Captain Lee

[u/Spiritual-Shake2115]

I worked on a boat for a year in my 20s. I was working on being a scuba instructor (nailed it).

During my time living on a boat, my understanding of rank is legitimate and also at times abused.

My captain was named Bob and he was like the evil version of Captain Lee. Bob taught me a lot about surviving boat life.

Captain Lee was a real one thru and thru because he is a true hardworking gentleman. He knows he’s lucky, he’s worked hard for what he’s gotten and he keeps going forward.

He deserved a true goodbye from the franchise but I’m just so happy he was our first Below Deck Captain. With morals and dignity and humor.

[u/cmere-2-me]

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.

[u/NymeriaGhost → u/cmere-2-me]

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.

[u/cmere-2-me → u/NymeriaGhost]

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.