Below Deck star Rhylee Gerber has praised Captain Sandy Yawn and admitted that she wanted to work with her on Below Deck Mediterranean.
It turns out that when Rhylee first applied to be on the yachting show, she was hoping to be assigned to Captain Sandy on Below Deck Med. Rhylee appeared on Season 6 and 7 of Below Deck, working with Captain Lee Rosbach.
The deckhand recently spoke out regarding how she thinks her experience on the Bravo show would have been different if she was paired with Captain Sandy.
Requesting to work on Captain Sandy
On the Behind the Velvet Rope with David Yontef podcast, Rhylee got candid regarding her desire to be on Captain Sandy’s team.
The two women know each other from Jacksonville, Florida. Captain Sandy even told Rhylee to request to be on Below Deck Mediterranean, so the deckhand thought she had a good chance at working with the captain.
Rhylee has now spilled about why she hoped to work with Captain Sandy.
“I feel like I would’ve gotten into a boson position with Captain Sandy,” Rhylee explained. “And I could also have learned quite a bit more as to the workings of a yacht, because even now, and I’ve said this to fans that are, you know, as supportive me or, or not, you know, there’s still a lot I need to know about working on deck with that kind of boat.”
Rhylee also dished that fans are quick to judge based on what plays out on reality television, referring to herself and Captain Sandy. Viewers have certainly expressed their opinion of both ladies over the years.
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If you aren’t born with a gift, then by God, you better get good at something. ? #thelifeofrhylee
Dealing with sexism in the yachting world
Besides learning a lot from Captain Sandy, Rhylee also wanted to work with her because the captain understands that sexism is real in the yachting world.
Captain Sandy and Rhylee have both suffered from working with sexist men during their careers. Viewers saw first-hand how sexism affected Rhylee on the show in both of her seasons.
She endured Tyler Rowland in Season 6 and Ashton Pienaar during Season 7. The latter season was full of toxic male behavior, with Rhylee continuously having to stand up for herself.
It is a little ironic that Rhylee brought up sexism considering Season 5 of Below Deck Med didn’t showcase the women in leadership roles in a very good light. Captain Sandy and bosun Malia White have been under fire for their mean-girl actions on the show.
Although Rhylee Gerber wishes she could have worked with Captain Sandy Yawn on Below Deck Med, she did reveal her friendship with Captain Lee has grown over the years. They have had their issues, but Rhylee is grateful for the chance to work with him.
Below Deck airs Mondays at 9/8c on Bravo.