Scheananigans with Scheana Shay - Life Below Deck with Captain Sandy Yawn

Episode Date: February 17, 2023

In this episode, Scheana is joined by Below Deck's Captain Sandy Yawn and her mother Erika as co-host. Captain Sandy talks about watching the show back and seeing what the crew does when she isn't around and firing Hannah Ferrier. She opens up about her past struggles with drugs and alcohol and the journey of how she got to where she is now. They talk about who gained her respect the most this season, her favorite and most challenging parts of the job, and how she was given one day notice that was going to be on the show. Her new book "Be the Calm or Be the Storm” is out now! What is Captain Sandy's favorite place to travel? What are her thoughts on Captain Lee? What are her daily rituals that keep her grounded? Tune in to find out! Follow us: @scheana @scheananigans      Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.     Produced by Dear Media  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The following podcast is a Dear Media production. From Vanderpump Rules to motherhood and everywhere in between, it's time to catch up with Sheena Shea. This is Shenanigans. And now here's your host, Sheena Shea. Because we're good as gold. Because we're good as gold. Because we're good as gold. Because we're good as gold. I gotta tell you I'm feeling good This party's for you Hello, hello, everyone. Today, we are getting into some fun Bravo shenanigans with my mom on the co-host mic.

How we doing? Good. Excited. And me too. Excited for Captain Sandy as our guest. How are you? I'm awesome, and thank you for having me. Of course. Thank you for being here. I'm awesome, and thank you for having me. Of course. Thank you for being here.

I was so excited to hear you're in town. I know you have a new book, a podcast, so many things I want to talk to you about. We got a ton of questions, but I figure first we'll start off with your book. Congratulations. I love the title. Thank you. Be the Calm or Be the Storm. You know, it's so funny. This morning I could have been the storm, but I chose to be the calm. I love the title. Thank you. Be the calm or be the storm. Yeah. You know, it's so funny.

This morning I could have been the storm, but I chose to be the calm. I love that. You know, finding my way here. However, at the same time, I feel like Bravo's done a great thing by putting our show on the air because it's reached millions of people. And I never thought about writing a book. And the fans are like, write a book, leadership, leadership. And they said a lot of the fans watch the show for leadership tips. And I thought, wow, I read a book by Ernest Shackleton. Actually,

he didn't write it, but it was about his leadership style. And I thought, I want to do a book like that through storytelling. And that's what I did. The fans also wanted a little bit of history of me and they can see I was a mess, how I got out of that mess and how I got onto this career path as a yacht captain. Well, I exactly want to talk about that. I want to hear about your journey, where you started to where you're at. I absolutely love the show. And if I'm being honest, I've never watched the normal or original, I guess not normal, Below Deck until this season. So I was like, well, Captain Sandy's on it.

I got to watch it. I've watched every season pretty much of Med, but now seeing you on a different show with a different crew. So I just want to get into all of that, how you started, how long you've been sailing. And yeah, I'm so interested. And how I got on below deck. Yeah. Yeah, that too. Well, you know, I was that lost kid on that merry-go-round. Drugs and alcohol was a big part of my life. I was on that train to nowhere. Got off of that, started cleaning boats from the bottom all the way to the top. And someone approached me and asked me if I wanted a

full-time job. I'm like, sure. And they offered me and asked me if I wanted a full time job. I'm like, sure. And they offered me to send me to school. They sent me to maritime school. Remember, I was I was kicked out of high school. He paid to send me to maritime school, which is a not American time academy, but it's a school. And I went there and he sent me to engineering school and all these other classes that you

needed to learn boating. He also bought me a book, How to Make Money with Boats, How to Make Money on Boats. And I read it and it was because of this man that gave me that opportunity that I became a captain. I started, I literally started at the bottom. Wow. I love hearing that when you hear someone

literally work their way up, you know, from a busser to a restaurant owner, from working on the boat to literally running the ship. Yeah. And you run the ship, but you're never above anybody else on there as far as tasks and whatnot. You I see you get in there, you'll wash dishes, you'll take out the trash, you'll do anything. And I just think that's amazing. I've seen other captains that maybe don't have that let's say open bridge policy like i see you have and i love that you and you like you said you started where you did and you are now but you don't you don't have that arrogance and i absolutely love your leadership i thank you it's so so admirable yeah thank you i think when you start

from the bottom you realize there's one ultimate goal, and that is to provide the client with a level of service that they paid for. They have an expectation. And I'm going to help my crew get to that goal. We all, hey, listen, you know, happy crew, happy boat, happy client. So how can I go to bed when I know my crew are in the weeds? I could not sleep knowing that they're in the weeds. I have to help them because at the end of the day, I'm ultimately responsible if the client isn't happy. Guess who gets fired first?

The captain. Yeah. I know self-leadership and leading with compassion are two things that you're very passionate about. And I mean, that just shines through on the show. It's so cool to see a woman in an industry that's so male dominant. And excuse my French, but you're a fucking boss. Thank you. Yeah, you are. Thank you.

And I'm sorry, I'm staring. Can I just say the skin on you is, I know we're the same age, but your skin is amazing. Leah. You're beautiful. Thank you. Wow, no, you really are. Thank you so much. Does she have a skin?

She does skin, yes. And I do a lot of NAD, IV. Maybe that's what I need to start with. I don't drink. I don't really either. That's a big part of it. I wish I could say I didn't. That's why it looks like that.

But no, when I first met you in the lobby, I was like, wow, her skin is amazing. I just had to say that. Sorry. Thank you. Yeah. Okay. Well, speaking of Leah, I know you also have a podcast. Yeah, we do that.

