 6, referring to Hannah Ferrier and Bobby Giancola‘s brief connections with separate charter guests in season 2.
According to the captain, the restrictions exist while the crew members are working for the guests. “What they do once they are off the vessel in their personal lives is their personal decision. So, if they want to hook up with clients after they’re signed off the vessel, go for it,” she added. “I’m all about love. I found love. I want everybody to have love, but you can’t do it in a professional setting.”
During season 7, viewers were introduced to all new department heads, including Natasha Webb as the chief stew, David White as the chef and Raygan Tyler as the bosun. The shakeup comes after Malia White previously returned as head of exterior for seasons 5 and 6.
In response to Raygan’s more hands-off approach in the premiere, Sandy pointed out that she wasn’t initially aware of the bosun’s tendency to take too many breaks.
“I didn’t have two crew members [Mzi “Zee” Dempers and Storm Smith], so of course I’m going to pay more attention as I’m learning the boat. At the same time, I didn’t know about Raygan smoking while Jason [Gaskell] was working,” she explained. “I kind of felt like first impressions for me are, ‘Hey, they get to have free reign. Let’s see what they can do.’ Like, I am not going to stand over them, but I wouldn’t sit on the bridge knowing that they’re down crew members and not bail them out.”
The Bravo personality added: “Sometimes you got to be in and get your hands dirty. That’s why I want [my team] to feel supported because I have a high expectation.”
For Sandy, there were plenty of challenges that came with the new season in the Mediterranean. “I go in with an attitude of, ‘It is new. We’re going to have a big learning curve,’” she told Us. “I had to learn that the boat stabilizers shut down often and it happens. So for me, [my focus] was [to] learn the boat, trust the crew, and then figure out weather patterns and Malta.”
The reality star also opened up about the ups and downs of bringing so many newcomers on board.
“I love giving people new opportunities. So yes, of course, when you’re under stress, things aren’t really going your way because the crew maybe don’t have the experience they say they do,” she said. “I would rather have past crew that have experience that have worked with me in a perfect setting. However, that would be [selfish] on my part because I’m not giving other people opportunities. Someone gave me an opportunity, so I like to mix the new with the old. A nice balance.”
Season 7 of Below Deck Mediterranean returns to Bravo with a supersized premiere on Monday, July 11, at 8 p.m. ET. New episodes will drop one week early on Peacock beginning Monday, July 4.
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
