‘Below Deck’: Captain Lee Would Would Only Hire 2 Cast Members From ‘Below Deck Med’ Season 5

Captain Lee Rosbach from Below Deck keeps a pretty short list of cast members he’d consider working with and could only name two crew from Below Deck Mediterranean Season 5.

Rosbach said he’d work with chef Hindrigo “Kiko” Lorran and lead deckhand Alex Radcliffe when he appeared on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. Both crew members brought the least amount of drama and always had a good attitude at work.

Rosbach said he’d opt for a positive attitude in a chef over skill. “Oh God that is such a reoccurring thing on charter boats,” Rosbach said about chef Tom Checketts’ tantrum when provisions were not up to par. “That just happens. It’s a way of life. So you adapt and make it happen. The good ones, the great ones make it happen and they don’t take everyone else down along the way.”

“I’m not big into temper tantrums,” Rosbach continued. “I don’t deal with that well. So I’m more interested in somebody that can go with the flow and adapt and still get the job done. Just goes with the flow. There’s only so much you can do with what you have to work with.” 

Captain Lee will always choose Kate Chastain

Chief stew Kate Chastain retired after last season and Rosbach admits that finding a new chief stew who can replace her is nearly impossible. WWHL host Andy Cohen asked how the new chief stew, Francesca Rubi compared to Chastain.

 “Kate is always going to have a very, very sweet spot in my heart,” he replied. “Because we worked together for a long period of time. And she was my right hand.”

“There was nothing I couldn’t delegate to Kate that I could just pass it off and walk away from it knowing it was gonna get done,” he added. “And to try to compare the both of them, after just one season with Francesca is not being fair to Francesca.” Meanwhile, Rubi is seen in tears during the season 8 trailer. “There’s no crying in yachting,” Rosbach said in a confessional.

Captain Lee would hire these crew members too

Rosbach would also hire deckhand Colin Macy-O’Toole from Below Deck Med. Macy-O’Toole is another crew member who brought the laughter instead of the drama and took his job seriously.

Rosbach (and many fans) would love to see second stew Josiah Carter return too. “Along those lines, I’d probably have Josiah back,” Rosbach told a packed Stars Marketing Group crowd in December. “He’s a classically trained butler which means he’s probably overqualified, but he adapted really, really well.”

He also said he’d love to work with bosun Eddie Lucas again too. Fans didn’t realize at the time that Rosbach was gearing up to shoot season 8 with Lucas. Deckhands Baker Manning and Connie Arias also made Rosbach’s list during the event. “I liked Baker,” he said. “Baker was just a hard-working girl and she wore her feelings on her sleeve, which I didn’t mind one goddamn bit because I’m the same way.”