And it's about doing the next right thing. So many times you just want people to do the next right thing. Right. And not trash other people or, you know, just, you know, build themselves up. It's like so ridiculous. Just in life, like through life. Even with my nieces and nephews, it happens in school, the bullying. And how do you teach the younger generation to be kind?

Just have a kind heart. Even if you don't agree with someone, just come from a place of kindness. It's so much easier. It's so easy. That's been my motto my whole life is just to be kind. I've always had Sheena and my other daughter that, and now Sheena's daughter who's a year and a half, well, she'll be two in April. You know, we're working on that now. It's be kind, be nice, share, you know, have empathy, have compassion. So I appreciate that. You know, most times when

people are being a bully, it isn't personal. It's about how they feel about themselves. Yeah. And that's something I'm able to rise above. Right. And so be the calm or be the storm is a big part of that lesson. And I don't have to beat my chest and say, look at me, I'm Captain Sandy. I drive a super yacht. It's more about just living it. Right. Living it because it's my journey. Yeah. Not someone else's. And when I stay centered and focused and do the stuff that helps me stay centered every morning and then every night, like clean up the wreckage of my day. Did I hurt someone? Did I yell at someone? Do I owe an amends? Do I owe an apology? When I do that every day, I wake up feeling happy and joyful.

Yeah. That's so awesome. And it's a way to live, isn wake up feeling happy and joyful. Yeah. That's so awesome. And it's a way to live, isn't it? I love it. Yeah. Totally. So how long have you been a captain now? A long time. Long enough to know how to drive a boat.

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, not just a boat and not just a yacht, a super yacht. What is the difference of a yacht to a super yacht? Is it the size? Is it the crew? It's the size. I don't know the number.

Yeah. I mean, I don't, where did super yacht come from? Right. You know, in my industry, it's so interesting. I founded a charity to help kids to get a maritime school program in high schools across the country for parents who can't afford to send their kids to college. Because the maritime industry, it's lucrative.

We travel the world. We learn different languages. We go to the best parties on the planet. And so I was just in Fort Lauderdale with some colleagues in my industry. And we talk about how, oh, my gosh, we just we take it to a certain level, but we need help to take it to the next level. So blessed. I feel so blessed. But that's because I keep doing the next right thing. Every day I don't do that. Some days I owe apologies, usually to Leah. You know, I try. Well, speaking of being all over the world, where is the coolest place you've

traveled? And is there somewhere you haven't been able to go yet that's on your bucket list? Yes, I would love to go to Turkey. Okay. I have not been. Nice. I heard the cruising there is beautiful. I don't know how many marinas are there. I haven't researched it. But I mean, I would like to go up to Istanbul by boat and then cruise around Turkey. I think that would be awesome. My favorite place to go up to Istanbul by boat and then cruise around Turkey. I think that would be awesome. My favorite place to go. I don't really have one anywhere.

The destination is the boat. The easiest places to go by boat is obviously for me. I love the south of France. I absolutely love it. And I love the Amalfi Coast. But the south of France, it's, I don't know. I love it there. You could go skiing and go sailing in the same day. I don't sail. You could go skiing and go boating in the same day. I love that. We always say that about Southern California. I'm like, you can go snowboarding and surfing in the same day.

I know, isn't that? I mean, when you look at it like that, the south of France is magical. Yeah, we've said that growing up here. We've always said that. We've got like the best of both worlds. Yeah. I was based in Barcelona for four years. I think it's the most livable city in the Mediterranean. I love Spain.

It's beautiful. But I think the French Riviera, there's so many ports you can go to in such a short distance. Yeah. What are the biggest differences between the Med and the Caribbean? The such a short distance. Yeah. What are the biggest differences between the Med and the Caribbean? The Med is the Med. Okay. I've never been to either. So I just watch it.

Yeah. History, history, history. Yeah. The cool thing is I don't, I mean, I don't drink, so I don't go to the bars. I mean, I go with my crew, but I take these tours. Like I saw The Last Supper in Milan. It's on a wall. It's incredible. I had a historian explain the painting to me. I saw the David in Florence, you know, like you go to these places and you see the art and the culture. In the Caribbean, it's more about the beach, the sand, the swimming. There's culture there, but not like the Mediterranean with the history. I mean, Genoa, let's look at Genoa. Genoa was the bank of Europe.

You know, Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa. Wow. So the Genoavese said, we're not going to loan you the money. So he went to Spain. And when he went to Spain, the Spanish borrowed the money from Genoa to send Christopher sailing across the ocean blue in 1942.

Wow. Look, I get a little lesson here. In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. Yeah, that's the only thing I remember. And you know what? There's a statue of him in Barcelona pointing towards Africa not even towards America.

No way. It's kind of like saying the Statue of Liberty is in Jersey to New Yorkers. Yeah. Which it is. Hmm. Huh. Interesting. I'm a history. I love history. I feel like now as an adult, I have such a fonder appreciation for history and school in high school. Literally my least favorite class. It probably was also the teacher. I think her name was like Mrs. Pranik. It was just like in the name. And I was like, oh, history class. But now I can't wait for my daughter to grow up and take history class and come home and want to do her homework with me because now I just enjoy learning about history so much more. I know. I hear you.

Yeah. When you travel on a boat and you're a crew, I always say to the crew, you can go to a bar anywhere. Mm-hmm. Take time and go see the town. Totally. For sure. Yeah. That's pretty cool. That's awesome you want to do that with your daughter.

Yeah. Congratulations. Thank you. And I want her to be a world traveler. As a kid, I mean, I had an amazing life, nothing wrong with this, but I didn't ever leave the country. You know, I didn't get out of America until I was in my early 30s. That's Americans. Yeah.

