Malia White From ‘Below Deck Med’ Asks Fans to Give Raygan Tyler a Chance – ‘Being a Bosun Is Tough Work!’
Many Below Deck Mediterranean fans dragged new bosun Raygan Tyler for being filmed taking endless smoke breaks and making deckhand Jason Gaskell do all the heavy lifting.
But former Below Deck Med bosun Malia White said fans should give Tyler a chance before passing judgment. White, who is currently on charter with Below Deck Med Season 6 chief stew Katie Flood answered a few questions about the new season. While she and Flood admitted they have yet to watch Below Deck Med Season 7, White hopes everyone will give Tyler some grace.
Malia White said being a bosun is tough work and to give Raygan a chance on ‘Below Deck Med’
White addressed a fan comment about Tyler’s work. “Being [a] bosun is tough work!” White wrote in her Instagram story. “Especially when in front of cameras! Let’s give her a chance! Hopefully, she pulls through for her team.”
Below Deck Med fans only got a taste of the dynamic on deck. Tyler left the dock with only Gaskell on board because deckhands Mzi “Zee” Dempers and Storm Smith were stuck in quarantine. Cameras captured Gaskell being pushed to near exhaustion, carrying heavy water toys, and flipping the boat before the first charter. Meanwhile, Tyler would steal away for a few minutes in her cabin. Or be filmed taking a smoke break. Captain Sandy Yawn was also seen pitching in to help get the boat ready.
Mzi Dempers admits he missed Malia White on ‘Below Deck Med’
Showbiz Cheat Sheet put Dempers in the tough position of having to compare Tyler to White. He hoped White would return. “Malia was definitely lead from the front or lead by example,” he said. “That’s definitely something that Malia had in her personality. But at the same time giving an opportunity for others to grow. Malia wanted to teach you all the time and she wants to see people grow and do well and excel in their careers.”
He carefully described Tyler as being a bosun who is still trying to find her footing on the boat. “I think for the beginning of whatever it is that we’re going through with Raygan, it’s just adjusting to not necessarily that high intensity in terms of having that hands-on, I’m going to do [all these tasks],” he said. “I think Raygan was still trying to find her feet in terms of how she wanted to be.”
Dempers also said it was hard for him to make a comparison between White and Tyler. “I think it’s a little bit harsh on my end to hold Raygan to that standard, without even knowing her,” he remarked.
“But I think from the get-go, I sort of had an idea of what a bosun should be or would be,” he admitted. “And just different styles of leadership from what I was used to. So I think a bit of an adjustment on my end to get used to Raygan’s style. Which may be a little bit wrong on my end. But sort of I know what I look for and it was just an adjustment I guess.”
Captain Sandy says the crew gets 3 strikes on ‘Below Deck Med’
Yawn said she was unaware of how many breaks Raygan Tyler took on Below Deck Med. But she was prepared to give her a chance to rise to the occasion.
“I’m the captain with a three-strike rule,” she told Tyler Morning Telegraph. “She was born somewhere and raised where they are used to smoking. I saw a lot of smoking when I watched that first episode. However, I’m going to give her an opportunity this season. I’m not just going to just bring the hammer down. I’m going to talk to her.”
Below Deck Mediterranean airs on Monday at 8 pm ET on Bravo.
