Captain Lee From ‘Below Deck’ Says He’s Looking for a New Chief Stew Like Kate Chastain

Captain Lee Rosbach from Below Deck recently shared that finding a new chief stew to take Kate Chastain’s place isn’t an easy feat.

Chastain resigned from her role as chief stew on the aquatic docuseries after six seasons on the show. She dropped hints toward the end of season seven, especially after she saw the first yacht she worked on while filming her final season in Thailand. Although she seemed ready to move on, news that she was leaving the show took Rosbach by surprise.

“That was out of left field. I did not see that coming at all. I was totally blown away,” Rosbach told Hollywood Life. “Kate called me and it was a bittersweet thing. She let me know that she wasn’t going to come back, but she thought it was time to move on. She’s got bigger and better things to do and I was happy for her. But, I was sad in the same breath because she’s a valued member of my team and she’s a valued member of Below Deck and the show, so, big shoes to fill for somebody, or try to do it, yeah. I miss Kate.” 

There’s no ‘replacing’ Kate Chastain

Rosbach continued by saying finding someone to fill her shoes won’t be easy. Below Deck season eight was in the middle of filming in the Caribbean. But production was cut short due to the pandemic.

So clearly, Rosbach worked with a new chief stew, who has yet to be revealed. However, it appears that Rosbach may still be looking for that perfect match. “I’m looking for somebody that has that work ethic [like Kate’s], that has the proper attitude towards sub-ordinance. Someone who isn’t on a power trip,” he remarked during his interview.

Adding that he would want someone who is “Quick-witted, can think on their feet and [someone] that I don’t have to babysit. Here’s your job, here’s your tools, now go get your job done. If you keep coming to me for every little thing. And if I have to do my job and your job then I obviously don’t need you, so I’m looking for somebody who can stand on their own and function well.” Rosbach said although a number of stews have shown leadership, Chastain didn’t offer any suggestions on her replacement.

But they didn’t hit it off right away either

Although Rosbach is missing his right-hand woman, he added during the interview that he and Chastain didn’t hit it off during her first season on the show. Chastain was Rosbach’s second chief stew. Adrienne Gang held the role during season one but Chastain moved in the following season.

“Kate and I didn’t hit it off on season two. We didn’t hit it off at all,” he said. “We had some rough spots, but you have to give it a chance to mature and grow, and the rest is history.”

One reason he and Chastain didn’t see eye to eye stemmed from the infamous “rocketship” blanket fold incident. Repeat guest Dean Slover remarked about Chastain’s stern demeanor so she passive-aggressively created a blanket fold on his bed in a phallic shape. He told Rosbach about it and Chastain denied she purposefully created the shape to resemble a penis. Rather she was sculpting a rocketship.

Rosbach recalled the season during the season seven reunion when asked if he’d ever been angry with Chastain. “Oh hell yes,” he said during the second part of the reunion. “I mean there’s a lot that Kate and I have discussed. There’s a time when she lied to me about the penis blanket.”