Because you know how they know an American? They speak one language. That's what they say. Yeah. You know why our country is so big? And parents are very, you know, they don't really want their kids to go anywhere. They want to keep them. Right?

Because Europe and Australia, they kick them out of the house and go, go explore. Well, Sheena's husband's from New Zealand, raised in Australia. And yeah, he said it's very different here. Yeah. But I'm glad both my girls are traveling now. Yeah. Yeah. My other daughter just got back from the Amalfi Coast and she was in San Tropez and oh, she just loved everything there. Beautiful. So I'm thankful for that. Yeah. So I want to talk to you a little

bit about this season. I'm so I mean, especially also being on a Bravo show, I always like to know a little bit of the behind the scenes on other shows. So how much of a heads up did you have that you were going to be a part of this season? Did Captain Lee call you and it's like two days later you're there? One day. No. Wow. The production company makes that call. Okay. And you, for me, I looked at Leah, it was February 13th. We had plans for Valentine's day and she said, go. I go, are you sure? She's like, yeah. And then she had a surgery plan and I go, it's only for two weeks. A little longer than I know. But yeah, you know, there's a calling.

There's a reason. So both my parents died when I was at sea. You know how many captains stepped in for me? Why wouldn't I? Because that's what captains do for each other. Yeah, you're there for each other. Yeah, I was in the Barcelona boat show and I remember this captain and I looked at him and I'm like, I have to go. Will you mind driving this boat? But remember, he just can't step on

the boat and drive the boat. I have to get insurance approval, background check. That happens on yachts. Same thing on the show. Yeah. The only reason I'm sure they reached out to me was because I'm approved. Right. And I had to go through the approval of insurance as well. Yeah. It's not an easy thing. It isn't like, oh, I'll decide to drive this boat or that boat. It's right. You know, insurance companies care. They care. It's a lot of money. What is the hardest thing about coming into a crew you don't know at all? You've had no time to really prep or get to know them. What is the hardest and most challenging thing stepping onto someone else's yacht? You know, besides the

show, when a captain takes over a vessel, they take their crew with them. Right. So usually in my industry, I have crew I've had for season after season after season. You find the good ones, you keep them. You fight for their money. And I always fought for the money because we all show up for the money. We love what we do, but we like the paycheck. This is different. You step on a boat. You want to keep the same crew. You always want to keep the same crew that you start with. Want to keep the same crew. You always want to keep the same crew that you start with. Sure.

However, when they're not doing well and the other crew are talking about it and they're complaining and you're the constant problem, you got to eliminate it because it's like a cancer. It spreads through the boat. Is Camille the cancer? I like Camille very much. You just saw her recently. I saw on Instagram. You met up with her. She met up with you. That's right. She invited Camille very much. You just saw her recently. I saw on Instagram. You know, we met up with her. So she met up with you. That's right. She invited me to a race.

Years ago, I ran a 92 foot Hatteras. We built we were building 157 foot motor yacht when the boat sold. That man, John Dane, he owned the shipyard. And I said, can I drive it, please? And he goes, your boss hasn't paid for the boat yet. I go, please. So he stood on that dock. He let me drive it through Lake Pontchartrain Bridge, which is very narrow because they did their sea trials. It's in New Orleans. And he was racing.

And Camille's family, they're family. So that's what we have in common. So she goes, hey, you know, the Johns are down here because it's John Jr. and Sr. And he has a big family. And I went and watched, met with them. And it was really cool. And Camille was there. And it was a funny conversation. She's a good girl.

Yeah, she's funny. Oh, no, she was great on the show. You know, even she goes, I guess, you know, I have to, you know, work in a job where I'm the boss or something. I don't know. She's very funny. You know, she wasn't out to hurt anyone

or upset anyone. She didn't know. Right. So watching the show, it is, I am, I am laughing because I was like, holy cannoli.

Right. It's pretty funny. But, you know, every one of them, they come on, you know, they work hard, they play hard. Some people just, they think it's pretty funny. But, you know, every one of them, they come on, you know, they work hard. They play hard.

Some people just, they think it's just fun. It can be fun, but there's work too. But there's still a job. You might be filming a TV show, but there's still a job. You're still running this super yacht, as you say. Yes. So I had to let her go. I know.

Yeah. How is that for you watching back the season, seeing what your crew's doing behind your back all the time? The best part is like every time they're in front of my eyeballs, they're doing a good job. So all I see is they're doing a good job. And then I see the show and I'm like, okay, I get it now. Like I see why everyone was complaining because I'm like, why is everyone complaining? Every time I see her, she's working. Yeah.

Yeah. And you said and you gave her a lot of chances. You said, yeah, basically do better. Yes. You know, I think I think those might have been your words or something. But so when a situation like that happens, I know there was some recent Twitter drama with Captain Lee saying, was it that he said you fired her before he was notified and he wanted to know about it before or what exactly happened there? Can we say? Well, I can. So let's

not forget Captain Lee was in the hospital. Secondly, you was hours before charter. The last thing on my mind is calling Captain Lee. In the hospital. That's right. And saying, by the way, I don't need his permission to fire anybody. Yeah. I'm signed on as captain. I'm fully responsible for their lives.

The courtesy was the call after, which I did. Yes. By the way, I had to let Camille go. That was a courtesy call. Did I have to do it? No. And I think sometimes people get caught up in their ego and they don't know when to let go. But again, it wasn't about me. It's his struggle, not mine. I don't take it personal because I can't imagine what he's going through. Yeah. Thank God I've

done all this work on myself because girl, I'd probably go postal on him. Oh my God. I did a lot of self, you know, reflection and, you know, I don't have enemies out there. I don't make enemies. I'm not that person. Remember, let's just be kind. There's a way to have a conversation. If there's an issue, give me a call, man. Yeah.

