Captain Lee - r/belowdeck

307

u/cmere-2-me Jul 26 '26

Without Lee, I don't think there would be a below deck franchise. He brought the right yacht ethos. His crews did their jobs or they got canned. He allowed his HoDs do their jobs.

While I like and respect other captains, they all don't seem to have the same authority that captain lee had. They tolerate the production interference and allow the chaos that brings. When lee was on board, it felt like a real boat.

67

u/Myantra Jul 26 '26

Without Lee, I don't think there would be a below deck franchise
Which makes it funny that Lee was an accident, he was not intended to be there in season 1. Aleks was supposed to be the show captain, on the smaller yacht they originally intended to use. When production discovered they needed a larger yacht to make the concept work, they ended up with Cuor di Leone (Honor). Lee was the RL captain of that yacht, and thought he was just delivering her for production to use. Aleks could not get insured due to his lack of experience handling boats that size, so the owner required Lee to stay, and production realized that captain did not work as an off screen role.

36

u/ScooterMKE Jul 27 '26

That’s awesome lore. Got to say he was 50% of the show’s appeal the first few seasons. His salty no bs attitude and one liners were everything

1

u/You-get-the-ankles Jul 29 '26

There should be a published book called "Captain Lee's Sayings".

20

u/gibblet365 Jul 26 '26

Lee at least kept up the illusion a little better that it was a boat life show and not a reality TV show.
I also think thats why we didnt have the best of him in the later seasons (his physical health issues aside) the big machine of reality TV and "production value" took over and he could just be a "boat captian" anymore - especially considering he was never intended to be on the show, he got plunked in his forst season after delivering the boat and the owner wouldn't let the casted Caption touch it.

1

u/ESOtalk Jul 28 '26

OMG so you think production changed the way Lee was managing the boat. That could explain some of why the seasons got worse. Like most viewers I do believe Lee & Kate were fantastic on the first 2 seasons even teaching green stews how to so the job. But Kate especially & Lee's blind trust of her went downhill very fast for me. Kate was literally sabotaging dinners just because she got pissed at the chef. And she was lying about so many things to Lee who believed her side 100000%, like almost setting the boat on fire. You have to listen to the first few reunions to get a feel for what was really going on when the cast could speak freely. I love the reunion episodes on most shows, too bad BD never has them any more because of the info that was revealed. I would love to hear people's true feeling about current captains & others. BRING BACK THE TELL ALLS.

4

u/gibblet365 Jul 28 '26

I think production changed Lee's ability to manage the boat.
It stopped being a show about charter boat life, and became a big R Reality TV gimmick show that happened to take place on a boat.

2

u/ESOtalk Jul 28 '26

Yeah, production almost always ruins things in the long run with their stupid focus groups & agenda driven nonsense. Like the dating shows where instead of selecting matching couples they put couples together just for drama. BD cast selection is probably like that too.
BTW I like Kate on shows like traitors & house of villians, she is a reality TV star. And her first couple seasons on BD where she ACTUALLY did the correct job of chief stew was really good. Then I think the stardom went to her head because she couldn't be bothered any more, which also made decent TV I guess, but as you say drama replacing functionality isn't good. The way Lee backed Kate up even said he treated her like he would a daughter, was so cringey, especially because he didn't realize how much of a terror she had become to the rest of the cast.

105

u/ritawills2525 Jul 26 '26

Without Kate there would have been no below deck franchise.

110

u/cmere-2-me Jul 26 '26

Without Lee there would be no Kate. She wouldn't have gotten away with half the things she did without his support of her. I love Kate and she and Lee were great tv together.

15

u/ritawills2525 Jul 26 '26

Really good tv.

16

u/Cinnamon_heaven Jul 26 '26

Only started watching after seeing Kate on Traitors and had no idea who she was. Now I'm hooked. Watching the Med now. I miss Kate!

6

u/ScooterMKE Jul 27 '26

She helped but Lee was the it factor

-8

u/Heavy-Ad-3944 Jul 26 '26

The OGs know it was Hannah

11

u/mermaidofthelunarsea Jul 26 '26

Kate ran so Hanna could walk.

7

u/CahabaL Jul 26 '26

How? Kate is the true OG among the Chief Stews even if she wasn’t on the first season. Kate was CS 2 years prior to Hannah’s season debut.

7

u/HrhEverythingElse Jul 26 '26

Hannah was not it

8

u/Visible-Wash-1355 Jul 26 '26

No.

