Below Deck Mediterranean’s Captain Sandy Is Becoming More Flexible (Has She Heard Fans Feedback?)

Summary Captain Sandy's newfound flexibility is evident on Below Deck Mediterranean season 9, showing trust in her team leads and giving second chances.

While known for being a micromanager, Captain Sandy has shown a more relaxed approach this season, especially with Chef Johnathan's struggles.

Despite appearing less strict, Captain Sandy maintains a contingency plan in case of issues, showcasing her balanced management style.

Below Deck Mediterranean season 9 has transformed Captain Sandy Yawn in ways viewers haven’t seen in the past, but is her new flexible nature because she’s heard fans’ feedback? While Captain Sandy has been a huge part of Below Deck Mediterranean, some have been critical of her behavior in the past, including members of her superyacht crews. Having been the Captain on the show since Below Deck Mediterranean season 2, Captain Sandy has run the gamut of criticism from viewers. Many have felt that the Captain can be more difficult to work with than others in the Below Deck franchise.

While Below Deck Mediterranean season 9 has had the classic style of Below Deck drama, many viewers have taken notice of Captain Sandy’s behavior in the season thus far. Though she’s had some typical Captain Sandy moments of micromanagement and frustration with the crew, the majority of what’s been happening on Mustique has been easier for the captain to deal with. Sandy has been able to navigate difficult crew members in the past, but some have taken issue with her as a captain, especially in times when she has to monitor a crew member closely after discussing their poor behavior.

Related 20 Best Reality TV Shows Right Now Reality TV is more popular than ever. With so many to choose from, here are some of the best reality TV shows to stream or watch right now.

Captain Sandy Has Been Called A Micromanager In The Past

She’s Been Difficult To Work With For Some

Custom Image by César García

Although some believe that Captain Sandy is the best captain in the Below Deck franchise, she’s also been known as a micromanager in the past. While Captain Sandy trusts her crew, there are some jobs she wants done in a specific manner. Typically, Captain Sandy can be more of a micromanager about the deck crew than she can with the interior, as she wants things done with the anchors in a specific way. Even so, she’s been a micromanager about some of the interior jobs, as well as inspecting the way the Stews work with housekeeping, laundry, and service jobs.

While Captain Sandy can be a micromanager with the interior and exterior crews, she’s been more of a micromanager about the meals served aboard Mustique on Below Deck Mediterranean season 9. She was careful about being hard on Chef Johnathan Shillingford at first, as the provisioner didn’t give him much to work with when they delivered the food rations to Mustique. While Jono made a few meals with the less desirable rations, the food was mediocre and Captain Sandy wasn’t happy with the way things turned out. During the second charter, she tried to be more firm with the chef.

Captain Sandy Is Known For Giving Second Chances

She’s Always Been Fair With Her Crew

Close

While Captain Sandy has always been firm with the expectations she has of her crew, she has also been able to understand that mistakes can happen in any job, especially one with such high stakes. The pressure on a superyacht is extreme, and the pressure on a Below Deck superyacht can be even higher, so Captain Sandy has been lenient about how she disciplines her crew. While Captain Sandy has been a micromanager when she’s had reason to be, she’s also known for giving her crew second chances if they’re making mistakes and learning as they go on a charter.

Though the Captain can be tough to deal with for some, but she’s always fair about her discipline. Captain Sandy herself has explained that giving crew members the opportunity to prove themselves is important to her. She would rather allow people to make mistakes and grow rather than fire them without giving them chances to be better. The Captain may have had some more difficult moments with crew members in the past, but she’s been able to figure out the best way to manage her crew and run a successful charter at the same time, ignoring what others may say.

Captain Sandy Seems To Be Loosening Her Reigns

She Appears To Be Somewhat Less Strict

While Captain Sandy has been keeping a close eye on the crew for the majority of the charter season thus far, it’s clear that she’s loosening her reigns and trusting in her team leads. With Chief Stew Aesha Scott returning to Below Deck Mediterranean, Captain Sandy has someone who has worked beneath her in the past and understands the way she runs a superyacht handling the interior team. It’s clear that Captain Sandy trusts Aesha to handle the team in the way she would herself, so she’s been less hands-on with the interior staff thus far on Below Deck Mediterranean.

The exterior team may be having a rougher time after the most recent charter, but Captain Sandy’s attitude toward Bosun Iain Maclean. While Iain has been working well with his Deckhands, Gael Cameron, Nathan Gallagher, and Joe Bradley, there have been some issues between them in the most recent charter. Though Iain may be struggling with his team treating him appropriately, he’s been trusted by Captain Sandy to deal with any issues that the team may have. While Sandy may have to deal with the issues on her own later in the charter season, she’s given her trust to Iain.

Captain Sandy Is More Flexible But Has A Contingency Plan

She Knows She Needs To Have A Backup

Custom image by César García

Although Captain Sandy has been spending her time aboard Mustique working hard to keep the superyacht running and the charter guests happy, she hasn’t been stressing out over the issues she’s been facing throughout the charter. Captain Sandy has been getting more flexible during the charter season, and it’s noticeable to viewers who have complained about her difficult management style in the past. While she’s been loosening the reigns on her employees a bit, she’s also kept a contingency plan, just in case something beyond her control makes it impossible for her to stay out of the issues at hand.

With her issues with Chef Johnathan coming to a head, it’s clear that Captain Sandy may need to step in to take care of what’s going on soon. Though she wants to give him as many chances as possible to work through the issues he’s facing in the galley, if the chef continues to serve sub-par meals for guests, he’ll need to be reprimanded or fired from Mustique. For Captain Sandy, moving forward may mean replacing Chef Jono, but she has a contingency plan in place should she need to call another chef into the mix on Below Deck Mediterranean.

Source: Below Deck/Instagram