You know how many times I tried to call that man? He doesn't take my call. So the first you saw about this was also in social media? Yes. I had no idea. Yeah. I was a little disappointed when I was reading a lot of stuff on Twitter and whatnot. I don't have an issue. And today, I don't have an issue.

Right. Like, I don't, I'm living my life. I'm not focused on the semantics of how one person thinks it should happen. It's like, where's the gratitude of stepping in? And it was a big job for me. It wasn't easy. Oh my God. I was so intimidated by that boat.

I got to tell you, I walked up and that wind was blowing. I was like, Gigi Fernandez is standing behind me in a gold medal. Oh my gosh, great. I mean, videotaping me. And I know they're thinking, is she going to take it off the dock? Is she not going to take it off the dock?

And I have to tell you, that woman standing behind me gave me the courage to take it off the dock is she not going to take it off the dock and i have to tell you that woman standing behind me gave me the courage to take it off the dock because i am not a person i'm a risk taker but a calculated risk taker so my mind there's rocks i was told it has half capacity bow thruster the wind is the opposite direction i don't i've never drove the boat before i didn't have a proper handover i'm like which button do i push you know and you know i took over and and just said okay and i was watching the wind gust and timing the wind gust and decided in between the wind gusts i would maneuver and i did in the worst case scenarios I land on the rocks and that ends our season. Yeah. You know, because it's not a good thing. Maybe a good camera time. But right now, I mean, I don't think they

would be happy with me. Yeah. I don't even know that we would want to see that on camera. You know, there's there's enough, I think, that goes on with the crew. You don't want anything to happen in the boat. But, you know, I'm not in my ego. admit i that was intimidating it was a big boat i never drove a boat that was a thousand tons wow oh and as i was driving in it was so crazy because you you know you think you need steerage five knots next thing you know i'm doing six knots and i see the dock and i'm like i pulled it back and that boat was not slowing down oh my gosh i'm gonna hit the dock but i turned it and it laid perfectly on the side i'm like yes i look like a champion you are you are a champion definitely and i think the whole crew

noticed that right off the bat i mean you could just see was it is it katie is that her name the yeah she's i like yeah what she she walked up to me i did this fundraiser and she goes i i admire you i want to be like you i want want a job. I want to be a captain. And I thought, then never stop. Never give up. Don't get caught up in all that stuff. Just go to school like Malia. Malia just got her first officer's watch certificate. Good for her. Nice. So, okay. You brought up Malia, which makes me think of Hannah. And I got a lot of questions coming in about Hannah. Would you change anything about your last season with Hannah? How it ended? Would you work with

Hannah again? How did she handle backlash from firing Hannah? Did she think Malia was a sneak? Well, that's a lot of questions, you know. No, I'm just saying I got a lot of questions that came in about Hannah. Hannah and I have been friends from her first season on the show. that came in about Hannah. Hannah and I have been friends from her first season on the show. So for me as a friend, I was so bummed to see her go. But I can't imagine for you how hard that must have been for someone, your chief stew you worked with for so many years. You know, I don't usually talk about it because it's we're in a different season, like so many seasons. I want to say this one thing and that's it. I called my maritime attorney. He goes, fire her.

I go, understood. And you did. Yeah. So when you're a captain, you know, we're federally licensed. I am a merchant marine officer for the United States government. That's what my ticket is. When you have that, you know, that Casa del Concordia captain's in prison? You didn't know that?

No. The guy that ran that ship aground? No. But he didn't run it aground. He was actually having dinner. Do you know that if I was off the boat and something catastrophic happened, I would go to prison? Wow.

I am responsible. Do you know every crew member that signs onto that vessel is under my responsibility? Wow. Until they're repatriated back to their destination where we got them. Oh my gosh. No pressure. No pressure. Yeah.

Wow. I worked really hard to get my license. Yeah. And if you can't not smoke pot for a season. And by the way, they do random drug testing. I would be responsible. Yeah. I don't care who they are.

I will never take a risk for something I work so totally for so right now I just want to boat and just like cruise up the east coast do the Hamptons yes do Cape Cod yeah chill but I have this book now I can't I got to do press press press because I do I want to sell my book and I also want people to get something out of it that's why I shared so much about my personal story yeah you know addiction runs rampant in this country and other countries and I'm a product of that of uh on the other side of it yeah and you've been sober what 32 years 33 33 congratulations that's amazing 34 amazing congratulations, I mean, I was a mess. Wow.

And look at you now. I can't imagine if I was drinking and driving a boat. Oh my God. No. I think I'd just keep going. I will tell you this once. I, you know, I wasn't always so calm. I had a chef years ago.

I'll never forget. I was pulling off the dock and I go, throw him his effing luggage. And I made my crew throw his luggage on the dock. Oh, wow. And he was like, shoot me a bird. And I'm like, fuck, you know, it's like going back. But I wasn't always so calm.

That chef drove me batshit crazy. And so bad that I threw him his luggage on the dock. This was back in the year 2001. Oh, wow. I'll never forget it. Yeah.