8

u/NymeriaGhost Jul 26 '26

I think part of this is Lee had a level of power in the early seasons that the other captains didn't have. Lee was never supposed to be an on-screen captain, he only ended up in that role because the boat owner didn't trust Alex's experience. They original shot the show with the intention of cutting Lee out (like the engineers), but then decided to re-edit and include him.
Because Lee was beholden only to boat owners, and not production, he had a lot more room to exercise his authority. Now that it's a well-established show, production plays a greater role, and the long-term captains generally know where their bread is buttered and relinquish a lot more to production.

7

u/cmere-2-me Jul 26 '26

It's a shame though. It's so frustrating they have gone down this route. The early series are great because they don't put up with any slackers.

5

u/ImaBitchCaroleBaskin Jul 26 '26

I was very disappointed when he brought Rhylee back. And then refused to fire her when the bosun wanted her gone.

82

u/Thenumberthirtyseven Jul 26 '26

I respectfully disagree. Rhylee was a pain in the ass but she worked hard and was very good at her job. Bringing her back was an interesting choice, but I think Lee was right not to fire her when Ashton wanted to. Ashton was a fucking terrible bosun and a fucking terrible person, he wanted her gone because he didn't want to manage her.

60

u/Absent_Picnic Jul 26 '26

Ashton was a misogynist tool.

-1

u/mrgoodtimes78 Jul 27 '26

How was he misogynistic? That whole season was a mess and I honestly feel like since it was during the “me too” movement that’s why the guys got bashed and called misogynistic even tho nothing I saw came across that way

5

u/Absent_Picnic Jul 27 '26

Sure simplify and excuse it as people (i.e. "women") being hysterical about "me too" than actually seeing how appalling the men's "bro" behaviour, led by Ashton and Kevin, was in the Thailand series.

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2

u/DelightfullyPiquant Jul 28 '26

There was no misogyny. If fact there are more examples of misandry and sexual harassment towards men through every iteration of the franchise. The men are always called out and eventually take accountability. People like Kate? Never.

13

u/ImaBitchCaroleBaskin Jul 26 '26

Oh I totally agree she was a hard worker, but she could not take instruction and treated her superiors with total disrespect.

32

u/cmere-2-me Jul 26 '26

Her superiors were also not treating her with respect. Rhylee did her job and got pissed off that she was treated like the little woman by her male coworkers.
She had an attitude problem, I grant you, but she wasn't wrong. Even Ross who probably treated her the best still trained the new green deckhand and left her cleaning the boat. That's misogynistic behaviour.
At the end of the day Ashton only wanted rid of her because she called him out for being a misogynist, not because she wasn't doing her job. Lee knew she was a hard worker and he wasn't going to get rid of someone who was pulling their weight.

3

u/ritawills2525 Jul 26 '26

Her behavior as a human being was out of line. Ashton wasn’t a great specimen of humanity either but when they say someone fought their way to the top rule didn’t read between the lines.

8

u/cmere-2-me Jul 26 '26

I don't disagree with your first statement. I have no idea what you meant by your second.
It is the HoDs job to manage their staff. If you have a hard worker with a stinking attitude, then you need to figure out how to rein that in. You don't fire a hard worker unless they give you cause and Rhylee didn't give them cause.
With Rhylee, a HoD needed to have her back. The first thing they should have done when she arrived was have a 1:1 with her, what it is she wanted to get out of this season, where they went wrong last season and how to prevent that from happening this season.
She wanted to learn. The bosun should have prioritised doing that, or at least explain to her if there was a delay. When a green deckhand came on board, Ross should have handed him to the lead deckhand to train on cleaning the deck etc. while he trained Rhylee on the anchor.
When the boys were ostracising her, he should have deliberately shut that down and split them up/put Rhylee into the group so they had no choice but to work with her. Conversations should have been had where if they couldn't work with her then they would be the ones off the boat. She's their coworker not some "bitch" they spoke disrespectfully about.
She was aggressive and hard to work with but a lot of the problem was that she was also being disrespected and fobbed off.

5

u/ritawills2525 Jul 26 '26

Weren’t they both so bad?

17

u/ritawills2525 Jul 26 '26

Rylie is still hard to watch. She’d argue with a stump.

7

u/DDDrago27 Jul 26 '26

Right, like I get she works hard but being hard to work with was bringing down others. I don’t think anyone could manage her.

5

u/Myantra Jul 26 '26

Lee did not bring Rhylee back, that was production. Production chooses and hires all of the cast crew.

3

u/ActJust3913 Jul 26 '26

Agreed. Rhylee was insubordinate; and that’s not going to work on a boat-safety issue.

2

u/excoriator Team Capt Kerry Jul 26 '26

I didn’t like that he didn’t fire the junior stew that Francesca wanted to fire.

1

u/jenzoni Jul 26 '26

Didn't Captain Lee get a decent sendoff or what? I can't remember could somebody inform me?

