How Below Deck Has Changed Since Captain Lee Rosbach's Departure
Get ready to set sail with a whole new Below Deck.
When season 11 of the Bravo series premieres Feb. 5, one familiar face will be noticeably absent: longtime Captain Lee Rosbach. But while the 74-year-old officially left the series last year after a decade of helming M/Y St. David, Below Deck Adventure's Captain Kerry Titheradge is stepping onboard to fill Lee's shoes.
So what should viewers expect from their new captain?
"There's a change of wind in the air I'd say with Captain Kerry, you're going to get a sterner captain," returning Lead Deckhand Ben Willoughby exclusively told E! News. "It's always good to have a fresh breeze. He's someone I think everyone's gonna enjoy. It's a different taste to Captain Lee and Captain Sandy [Yawn]. Some people may have to get a little bit used to that, but once you get into the rhythm of it I think you guys are really going to appreciate the different level of professionalism that he brings to the table with his crew."
After all, Kerry runs a very tight ship.
"You either sink or swim with captain Kerry," Ben noted, adding that Kerry is "very much the sternest" captain when compared to Lee or Below Deck Mediterranean's Sandy. "And rightly so, he's come onto a 190-foot yacht, which is huge. He doesn't know any of the crew, he's gotta get through six weeks of charter and I don't blame him now for being as stern as he was. I would have probably been even more sterner if my license was on the line."
As for what it was like getting used to Kerry's managing style after previously working under both Lee and Sandy, Ben admitted there was definitely a learning curve.
"It was very difficult to get myself used to another captain because when you get another captain on board, you don't know them, they don't know you," he explained, "so you're pretty much starting at square one again. The only thing that helped me was I'd worked on the boat before, so I felt like I had a a few tricks up my sleeve as opposed to Kerry. But Kerry's great."
"He's very stern," the Bravo star continued, "very much a captain who says 'if you mess up, that's strike one.' Whereas if you got Captain Sandy, she's very much like a motherly figure, kind of comforting, wants you to learn and nurture. And Captain Lee is just very much 'all right, you messed, up do better.'"
But Ben did find solace in reuniting with Chief Stew Fraser Olender for season 11.
"Jumping back into it with Fraser, a familiar face, he's very much like a like a brother," he noted, "even though we do argue. We still love each other at the end of the day, but we can't help but be very competitive as brothers are."
Below Deck returns Monday, Feb. 5, at 9 p.m. on Bravo. And keep reading to meet the entire season 11 crew.
(E! and Bravo are both part of the NBCUniversal family)
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