‘Below Deck Med’ Star Captain Sandy Yawn Was Thrilled Joe Bradley Answered Her S.O.S Text: “He Was The Perfect Fit”

Below Deck Mediterranean‘s Captain Sandy Yawn is the steady presence you want at sea. With 37 years in the yachting industry, Yawn has seen just about everything, but the young crew of the Bravado still manages to surprise her. For the first time in her career, Yawn had to fire two of her deck team in one day—Christian Trimino and Tessa Budd. “You want people who can actually execute and do the job,” said Yawn. Yawn supported her first-time Bosun Nathan Gallagher after he made the tough decision that it would be best for the boat if both crew members were let go. “It was important for me to help Nathan learn to lean on his team for support,” said Yawn, which was impossible due to Trimino’s and Budd’s inexperience. “Teamwork makes the dream work.”

Yawn quickly reached out to several of her favorite yachties to get Gallagher suitable replacements on deck. Below Deck franchise alums João Franco and Luka Brunton were unavailable, but last season standout Joe Bradley answered the call. In addition to being Gallagher’s close friend, Bradley has been improving his deck skills. “Joe continued to work in the industry after the last charter season we did together,” said Yawn. “He can tie bowlines, and he’s very quick at it.” While everything looks rosy now that Gallagher and Bradley are back together, Yawn alluded to potential rough waters ahead for the dynamic duo. “You never know what distance does to people,” teased Yawn.

Yawn is also looking forward to the upcoming Below Deck Down Under/ Real Housewives of Salt Lake City crossover episode, which is a big first for Bravo. “I’m a little jealous that I didn’t get the crossover,” admitted Yawn with a smile. However, she has no doubt that Captain Jason Chambers will be able to handle the women. “Captain Jason is going to do just fine. He’s a great captain, so his priority is the safety of the crew and the guests,” opined Yawn. She’s also excited to see how Chambers and Chief Stew Daisy Kelliher (formerly of Below Deck Sailing Yacht) are going to work together. “I predict she’s going to be epic,” said Yawn.

Yawn stopped by the Decider studio to chat about the season, reveal the names of the crew members who have surprised her the most so far, and share what series alum Malia White has been up to since we’ve last seen her on our screens.

DECIDER: You have been in the yachting industry for 37 years. What improvement in recent years has been the most overdue?

CAPTAIN SANDY YAWN: There’s no doubt that the Below Deck franchise opened the doors for more women in yachting which was long overdue. Women can now seize many opportunities in the industry. They can be captains or engineers or yacht brokers or whatever other jobsthey want to tackle. Bravo did that, and I’m proud to be a small part of it.

For Season 10, you’re captaining the Bravado, which is a great name for a yacht. How did she handle? What was the main thing you had to adjust to?

It was built by Abeking & Rasmussen, and it’s an incredibly well-built vessel. It handled well until it didn’t. I think you might see that moment on television. Or maybe not. Great boat, great layout.

By now, you and Aesha Scott are a dream team. What have been your favorite parts of working with her during all these years?

I never have to worry about interior. She makes me laugh constantly. The woman you see on TV is exactly who she is in person. She’s so kind and very funny. We have bridge chats. We have cabin chats. She comes and hangs out, and we catch up and I get to hear the gossip. It’s really fun, but as a captain, I have that line and she respects that.

Aesha credits you with giving her now-fiancé Scott the motivation to propose after watching your beautiful proposal to your now-wife Leah in Season 9. How does that make you feel?

Amazing because Aesha was there for part of my proposal. She helped to make it really incredible. The fact that I was the catalyst for Scott’s actually popping the question to Aesha makes me feel really good.

I recently spoke to Kizzi and she said you are the first female captain she’s ever worked with. Do you find that’s the case with many of these greener yachties?

I believe that, even though there are many more female captains out there now. That’s sad that I’m her first, but I’m glad I’m her first.

I love how patient you’ve been with Nathan as a first-time bosun. What’s the most important thing to remember as you are mentoring someone?