I want to play a little game that just popped in my head. If you could, from all of the seasons that we've seen on the show, Med or Caribbean, if you could pick your ideal crew, who would it be? The Med and the Caribbean, you know, they're all great. Honestly, I would want the people who really want careers in yachting and not TV. I think a lot of times, like here's where I spend my time. If they're there for a career in yachting, that's who I spend time with. Malia, I'm going to use her as an example. She only wanted to be a dive instructor the next day because I

said, you'd make a great captain because she's a great diffuser. Because when Adam and Wes were talking about her and she walked in, she's like, you both kissed me tonight. And she walked through the main salon. I went, that is awesome. She confronted the problem. Yeah. She diffused it and she went to bed. I mean, to me, that's a skill. Yeah. You know, I think you're born as a leader. You can learn leadership styles, but she was a natural born leader. So I decided to invest in her. The next day she's like, did you look at the log? I'm like, no. She goes, I looked at my classes. I was like, I thought you just wanted to be a diving instructor. She's like, no, I think I'll be a captain. And it it's people like that like wes from my first season you know he couldn't tie a line yeah he's a first

officer now that's amazing you look at wes wesley and he is an actual captain now like you look at these people so anyone out there any of these crew ever wanted to come back and really love being in the maritime industry i I'd spend time with them. Yeah. My favorites are the people who want this as a career. Totally. I love that. Yeah, me too. So for this many seasons, do you find that in the beginning, now middle, when was it easiest to manage the crew? Like in the beginning, was it people were just in it for yachting and now people are more in it for TV and it's become more difficult? I'm curious. In the beginning, I had to learn to slow down because the camera people, right? We have stairs. We have like

corners. Their cameras are big. Those mic boxes are heavy. Oh, yeah. I had to learn to slow down. Yeah. I had to learn to slow down. I also had to learn the pace of filming and allowing the crew. Remember, they're casted. I don't hire them. They're not that experienced to learn. I'm a teacher. I want to teach, you know, like I I'm I had someone who taught me. And when someone shows you something, you learn, it feels good. It's like, wow, they're invested in me. I had to learn not to do that, which is so hard for me. Other than that, like getting used to the cameras, the fourth wall, not, you know, hey, good morning. Listen, I'm in the charter business. We talk to everybody. So I had to learn not to talk to them. And as far as the crew, I look at everyone that first day.

It's a new day. It's a new, you know, new opportunity. Yeah. See who's in it to win it. Yeah. And that's where I spend my time. Yeah. Who did you bond with first coming into this new crew?

Captain Alita's crew? Yes. Bond. I don't think it's a bonding. I think it's a respect where who. Where, who did I, who gained my respect? Now, looking at Ross and what he's doing, please. I really admired his leadership style. When you watch Ross, he takes time.

How he dealt with Katie when she overslept, I thought was really excellent. He wasn't going to get into it then. He needed her on deck to do the work. Ross was a captain. You should see his CV. It's insane. He has been a captain. And I go, Ross, why did you stop?

And he goes, the responsibility. There's a lot of responsibility to be in. Because I'd rather be a first mate you know so he does that he's great at leading a team so i think of all the crew on board yeah i you know fraser's got a lot to learn he admitted that you know it was his first chief he was a little overwhelmed he sent me a nice message on instagram he's grateful and it was really a really nice message hayley yeah she's so funny yeah she's so cute just neutral she's Switzerland uh-huh you know what I mean like she's just there she's

you know trying to do her best yeah exactly yeah yeah I really felt respect from her and yeah I mean Rachel great chef great personality oh my god She's so funny. I love her. She is something else. Her little one-liners. Oh, my gosh. Always under her breath. Yeah. Fucking.

Yeah. Great conversations with her in the galley. Yeah. Honestly. And I, you know, I don't know where she is now, but. Do you enjoy when the guests ask you to join them for dinner? Yes. Do you like to do that?

Yes. Sure. But I can't do every dinner right you know it's a lot you know our film schedule is like when I can sleep I try to grab it yeah but yeah I you make friends like I'm you know Adam the last charter like I'm we're friends because he's sober I'm sober yeah like we bonded I bonded with him. I love that. Yeah. What would you say are your favorite parts about filming the show and the most challenging? Because unlike, you know, our show did start based at the restaurant, but now, you know, it's our lives, but we're just

living our lives. You're actually doing your career that you've done for so long, as well as this new career of having it on camera. So what would you say are the most challenging parts, but also your favorite? So I love logistics. I'm a captain. That's all we do. I love production. And, you know, we work together on where to anchor the weather. I can't change the weather, like how to handle the guests when they're not happy. When I say I can't leave the dock It's like in those, you know, it's easy to do a good job when everything's going your way and be happy Mm-hmm. How do we respond when it all falls apart? Right? So that's what building on that character

So I think logistically for me, it's the challenge that I actually love. Yeah, the part I don't like is you know It's we don't sleep It's's hard. You know, it's for me. Let me put it this way. I guess when you watch the show, you see the limited sleep. Yeah. It's hard. Although MLC requires us to have certain hours of rest. Doesn't mean you have to sleep. The Maritime Labor Convention. What is the average night of sleep that most of the crew gets five six hours okay so like having a baby yeah yeah and then they gotta go upstairs and turn it on yeah so and serve yeah it's not easy and you know i watched the show and go, oh, my God, I had no idea Ross was hooking up with all those girls and then breaking their hearts. It's like, right.

This one, that one, swim up to this one. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. What is the average cost for a charter? Like the ones that were watching on the show? 500 to 750,000. They're expensive.

That's insane. So the amount that they're giving, like I think recently it was like $31,000, that's just the tip? Yeah. Holy crap. What did you think that was? I know it's the tip,

but I didn't know if that's also money for the charter. I'm like, how much does a charter actually cost? That's just the tip. Yeah. So, you know, before 2008, money was very like we made a lot of money. Yeah. I got a hundred thousand euro tip for 12 crew. That's what I was going to do.