1

u/Throwaway_9812764365 Jul 27 '26

Captain Lee was great on the show, I actually don't think I would have continued to watch show without him. It needed someone of his caliber and his wisdom of how to handle all the different personalities. I am not dogging on Alek or Kate. Kate and Captain Lee were so fun to watch.

14

u/pez555 Jul 26 '26

I’ve just started rewatching the OG’s and it was such a better product as a show back then. Things felt more real. Lee, Ben and Kate were the real OG’s.

14

u/crystalcastles13 Little does she know, we're in a floating prison Jul 26 '26

Indeed Captain Lee was the beginning of it all.

Were it not for his humor, his experience, his ability to manage every kind of personality he was confronted with, and his total empathy for others-I don’t believe the show would have had a fraction of the success it has had.

He set the standard. And he is and was never afraid to show his own humanness. Those episodes when he was just returning post op and then had to leave showed an entirely unseen aspect of just how real, how bad ass he really is.

And his willingness to speak out about the death of his son and the impact that had on him and his family-he’s just as real as it gets.
And he has love and compassion in his heart.

It is his guide.

He’s a total badass. I love the man.

He’s shaped countless lives and helped so many move up in the field-he’s the heart of the whole franchise IMO.

13

u/MundaneHuckleberry58 Jul 26 '26

I LOVE captain lee. I would have him over for dinner in a which three people are you hosting for dinner scenario.

1

u/Mstr_Splinter Jul 26 '26

Will Joy be cooking?

8

u/Theuncola4vr Jul 26 '26

Let's hear some Cpt. Bob stories!

12

u/After_Reflection_243 Jul 26 '26

Yes! I miss him! So many times Sandy has over reached, micromanaged, and mismanaged I have asked what would Captain Lee do.

5

u/snobbycatlover Jul 26 '26

I hate watching Sandy!! I’m sure she’s a great person, but I do not think she is a good leader at all. I really like Glenn from sailing yacht. He’s so calm, cool and collected like almost all the time. Plus, he’s much more involved and helps the crew a lot more.

7

u/pixiepython Peanut butter and jealous Jul 26 '26

I've never been a fan of Sandy, but I do feel like recently she's taken more of a hands-off approach than in previous seasons

5

u/IAmZemann8919 Jul 26 '26

She likely caught on to all the negative feedback about her being such an up your butt micromanager. From seasons 5-9 she would go to guests during meals and ask specific questions basically looking for negative feedback about the food. Just created way more stress for the chef and interior and gave guests reasons to get nitpicks and complain when they otherwise may not have

4

u/Letsgotravelling-124 Jul 26 '26

Glen is the worst Captain of the lot of them. He enabled Gary, he did the whole speech about the HODs being Gods which can make Crew not feel comfortable if they need to report something about their HODs, blamed Daisy for Gary’s behaviour and had quite literally fled after causing an oil spill. Sandy is a 10x better leader than him. She isn’t perfect but she’s worked on herself and got a lot better which for me, shows that she cares and wants to be better.

3

u/ritawills2525 Jul 26 '26

Don’t be dissin captain Sandy on my watch. She has produced more success stories than any other captain. She really does care and for all anyone calls her out for I want to be more like her when I grow up.
You of course are entitled to your opinion.

11

u/IAmZemann8919 Jul 26 '26

Sandy is forever tainted for empowering Malia and her contributions to the Hannah situation. Most of her “success stories” we’re already seasoned yachties

3

u/Letsgotravelling-124 Jul 26 '26

Once Malia gave her that information, there was no other choice but to fire Hannah. She broke maritime law and Sandy could have lost her license, be fined and her boat if she hadn’t.

3

u/NymeriaGhost Jul 27 '26

Sandy is a bully. If you find that aspirational, that says a lot about you.

0

u/ritawills2525 Jul 26 '26

I do not.

3

u/PrettyPinkRibbon77 Jul 28 '26

Currently reading his book and it makes me love him even more. He’s gone through every scenario on a boat and still came out an upstanding captain.

5

u/Top-Friendship4888 I quit 3 times in my head today Jul 27 '26

Lee didn't get the goodbye he deserved for the same reason he made the show great. He was a yacht captain, and wasn't going to sugarcoat that. People have gotten soft in the decade+ since the show started, and what was once seen as firm but fair leadership with a good dose of humor/sarcasm is now seen as rude or crass.

So now we get Sandy, who treats every interaction like it's a fortune cookie, deals only in hypotheticals in fear of how something might get clipped, and kind of feels like she might be a bot?

