Captain Sandy Yawn is reflecting on Below Deck Med ahead of the Season 9 finale.
The captain doesn’t see everything happening with the crew until she watches it play out on Bravo.
Season 9 of Below Deck Med has undoubtedly had its fair share of drama, mostly because of Joe Bradley, Elena “Ellie” Dubacih, Bri Muller, Chef Johnathan “Jono” Shillingford, and Bosun Iain Maclean.
Captain Sandy took time to address some of this week’s mistakes and drama, including why she didn’t fire anyone.
Below Deck Med fans know that Iain, Jono, Ellie, and Bri were all on the chopping block at one point.
However, no one was fired on Below Deck Med Season 9, and as the captain pointed out, there wasn’t a replacement crew available.
Below Deck Med’s Captain Sandy Yawn reflects on Chef Johnathan ‘Jono’ Shillingford and Bosun Iain Maclean
Speaking with Us Weekly, the captain admitted that whenever she thought about firing the chef, he would bounce back and kill it. Captain Sandy never wanted to give up on Jono until he made a couple of mistakes she shouldn’t ignore.
“Now, looking back, if there was a chef available, the cookie was very disturbing. The fish also could have killed a person. Those things matter. If there was a chef available after the fish thing, I would’ve let him go. That’s a big no-no,” she expressed.
Captain Sandy struggled a lot with Iain not being the bosun she needed. However, we never saw her threaten to fire him or even look for a replacement.
In the end, Captain Sandy admitted that Iain improved a lot throughout Below Deck Med Season 9.
“Toward the end, he finally got it. Usually [with] people, I can figure them out. With him, I just could not figure it out. He tried and he worked hard and we made it through,” Captain Sandy gushed.
What did Captain Sandy Yawn think of Joe Bradley’s love triangle drama on Below Deck Med?
Another hot topic this season was the crew boatmance drama between Joe, Ellie, and Bri. The deckhand didn’t hold back on his womanizing ways but did try to make it clear that he was only out to have fun.
Joe caused many problems between Bri and Ellie, spilling over into their working relationship. When Carrie O’Neill joined the team, Joe also set his sights on her, adding more tension to the interior team.
Captain Sandy weighed in on the situation, sharing that Joe was honest with all the women, even though social media doesn’t see it that way. Even though the captain thinks Joe is honest, she doesn’t feel he has respect for Ellie or Bri.
“You have to think about people’s feelings. Even though you’re upfront with people and it’s just for fun, you still have a responsibility in the way you treat others. You have to have that respect. I don’t feel like Joe really had that,” the captain shared with Us Weekly.
It’s always interesting for Captain Sandy to watch back a season of Below Deck Med to see what she missed.
One thing she’s looking forward to seeing play out is her proposal to her now-wife, Leah Shaffer, which goes down in the finale.
Captain Sandy Yawn and Below Deck Med are ending, but as Monsters and Critics previously reported, Below Deck Sailing Yacht is back to give fans their Below Deck fix.
Below Deck Med airs Mondays at 9/8c on Bravo. Seasons 1-9 are streaming on Peacock.