You get a piece of that tip that comes in. Oh, yeah. OK. So and I so basically how it works in the real world of yachting is the captain gets the tip money a lot of captains might keep a bigger portion okay and then but i there are a lot of captains that split it evenly gotcha but the captain's in charge of the tip though usually the whatsoever left over in the apa is tip money. And so that makes the crew conscious of spending. It's kind of funny. That could be your tip. And the other part is a lot of people will add extra

money. Has there ever been a charter where somebody didn't leave a tip? You know, back in the day, I had a guy, he left 750 euros. And my crew worked so hard. And that's why I always say at the beginning of the season, don't base your performance on the money the client gives you. You can't please everyone. Your ultimate goal is to please me as your captain. I'm your filter. I'll decide if you did a good job or if you didn't do a good job. Yeah.

Because it's impossible to please every client. Yeah. And I always say count your tips at the end of the season. Not each tip. Yeah. It's going to range. Yeah. And not everybody tips the same.

Sheena's foreign husband, you know, he, I guess they don't tip it. I've had to teach him. They don't really tip, I guess, in Australia. No, because they make more money serving. Hourly. Yeah. So we've had a, yeah, we've had to work with him. And I think he's good now.

No, now he's great. Maybe with Steve Martin. It's over tipping, we believe in. Yeah. So we've had a, yeah, we've had a work with him. And I think he's good now. No, now he's great. I'm going to watch a movie with Steve Martin. It's over tipping, we believe in. Yes. Totally. Over tipping. When you're in the service business, you tip more than. Always.

Even if it's bad service, I'm like, you don't know what happened to that person, what they're going through today. You know, they could have, their pet could have just died or something. And then they have to show up for work. So I'm like, their pet could have just died or something. And then they have to show up for work. So I'm like, I never know what someone's going through. I'm still always going to tip because. You've always been a good tipper. Yeah. You just never know. I was just in a restaurant in Fort Lauderdale. Every time I go to that place, I go, I'm never coming back. My friends always want to go there. And I got up from the table after an hour and 15

minutes waiting for our food. The manager was there. He obviously knew who I was. And I got up from the table after an hour and 15 minutes waiting for our food. The manager was there. He obviously knew who I was. And I go, I'm sorry, man. It's been an hour and 15 minutes. And I got to be in South Miami. So I got an email from him saying, I'm really sorry. He comped the meal. I wasn't looking for that.

I was just looking for the food. Yeah. And I go, we'll come back for that reason. Yeah. You know, it's just like he did the right thing. Yeah, totally. I that reason. Yeah. You know, it's just like he did the right thing. Yeah, totally. I appreciate that. Yeah.

I know you have had some health scares. And I know you're all about living a very healthy life now. So heart attack. And then you were just telling me this morning. Yeah, you dealt with cancer. you were just telling me this morning. Yeah, you dealt with cancer. And as horrible as that is, the story about how you found out is amazing and crazy. Yeah. Yeah. So I have a Ducati, still have a Ducati motorcycle and was headed to the Miami boat show about I was speeding in a 70 miles an hour. I think I read now a car pulled in front of me. I felt my mother's presence.

I thought, I'm going to die. I actually thought, this is when I was spinning in the air, I'm going to heaven. Like, I was fine. I woke up on the pavement with this girl standing over me. I go, what the fuck? I thought I was going to die. I was like, are you kidding me? So the lady is like freaking out that she hit me.

And I'm like, call 911. So she did. And as a result, call 911. So she did. And as a result, they discovered kidney cancer. Wow. And yeah, it's a silent killer. So get your body scanned. Yeah. Who knew?

And the heart attack happened. I was in SoulCycle here in Beverly Hills. And I had an I Believe tour. And I had a cardiologist speak. And do you know 80% of heart attacks for women can be avoided if, because we ignore the pain. Wow. And our pain. Because it's not always the same as the same symptoms men have. That's right. They're different. And we still have to. We kind of, oh, I could get through this. We're fine. Yeah. Yeah. I know. So check your, go get scanned. So

basically I had a feel, I had high blood pressure. I didn't had high blood pressure i didn't know i had i didn't know what what do they call it hypertension i didn't know that meant high blood pressure every time i go to the doctor they go yeah do you have hypertension i go no no every time so in soul cycle and i felt i couldn't swallow i didn't have a pain in my chest and my heart rate wasn't going down. So I thought this is, it was a month after I heard Tiffany, Dr. Tiffany Sizemore speak and it was crazy. Next thing you know, I go, I am not going to call 911 in the middle of Beverly Hills. That's what I read that I thought was crazy. You didn't want to. I called an Uber.

Yeah, she didn't want to bother anybody. And she called an Uber. I went to walk to my car and I couldn't. Then my arm started to go numb. And I went, I called an Uber. Can you imagine being that driver? I'm having a heart attack. I need to go to Cedars-Sinai. This is the story just last week. Last week, one of my drivers, I go, I talked to my driver, you know, how are you going?

How's your day? And he goes, oh, ma'am. He goes, I just had to drive someone to Cedars-Sinai who was having a heart attack. And I'm like, they called an Uber? And then I read your story. Oh, my gosh. Can't be bothered with 911. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. So I had what's called SCAD, spontaneous artery coronary dissection. It's a tear. Yeah. Yeah. So I didn't have, it's a tear yeah yeah so i didn't have my heart's fine thank god thank god so it healed on its own okay yes and i had so scary yeah it was and i kept saying i don't want to die i don't want to die yeah when i got hit by the car because i was so close to death right because i wasn't close to death with my heart attack yeah because i was close to death with my heart attack. Yeah. Because I was close to death, I felt my mom's presence.

Wow. Isn't that crazy? That's so crazy. Yeah. Yeah, totally. The heart attack. I think I was more scared of the heart attack because I was like, I don't want to die. My life is really good.

Yeah. And my life was good then as well. Wow. And that was about eight years ago, was it? Mm-hmm. Yeah. Wow. Well, we're glad you're here.