Nathan is excellent on deck. He knows exactly what he’s doing. As far as organization…he’d never been a bosun before. How are you going to learn the role if you’re not put in it? It was important for me to help Nathan learn to be organized and lean on his team for support. Deferring to your team at times does not make you less of a leader. Teamwork makes the dream work. Nathan’s going to figure that out this season.

In last night’s episode, you ask Nathan to decide who needs to leave his team, and to your surprise, he picked both Christian and Tessa. Was that a rare occurrence for you?

I don’t think I’ve ever fired two people in one day. I’ve been watching the show, and I just don’t understand why Tessa, who actually had all this experience, was just standing around. Self-motivation is part of the job. You can’t just wait for your leader to say, “do this next, do this after.” You want people who can execute and do the job. Watching someone drift out to sea saying, “oh wow, what should we do?” That’s kind of scary.

You said something that really stood out to me when counseling Nathan: “Not everything feels good when you’re in leadership.” When did you learn that lesson yourself?

Many years ago. It never feels good to fire anyone. It never feels good to have a disagreement with one of your team members. You want to be Kumbaya all the time, but that’s not possible.

In their confessionals, Christian took his firing with grace while Tessa said some unkind things about both you and Nathan. Did either of their reactions surprised you?

Tessa’s reaction did not. Christian’s reaction did. Until I watched the show, I had no idea about the animosity between him and Max. So, I thought maybe he would posture, but he didn’t. He was really graceful about the whole thing. It was interesting to witness. Tessa was quite the opposite.

You sent out the distress text to multiple deckhands to fill the positions, and Joe Bradley answered the call. Can you tell me who else you asked or would you prefer to keep that a mystery?

João and Luka. I was really glad Joe ended up being available! He has a great working relationship with two of the current crew members—Nathan and Aesha. So, he was the perfect fit. How has he improved on deck since the last time you worked with him? It was like night and day because Joe continued to work in the industry after the last charter season we did together. He can tie bowlines, and he’s very quick at it.

Having Joe on the deck team might cause a new wrinkle for Nathan, given their close bond and goofy friendship. What can you tease about their dynamic going forward?

You never know what distance does to people. Does it keep them together? Or do they travel in different directions? I don’t know. I think it’ll be interesting to watch that.

I know you don’t see a lot of the crew shenanigans during the charter season, but has anyone taken you by surprise so far as you’ve watched the show?

Kizzi! [Laughs] I just had no idea. I’m just going to keep saying that. I think Nathan works hard; Aesha does her job. I love that V wanted to be on deck, and Kizzi supported her in that career aspiration. Kizzi is the one who is really blowing my mind right now.

This week, the Below Deck franchise will air its first official Real Housewives crossover with Salt Lake City and Down Under. How do you think Captain Jason Chambers is going to fare with the ladies?

First of all, I’m a little jealous that I didn’t get the crossover [laughs]. I’m just saying. However, I think Captain Jason is going to do just fine. He’s a great captain, so his priority is the safety of the crew and the guests.

Daisy Kelliher from Below Deck Sailing Yacht is going to be Captain Jason’s Chief Stew this season. How do you think they’ll work together?

Daisy’s great. I think she’ll do really well. She has experience on boats like this, but this yacht will be a new environment for audiences to see her in. She won’t be dealing with the vessel heeling and stuff shifting around or anything like that. I predict she’s going to be epic.

Have you kept in touch with Malia White? I saw that the vessel she works on—the Savannah—was the yacht that was used in the Netflix movie, The Woman In Cabin 10!

We just saw her at the boat show, and she did not mention that. When I found out on social media, I was like, “she kept her word.” Because if you sign an NDA, you do not tell people what you just filmed. We’re pretty close, and she didn’t breathe a word to me. It’s just another reason why I have such mad respect for Malia.

How is her career progressing?

Malia’s a Captain now. She’s just needing the opportunity to drive someone’s boat, and that takes a while. I have full faith that she will get that chance to prove herself.

Me too. Lastly, what can you tease about the rest of the season?

Just stay tuned. Barcelona and Bravado and the crew of Bravado have a lot to offer.

Below Deck Mediterranean airs Monday nights at 8PM on Bravo