Below Deck Mediterranean introduced our first look at a female yacht captain, Sandy Yawn. She was a leader in a predominantly male industry and provided an optimistic look towards putting a crack in the glass ceiling. When Season 5 announced a crew with women in the high-ranking positions, many viewers saw this as a potentially groundbreaking effort and a nod towards, for lack of a better term, female empowerment. Then filming began and it all went to shit.
What transpired was nothing less than an infantile display of public humiliation and accusations, helmed by Captain Sandy. She seemed to almost compete with returning Chief Stew Hannah Ferrier while Bosun Malia White was able to whine her way out of situations that didn’t benefit her career. Hannah left the series after a disturbing sequence of events, but it’s apparently not over. Recently the Captain took a rather unnecessary shot at Hannah, but this time former co-worker and barrette aficionado Bugsy Drake is stepping in.
It was supposed to be a refreshing look into how a deck crew lead by women would differ from the norm, but wound up being an exercise in futility. Season 5 of BDM quickly went from hopeful to infuriating as Hannah became the target of most of the staff. Watching Hannah’s mental health issues blasted into everyone’s business was one of the more distasteful things I’ve personally seen. Malia fueled the fire by secretly taking photos of Hannah’s purse contents and forwarding them to her mommy Captain Sandy.
Hannah was vilified as cameras filmed her interrogation for a Valium Rx that wasn’t on the books. But she was treated like Nino Brown working aboard motor yacht New Jack City. Was Hannah’s lapse in judgement a direct defiance of MARITIME LAW? Perhaps. Was it handled in a professional manner? Absolutely not. Even though that unsavory time is in everyone’s rearview, it’s still a hot topic.
RELATED: Hannah Ferrier Says Captain Sandy Yawn Was Competitive And Wanted Her Gone From Below Deck Mediterranean From The Beginning; Captain Sandy Says She’s A Real Captain And Hannah Was Just There For The Camera
Last month in an interview, Hannah speculated Sandy was in competition with her for camera time, which sounds about right. Sandy replied, “That’s not true. I’m a real captain and I expect a level of service. Hannah was there for the camera. I was there as a captain. Two different things. I actually care about yachting. And I care about my job.” Sandy added Hannah “waits tables” while she is a captain. How pleasant and not at all demeaning.
Enter promoted Chief Stew Bugsy, whose amazing tablescapes are only rivaled by fish tank displays at PetSmart. She told Us Weekly Sandy’s words were probably taken out of context. SURE, JAN. “We are in the service industry and a lot of the time people can relate the service aspects of a stewardess to that of a waitress, which is not a bad thing. I don’t think that people should be up in arms about the fact that she waits tables because I think that a waitress, just like anyone else, has a very tough job.” Does Bugsy just want us to address her as Waitress Bugsy Drake? Can do.
RELATED: Captain Sandy Yawn Says Ben Robinson And Tom Checketts Are The Best Below Deck Chefs
Then Waitress Bugsy offered some grace towards Captain Sandy. “I think that comment might’ve been taken a little out of context in terms and made into a bad comment because I don’t necessarily think Sandy meant it in a malicious way. Her and I have a close relationship and I know that she has a lot of respect for any chief stewardess that works with her.” Really girl? I’m really loving all of the epic support these women show each other, as long as you’re in the right group.
Despite BDM not being renewed yet, it is expected Bravo will release an update soon. Hannah will not be back, so if Captain Sandy and Bosun Malia are rejoined with Waitress Bugsy, it will be another chance for them to turn on each other and keep the glass ceiling right where it is.
RELATED: Below Deck Mediterranean Star Bugsy Drake Releases A Book On Tablescapes
TELL US- IS CAPTAIN SANDY BEING PROFESSIONAL WITH HER COMMENTS? IS SANDY A GOOD LEADER? WOULD YOU WATCH ANOTHER SEASON?
[Photo Credit: Bravo]
