‘Below Deck Med’: Captain Sandy Says She Handles Drug Possession Differently for Guests Versus Crew
Viewers know Captain Sandy Yawn from Below Deck Mediterranean addresses an issue with drugs being brought on the boat this season. But viewers are yet to learn if it is a guest or a crew member with drugs. Yawn says she handles each situation completely differently.
Cameras capture Yawn saying, “It’s been brought to my attention that you have drugs on board.” The teaser dropped immediately following the suspicion of drugs on board Parsifal III on Below Deck Sailing Yacht. Two crew members suspect that a guest is doing illegal drugs during the charter and alert Captain Glenn Shephard. He addresses the primary, searches the guest’s cabin but no drugs are found.
Illegal drugs on the series have only been featured a few times. Both times guests either brought the drugs on board or were suspected of possessing them. However, it is still unclear if it is a guest or a crew member under suspicion this time. And Yawn isn’t spilling the tea. But she did reveal that she handles drug possession with the guest entirely differently than how she approaches it with a crew member.
Crew members are immediately fired if they have drugs on board
Yawn told Reality Check that crew members are immediately dismissed if they bring drugs on board.
“If it’s the crew, it’s immediate dismissal,” she says. “Period. It’s zero tolerance. It’s very different. We’re responsible for lives. And that’s really the difference.” Yawn adds that she loves the trailer and the viewers will find out who brought the drugs.
Although she didn’t comment on drinking, the crew is also forbidden from drinking alcohol on charter also for safety reasons. “We absolutely do have an alcohol policy,” a yacht captain told Dockwalk. “In your free time, you may do what you like. But if we have guests on, there is absolutely no drinking, even if it’s for weeks at a time. If a crewmember has even one beer while we’re underway, [he or she] will be fired. That’s just a matter of safety.”
Yawn gives the guests a chance to remove the drugs (and continue their charter)
Yawn told Showbiz Cheat Sheet she starts with the primary if a guest is suspected with drugs. “Just go to the primary,” Yawn said. “I don’t address the person with the drugs unless it is the primary. I just pull them aside and let them know the ultimate goal is for you to enjoy your friends and enjoy the charter. I’m not here to be a joy kill.”
So then I’ll just say, ‘Can you please go talk to your friends and take the drugs off the boat?’ That’s how I talk to them and they’re usually really cool about it,” Yawn explains.
She adds, “I would never go through the client’s stuff. Taking someone’s personal stuff? You can’t go through someone’s stuff. How you handle it is really the difference. It’s how you address it.”
Below Deck Mediterranean is on Monday at 9/8c on Bravo.
