Captain Sandy Finally Puts Her No-BS Attitude to Good Use in Below Deck Med Season 8

Of all the captains in the Below Deck franchise, Captain Sandy Yawn tends to insert herself into the crew's workflow and interpersonal drama the most. Throughout her Below Deck Mediterranean tenure, she's micromanaged the interior, demanding intricate tablescapes and setting unrealistic service expectations; exacerbated conflicts by playing favorites with members of the deck team, particularly Malia White; and fired crew members for ridiculous reasons, like longtime chief steward Hannah Ferrier, who got the boot for having unregistered (but prescribed) Valium on board, and Season 5's beloved chef Kiko Lorran, who struggled to stay organized in the galley. Time and time again, Sandy used her decades of experience in the industry as justification for undermining her crew, lording the threat of "maritime law" and "liabilities to the vessel" over the heads of twentysomethings who just want to make good tip money and get drunk on nights out.

Below Deck Med Season 8 is no exception: Just one episode in, Captain Sandy has already found herself at the center of the chaos. But this time — perhaps for the first time — she's put her no-bullsh*t attitude and passion for red tape to good use as the lone woman able to hold bosun Ruan Irving to account for what seems to be an elaborate fraud scheme.

Like Season 7 bosun Raygan Tyler, who lasted all of five episodes before she was sacked, red flags pop up almost immediately with Ruan. When an inspector comes aboard M/Y Mustique (which is subject to stricter regulations at the port in Genoa, Italy because of its size) he raises concerns about Ruan's documents: The bosun was the lone crewmember to submit a photocopy of his certifications, rather than the originals, and unless he can produce the original versions in five days, he'll be replaced.

Ruan complains to his deck team about the situation, but if it's pity he's after, he doesn't get it. "For someone to show up to a yacht without original certificates is very weird," says lead deckhand Luka Brunton, who recently appeared on Below Deck Down Under. "Like, if you get pulled over by the cops and you show them a photocopy version of your license, what do you think they're going to do?"

Even more concerning, Ruan fails the most basic deckie test of all: correctly calling the distance to boats and other objects in the port. And though he deserves to be cut some slack after learning that one of his best friends has just died, he doesn't appear to actually be doing anything on deck up to that point. This kind of hands-off leadership style will never work with such a green team — and it definitely won't fly on one of Sandy's yachts.

And then comes the premiere's big reveal. Not only are Ruan's documents photocopied, but his yachtmaster certificate includes a photo of someone who looks nothing like Ruan. An inspector explains that the entire boat could be detained due to Ruan's potentially fake ID, which means he needs to leave the boat ASAP, as the first charter guests have already arrived.

After she's alerted to Ruan's suspicious paperwork, Captain Sandy sets a careful trap. She asks Ruan who "this other guy" is on his ID, and he spins an entirely unconvincing tale about being issued the paperwork "on a boat in Monaco," where he completed the "practical" portion of the classroom education required to secure a yachtmaster certificate. "No," replies Sandy. "You can't get your yachtmasters on a boat in Monaco. They don't have a school in Monaco."

It's something only a captain with her experience would know, though Ruan doesn't seem to respect or realize that — he clearly thinks he'll get away with the lie, as he's done for the three years leading up to this point. Sandy sends him ashore temporarily in order to get the boat off the dock, but she's all but certain he's not coming back. She doesn't hesitate before texting a yacht crew staffer about a replacement and appoints Luke interim bosun until she can determine the best course of action. "I think it's like 0.5 percent that Ru can provide his certificates," says Sandy. "Fingers crossed Norma [the yacht staffer] can come through for us. Otherwise we're screwed. We're totally screwed."

Interestingly, Ruan doesn't bother trying to save his job. After a few hours off the boat, he informs Sandy he's not able to "get the ticket sorted in time," so he won't be coming back to Mustique. Ruan doesn't mention the mysterious photo or admit to falsifying his paperwork — "I'm kind of just deciding to call it quits and just head back to South Africa," he says — but it's apparent that he knows he's been made. His only option is to return home with his tail between his legs, resulting in one of the earliest exits (if not the earliest) in Below Deck history.

By the time the Below Deck Med Season 8 premiere ends, Captain Sandy's crew is operating with a temporary chief stew (Natalya Scudder, filling in for Tumi Mhlongo, who's waylaid by a visa issue) and bosun — and Norma says a new bosun won't be able to arrive for two weeks, almost halfway into the charter season. The situation aboard Mustique is dire, but amid the crisis, Captain Sandy has taken the first step toward redemption, which is more than can be said of her work in previous seasons. Fans shouldn't expect Sandy to butt out of the drama entirely — the trailer hints at more firings to come in the weeks ahead — but there's no denying that Below Deck Med's long-criticized captain has been the slightest bit vindicated.

Below Deck Mediterranean Season 8 airs Mondays at 9:00 PM ET on Bravo. Join the discussion about the show in our forums.

Claire Spellberg Lustig is the Senior Editor at Primetimer and a scholar of The View. Follow her on Twitter at @c_spellberg.