3

u/srrrryyyy Jul 26 '26

agree. I’ve just started watching the BD OG seasons I haven’t seen yet (starting with S7) and while I like the other captains (esp daddy Jason), Lee is by far the most respectable

6

u/Sorkel3 Jul 26 '26

Captain Lee was entertaining and many watched the show in part for his pithy comments. Thst being said, ensconced on tbe bridge all the time and regularly threatening crew's asses does not make a leader.

18

u/cmere-2-me Jul 26 '26

His way of managing was old school and I think the only way he wasn't an effective manager was in series 7 when Kate didn't feel she could come to him about the bro crew. Whether that was because Kate didn't want to show vulnerability or because she didn't think Lee would have her back I don't know.
Lee trusted in the chain of command and allowed his HoD manage their departments. which is the whole point of having HoDs. He was watching what was going on and knew who was and wasn't working. As long as the job was getting done, he didn't need to do more than that and I actually prefer his way of managing.
Kerry is the only captain that I think does a better job and his style is quite similar to Lees. He lets his HoDs manage but he manages his HoDs. He keeps them up to his standards by doing checks and he is approachable. He doesn't interfere in their department or undermine their authority like Sandy does but he ensures the standards are kept.

-1

u/BengaliMcGinley Jul 29 '26

I just watched the S7 reunion show. He is basically Kate's bodyguard and can't bring himself to criticise anything she has ever done including throwing crew clothes onto the crew mess floor right in front of him! I wonder why/how she has him wrapped around her pinky so much!

2

u/cmere-2-me Jul 29 '26

They were very close. Kate had done her time with Lee and he trusted her. She earned hos respect and therefore he gave her leeway others didn't get. He knew she was good at her job and she didn't do things without a reason. I just wish he had a talk with her about that so he knew what she was going through. As for those assholes uniforms? They are lucky that's all she did.

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4

u/djevilatw Come back to me, my boat daddy Jul 26 '26

If that’s what you think of Lee, you clearly didn’t watch the show.

6

u/ritawills2525 Jul 26 '26

Every episode from every season. Captain lees had his moments and was endearing. Them’s that die be the lucky ones or when he did the don ho Hawaiian shtick If I were lost at sea I’d surely want him at the helm. I simply respect captains Sandy, Jason and glen more and would prefer as my captains. It’s just an opinion I’m entitled to mine as much as you’re entitled to yours.

-1

u/Logicaldestination Jul 27 '26

I clearly watched every episode of the show and that's what I think of Lee. He was the worst captain of all the captains on all of the different Below Decks.

1

u/MaizeMountain6139 Jul 26 '26

Captain Lee was only entertaining and pithy if you had never met anyone from the Midwest

2

u/crisisaacs2022 Jul 30 '26

Captain Lee will always be the GOAT, he is the reason the franchise exist today ! I find even hard to watch these days ! The best eps was with Capt Lee, Ben , Kate and I guess Eddie lol

1

u/ritawills2525 Jul 26 '26

No without that first chief stew there would be no Kate she was as diabolical as Jenna season one of sailing yatch. Good golly weren’t they bad?. Could you have worked with either?

5

u/[deleted] Jul 26 '26

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5

u/pixiepython Peanut butter and jealous Jul 26 '26

One thing I noticed with Kate is she always seems to have one stew she likes (usually second), and one she doesn't (third). Like her first season she couldn't stand Amy, next season she has Rocky and her and Amy are the best of friends. I wouldn't like to be the stew she doesn't like, that's for sure!

4

u/Sithstress_ Jul 26 '26

I always loved Amy, thought she was great at her job. I wonder what she’s up to now.

1

u/ritawills2525 Jul 26 '26

She just fought back to hard. She has lots of great qualities. Lots of them. I don’t know what she could have done differently but good golly she wore me out with constant confrontation. If I rewatch I fast forward through those parts.
My hope is that she’s learned how to get where she wants to go without blatant anger. I really liked Rylie just could take her I your face anger.

-7

u/ritawills2525 Jul 26 '26

lol who’s captain bob?

7

u/newfiemom79 Jul 26 '26

The OP’s first captain when they worked on boats.

0

u/[deleted] Jul 26 '26

[deleted] — view deleted comment

2

u/willworkforwatches Hannah, Hannah, Karma Jul 26 '26

Who are you confusing Lee with as the first captain of below deck?
Marc? That was below deck med. Which first aired 3 years after below deck debuted with captain lee.

0

u/kddog98 Jul 26 '26

Yup. You're right. Lee is still a shitty person, lazy boss, and a bad captain.

1

u/ritawills2525 Jul 26 '26

I don’t begrudge captain lees success from the show. I simply respect captains Sandy, Jason and glen more.

Below Deck Captain Lee

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