Yeah. It's not homework. I appreciate you. Thank you. I appreciate that. And now I told my mom, I said, guess who's going to be on my podcast? I told her that when I was like, do you want to co-host? Thank you. Yeah. No, we just, we love watching you. Don't you love the impact that you have on people? A hundred percent. That's why I do it. So, you know, I always share the story and I know we don't have a lot of time, but there was a captain called, her name is Vicky, she's still alive. And she took over a boat called Meduse, which was owned by Paul Allen. That boat was massive. And I remember on my little 92 footer, I was looking over going, wow, she was driving that boat out of the Monaco Harbor. And I'm like, I can be that like her someday.

And I was like a captain on a smaller boat. She had no idea the impact she had on my life. Wow. Just showing up in life and doing your job, you impact people. And having that platform like you do, you are impacting lives. And that's a responsibility that we have to show up for. It is. Yeah. and that's a responsibility that we have to show up for.

It is. Yeah. That's why I do what I do when I'm so open on this podcast, on, you know, the show. I just, I feel like being an open book when you have a public platform is so important because you never know how many people you're helping by sharing your story.

Yes, because everyone thinks a lot of people are perfect. You're like, no, I'm not. That's why I put the stuff in my book that I did. Same with Sheena, she's not even close to perfect. One thing I was reading about you. I know you have a daily practice you've developed on staying grounded. Can you expand on that a little more? I wake up, you know, Denzel Washington talks about this.

Put your slippers under the bed. Yeah. Ask for help. You know, help another person without telling someone that you help them. And when you finish your day, review your day. Did you say something sarcastic? You owe an amends and promptly make that amends because that keeps your spirit clear, I believe. And for me, most of the times it's with Leah because they always say, if you really want to work on yourself, get into a relationship.

We have a great relationship. We learned how to communicate well together. And yeah. And to me, it's about touching the lives of those people. But you've got to learn to fill your own cup. Yeah. And then pausing in those moments where I always say to people, because I do a lot of corporate speaking, the one place you can be alone is where? Where is that place? The bathroom. I was going to say in the shower, yeah. The bathroom. Like, you go to the bathroom. Well, Sheena's going,

wait, I have a one-and-a-half-year-old so I don't really get alone. She comes with me. So when you're in that stall, put those headphones in, play that music that turns your mood around. Yeah.

Say your prayer, whatever you need to do, but just, and if you're in the middle and you're ready to lose your mind and make a decision you'll regret, just say, excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom. Yeah.

And ground yourself. I like that. Very good. What I do. You know how many times I go to the bathroom, I'm below deck. Need some me time. That's funny. What would you say is the craziest lesson you've learned in this industry?

Pay attention. Yeah. lesson you've learned in this industry pay attention to be honest because once and i i don't know if this is in my book but i actually missed a marina because i was talking so i said the first officer where's the marina he goes it's 25 miles back the other way and i went why didn't you say something because he him, him and I were just talking. He goes, well, we were talking. Yeah. So the owner goes, I go find another marina. So he did. And I went in the marina. I'm like, and I kind of blamed his friend. I didn't take responsibility.

I'm like, Mr. Roger, can you believe your friend told us to come here? He goes, that's stupid, man. I go, okay, we'll go somewhere else. I didn't take responsibility, but I should have. So I, you know, when I'm at the helm, I pay attention. Yeah. Pay attention and listen. Yeah.

Listen, that's so important. Totally. Definitely. I got some more fan questions that came in. Miranda Adventure wants to know what has been your favorite boating location? And are you close to any other female captains? I'm close to female captains. Yes. Sally, Vicky. There's a few. Paula. And there's not many though. Huh. We have to change that. Yeah. That's a shame. And obviously the South of France.

Love Sam wants to know how old is too old to start a yachting career i don't think you're ever too old there are other jobs i think if to work on deck you have to be young it's a very physical job and also in the interior if you want there's sales jobs or it could be a charter broker there's so many jobs in my industry you're never too old yeah i thought madeline dot holdren what is the worst thing a stew or deckhand has ever done you're not on the show i had a guy i fired him three times and hired him back each time because he was a good soul he just kept running our tender ground he wasn't paying attention like like we got hit we were in capri i thought oh my god we were just hit by a boat because it was that hard of a hit and it was it was tom three times the last time i was like everybody on deck we were loading

on a big ship called dock wise at 6 a.m i didn't notice we had 12 crew tom wasn't around it was towards the end after we loaded on the ship. I'm like, where's Tom? Everybody was so quiet. No Tom. Next thing you know, Tom comes walking up the dock. I'm like, go pack your stuff. I'm going to take you to breakfast before I send you home. But I want to know, was she worth it? Oh! And then he

after the breakfast, he had to walk four miles. He had no idea where he was. When I heard the journey he had to take, I said, I'll give you a reprieve. If you paint, ride the ship over, you have two weeks to paint the engines. And I like how the paint job is. I'll keep you. And I did. Nice. That's good. And Dana Wozniak, how many people have you had to fire since you've become captain? Not a lot. I've had to fire people, of course, but not many. I fire more people on below

deck than in my real career. I think in my real career, maybe five people. Oh, wow. Okay. Wow. Nice. Sarah Parks, 21, wants to know which Bravo star would you have charter a boat? So if we could do, you know, like ultimate Ultimate Girls trip but not Ultimate Girls trip just bring together like some people from Bravo is there a show or someone you're a fan of that you would want to have as a guest on your boat well I'd start right here the two of you amazing yeah so I don't really think like that but for me the crossovers are great I think it's great for our franchise yeah and you guys get it so you understand yeah. I think it's great for our franchise. Yeah. And you guys get it. So you understand.

