Below Deck Med made history last night with a shocker that kicked off Season 8 of the hit yachting show.
Captain Sandy Yawn returned for another epic season of Below Deck Med, but it started like no other one before.
First, chief stew Tumi Mhlongo and Kyle Viljoen were MIA because visa issues prevented them from entering Italy.
Thankfully, Natalya Scudder returned to help Captain Sandy out in the temp chief stew role.
The captain also brought on a temp stew to help out the interior until Tumi and Kyle arrived.
However, this issue turned out to be the least of Captain Sandy’s problems.
Below Deck Med makes history on Season 8 premiere
Even before the Mustique yacht left the dock, the captain was dealt another blow regarding her new crew. When Captain Sandy was trying to verify bosun Ruan Irving’s yachtie credentials, she learned they belonged to someone else.
That’s right. It appears that Ruan’s credentials were forged. Ruan’s story regarding how he got his credentials in Monaco was an instant red flag for the captain.
It turns out there isn’t a yachting school in Monaco. Captain Sandy was forced to leave Ruan on the dock to sort out the situation. The first charter began without Ruan and Luka Brunton stepping up as temporary bosun.
Things went from bad to worse for Captain Sandy after she got a phone call from Ruan telling her he was going back to South Africa to deal with the credentials and the loss of his friend.
The bosun will go down in Below Deck Med history as the crew member with forged credentials. Ruan has yet to speak out on the situation despite promoting his very brief stint on the show.
Is Ruan on Below Deck Med the crew member with the shortest stint on the show?
There have been a couple of crew members on Below Deck Med who only lasted one charter. Season 5 stew Lara Flumiani quit after the first charter.
Season 6 stew Delaney Evans was let go by Katie Flood for lack of experience. Katie ended the season with just her and Courtney Veale instead of training Delaney.
Ruan, however, is the first crew member on Below Deck Med not even to make it to the first charter.
The bosun not only makes history for his forged credentials but also for having the shortest stint on the show. He didn’t even last a full 24 hours before Captain Sandy had to remove him.
Below Deck Season 8 alum Avery Russell is the only other crew member to have a 24-hour stint on the show. Avery, though, had to leave due to a family emergency.
What do you think of the Below Deck Med Season 8 premiere?
Below Deck Med airs Mondays at 9/8c on Bravo. Seasons 1-7 are streaming on Peacock.
still captain handled it with great knowledge and knew exactly what to do. or her boat would be detained on the dock years of expernce pay off thanks captain sandy a great first show love ya