Below Deck’s Captain Sandy Yawn Wanted To Fire Fraser Olender
Below Deck’s Captain Sandy Yawn Wanted To Fire Fraser Olender
Below Deck star, Captain Sandy Yawn, has recently revealed that she almost fired Fraser Olender.
Reflecting on her past working relationship with Fraser Olender — Captain Sandy shared that the chief stew was almost fired during the show’s 10th season. However, the experience proved to be a learning opportunity for both Fraser and Captain Sandy, and ultimately Fraser was able to improve and gain the trust of his peers and superiors.
“There was a moment [where I considered firing him]. Absolutely. Because listen the walls are thin and [it is important to not] jump on their bandwagon. Change that narrative. That’s your role as the superior here,” Sandy, 57, told Us Weekly. “You’re absolutely responsible for your team. So I didn’t go to the [interior] team members [with my issues]. I went to the chief stew and said, ‘This isn’t happening. You hired them. Fix it.’”
The Florida native continued: “Like, if you need help, ask me. But until then, I stay out of it. I will only help if I see that the client is suffering in service. If I see something going wrong or there’s disharmony on board in my eyes — that’s when I step in.”
In season 10 of Below Deck, viewers witnessed some tension between Fraser and Captain Sandy, particularly after she temporarily replaced Captain Lee Rosbach. Captain Sandy’s decision to fire Camille Lamb and Alissa Humber caused some controversy, and her reference to Fraser as the “cancer” affecting St. David also raised some eyebrows.
“I had cancer and I will say this — I should have chosen different words,” Sandy admitted to Us Weekly. “I’ve been a captain for many years [and] those were the terms we used. So [in terms of] evolving, I would change my terminology for sure. [It was a] bad choice of words.”
The author of Be the Calm or Be the Storm commented on areas where she believed the English native could have improved in the interior.
“We all need humility in our roles. So, humility isn’t [about] being humiliated. It’s just being humble,” she explained. “And Fraser on the bridge admitted to me that he had never done this before. When you’re in that position, I always have an open-door bridge policy. I would’ve helped him and guided him and tried to say, ‘Hey, delegate and let them make mistakes.’”
Captain Sandy observed that Fraser seemed “afraid” in his new role and struggled with the expectation of having to know everything. She emphasized the importance of deferring to her team and acknowledged that no one person can know everything.
For Captain Sandy, it was crucial for Fraser to take pride in learning and growing on the job.
“I think Fraser was confused. He really never had that leadership support,” she concluded. “If you just open the doors and let them go figure it out on your own — that doesn’t exist. Then you have what you have.”
Last month, Fraser spoke with Us Weekly and shared how he adjusted to the replacement of Captain Lee. “I think they have, overall, very different management styles. I knew Captain Lee and I knew how he worked. I knew how he liked things to be run. He also trusted me and he gave me the confidence to be creative and enjoy my take on [it].”
At the time, Fraser revealed it “took some time” for him to “get used to” how Sandy ran the boat.
“But equally, she taught me a lot about myself and I think at the end of the season [you’ll] understand what I mean by that,” he shared. “She really opened my eyes to things I previously wouldn’t have dealt with so well — without her making sure I did.”
On the show, the Below Deck newbie openly expressed his issues with Captain Sandy before they eventually resolved their differences. “Pure rage. I’ve never been in a fight and said, ‘It’s not the right time to speak to me,’” he told cameras in a February 7 episode. “I’ve never felt so sickened by a captain in my entire life. I’m in actual shock.”
Throughout her career, Captain Sandy has gained valuable insights into leadership, which she has shared in her new book.
“The fans were asking for a book on leadership, and I thought [I would] just throw a little bit of my personal life in there,” she told the outlet. “I wanted to show them that you could go from who I used to be [but] that when people invest in other people you can actually change your life and become a super yacht captain. I had no idea that was possible.”
You can catch Below Deck on Bravo, every Monday, at 8 p.m. ET.
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