Captain Sandy Yawn Reveals What Sets 'Below Deck Mediterranean' Apart From Other Franchises and How She Deals With the Drama

Captain Sandy Yawn is celebrating her tenth season on Below Deck Mediterranean.

From keeping her crew in line to making sure every charter guest's needs are met, the reality star has seen it all in the past decade at sea.

Yawn speaks exclusively with OK! about what sets her team apart from the other franchises, marking ten seasons at the helm of the series, navigating tension within her deckhands, how she calms herself during stressful moments and married life with her wife, Leah Shafer.

Although Below Deck Mediterranean is Bravo's newest installment of the franchise, there's one major element that sets it apart from the rest.

"I don't want anyone to get mad at me, but it's the standard," Yawn explains. "The Mediterranean has a standard. I'm not saying that [Below Deck] Down Under or Below Deck doesn't, but when you're in the Caribbean, you're in other places like that, where it's beachy, it's very different. The Mediterranean is professional. You have a uniform. It better be crisp. Everything better be in place. It's the expectation when you're in the Mediterranean. The service better be the best in the world."

The businesswoman has dealt with her fair share of drama since joining the show in 2017, but she's always eager to return.

"It's amazingly cool," she notes of marking ten seasons. "Every time I go back to film, it's so fun. Yes, it's challenging. Yes, it's a lot of work, but we laugh more than we cry. That's all that matters."

Over the years, Yawn assembled a tight crew with Aesha Scott, Joe Bradley and Nathan Gallagher. However, after Bradley and Gallagher ended Season 10 on an awkward note, reuniting in Croatia wasn't exactly easy for the crew.

"Joe and Nathan are not how they were the season before," the motivational speaker says. "They were bros. They were in a bromance. Now they're in a... I don't know what it is. I'm hoping they can work it out. It's not easy to watch. It's very disturbing because they were so close. You want them to end on a great note. That's always my goal."

With tension throughout the boat and guests to tend to, Yawn has a ritual to keep her calm.

"I'm a human being. What I've learned to do over the years is pop in my cabin and play a song," she reveals. "I dip into my cabin, take a moment and then come back out. I always say if you can't go to the bathroom or go to your cabin, look at where your feet are and take a breath."

When Yawn isn't sailing, she's basking in newlywed bliss with her spouse after tying the knot in May 2024.

"It's wonderful," the 61-year-old raved about married life with Shafer. "One of the most beautiful things that we have is that we don't take things so seriously. Sometimes we do, of course. We're in a relationship, but we talk it through. The majority of the time, we are cracking up laughing."

Below Deck Mediterranean Season 11 premieres Monday, June 8, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo and the next day on Peacock.