Yeah. So I think it would be awesome. Yeah. Let's put that out in the universe. Because I do think that Bravo needs to do more crossovers. You know, we have Winter House, which is so good. Just did their second season. We've got Ultimate Girls Trip on what?

Season three or four now. I think. Summer House started with you now. I think Summer House started with you guys. Yeah, Summer House started with us. And then we started with Housewives. But all of those crossovers, I think are so interesting. And it's funny, I was saying a few years ago when I was single and I was like, I went on a date with this Southern charm. I went on a date with this Shaw, this Summer House. And I'm like, you never got to see any of that. And now they're doing all these crossovers. I'm like, well, miss my boat there.

But I think it would be so fun to see more things like that. Like get a crew from one show and put them on a boat and then have that crossover. It's manifested. It'll be awesome. Make it happen. Yeah. And I think we should have some production crossover.

Yeah. You know, honestly, I think if I could at the end of every season, if I could have take the entire production team out voting, that would be awesome. That would be so fun. They work so hard. Yeah. Just like I wish we could charter two extra days.

Yeah. And we show them a good time. Yeah. Shout out to all of the crews that make these shows possible because without them, we don't have this show. You know, like when Real Housewives of Beverly Hills got put on pause the first thing I thought of I'm like what about the crew all this crew who's planning on you know starting on this show again this month and then their job just gets put on pause I feel like

people think about the cast and don't think about the production and how much they go through and they leave their families and they they have to hear our emotional garbage you know it's like totally not garbage but our emotions yeah but yeah some of it can be but yeah that i would love yeah for them definitely because you know as a captain i got to choose who to take on the boat right so yeah i would always the leftover alcohol from each charter if they didn't pay tax we keep the alcohol because it's tax free. And I would use that to promote and sell the crew, right? So I'm like, okay.

So I did a lot of team building stuff with the crew and then I have a lot of charter brokers come on and test us. Yeah.

Do dinners, lunches. Nice. Yeah, cocktail parties, theme parties because theme parties are big in my industry. They do whole charter shows with theme parties.

Totally. Oh my gosh. Bravo loves theme parties too with theme parties. Totally. Oh my gosh. Bravo loves theme parties too. I know. Like your last season. Last season, it was too much. It's too many theme parties. Season nine, too many theme parties.

Do you have a favorite season that you have filmed? Favorite season. Favorite season, that's location, south of France. Favorite season, boat. I really liked, I have to say, I really liked the St. David i really like the saint david oh but i also liked uh lady michelle okay favorite season cast well they're all a lot of work you know favorite chef is dave uh-huh okay so let's go with that because yeah who makes or break the

charter let's talk about that that's a show Sure. So when the chef and the chief stew, those two have a good rapport, it makes my job easier. Yeah. For sure. Definitely. What would you say is the hardest part about being a good captain and a leader?

Good captain is knowing the line to be a leader when you're not their friend. I'm not there to make friends right you you build these friendships it's hard to build a friendship in six weeks right so the friends that i have for my old crew we spent years together you know we have oh my god the stories like just because i interviewed them with my writer of all the stories and i didn't remember half the stuff i'm'm like, I did what to you? He gave me $600, told me to chop through those weeds, get 45 miles to an airstrip and told me to wait there. I go, yeah. Did you do it? He goes, yeah. I'm like, we had a charter show to get to. Yeah. You know, I didn't remember that. So I trust

them. So I honestly, it's I don't really have an answer for that. Yeah. Well, we love watching you. I can't wait to see more. Thank you. What was your favorite part of BravoCon to end this with? I know I'm not supposed to say this, but I'm going to say it. The golf carts.

Yes. Watching the navigation of the golf carts. Oh navigation oh i was gonna say when you guys were like behind the scenes it was hilarious yeah because i don't think they had their lessons in driving and this lady was like back it up number nine he goes it's a danger to back up as our person was like we can't back up it's dangerous it was so funny because it was like one tunnel yeah and then you'd see the same people going in circles. I would see your Snapchats you would send me when you were on them and whatnot. No, it was so much fun.

Actually, I like to watch what happens live. I think that having everybody, every cast member in that room was epic. And Andy is incredible. He's the best. He's a great host. Yeah. Did you catch my performance? Yeah.

Doing those little splits there, Shana? No, it was so fun. Did you plan on doing the splits? I did. Or you just did that? Oh, no, I was stretching. I think you even see it on the vlog. I'm like literally stretching in my hotel room.

I was like, I got this. You weren't worried about pants ripping or anything? Not those. The original outfit I was going to wear, I probably couldn't have done the splits in. So it worked out that that outfit I forgot. And the other one that came was a size too big. And I had some stretch in it but the one thing i didn't like that i want to end this with that they did at bravo con is they did like a this or that and i thought it was really rude

and i remember looking straight at captain sandy when they did it because it was like which tom's the better tom which captain's the better captain is like captain lee or captain sandy and then when things are a landslide, I'm like, it's just, it's so bully-like. I was like, I don't like this.

That's rude. Thank you. So I would have voted for you. Thank you. Yeah. I don't think anyone voted. It was too fast. It was so quick.

But those things, I'm just like, it's like when you pick teams, you know, someone's still going to get picked last. It doesn't matter how old you are. Yeah. It's never fun.

It's okay. Thank you. Thank you. That's really kind. picked last it doesn't matter how old you are yeah it's never fun it's okay but thank you i yeah well really kind we love you thank you can't wait to read your book and continue watching you on your journey thank you mom for co-hosting thanks for having me and everyone be sure if you haven't already pick up a copy of captain sandy's book be the calm or be the storm thank Thank you so much. Thank you. Thanks for listening. Bye. Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.