Credit: Fred Jagueneau/Bravo
Captain Sandy Yawn addressed Nathan Gallagher’s “mistake” on the season 10 premiere of Below Deck Mediterranean, and she talked about his up-and-down relationship with Gael Cameron (who’s now the mother of his child).
On the season premiere, Nathan tried to move the WaveRunners into place, but they ended up crashing into the vessel. Though Sandy attempted to step in, the water toys had already broken certain parts of the boat while guests watched.
“It was all over the place for [Nathan] in the beginning,” said Sandy, speaking to Us Weekly. “In my experience, that has happened before. Crew have done that. They’re just not paying attention, and it was a mistake.”
Sandy feels confident Nathan will “never” do this again.
“He’ll pay attention. But he has got to learn it’s a learning curve. I don’t care whatever role you’re in, it is all new. Nathan transforms into this child when he sits on a WaveRunner and he forgets about whatever else is going on around him,” Sandy noted before quipping, “That’s something he has to figure out on his own because I don’t know how to make that happen for him. In the meantime, I don’t want him to hit the boat anymore.”
But she explained that he didn’t have to cover the damages: “He wouldn’t have to. Not at all. Accidents happen. Nathan didn’t purposely run into the boat. Trust me, it was an accident … I’ve had crew run the tenders into the ground — that’s expensive. Sometimes interior drops some glasses. But in my career, I haven’t seen a lot of damage.”
As for whether she hopes to stay with some of the same crew each season, Sandy expressed, “Consistency makes a better boat … You’re not always training people and they’re not always finding their feet. But to be honest, every boat that we get every season is different. It’s rare we get the same boat every season.”
“No matter if you return or not, you’re still going to have to figure out the boat because it’ll probably be a different one. Having consistency when we return is great because the trust factor for me is there — or the watch factor to make sure I keep an eye on them. Because sometimes they’re just not great at certain things but they’re great at others,” she added. “Aesha is well-rounded. [With Nathan], I think unless you’re pushed into something, you’re never going to know if you’re a fit. I think pressure makes us better. I do apply the pressure and let’s see how well Nathan handles that pressure.”
In an interview for Daily Dish, Sandy further addressed the situation with Nathan.
“He had never done it before,” said Sandy of Nathan’s struggles. “I applied a lot of pressure, which sometimes makes people a little more nervous and they make more mistakes.”
“He has the best reset button of all time,” she explained. “Nathan recovers very quickly. I just wish it was more consistent in the recovery part … [But] Nathan gives us a very good season [and I] of course [would work with him again].”
Sandy then discussed his relationship with Gael.
“I’m the captain. People are very limited when they share things with me,” said Sandy. “But that doesn’t mean I might walk around a corner and see something and decide not to be a part of that and kind of back up my pace.”
Sandy said she saw this happen “so many times” on the boat with Gael and Nathan,” and she found the couple’s story, from their breakup to reconciliation to having a son in June, “fascinating.”
“Some people are just meant to be together,” she said, adding that she and Nathan’s family are “1,000 percent” still in touch.