Captain Lee returned to Below Deck for Season 10 while dealing with ongoing health issues. According to People, the show’s leader suffered an injury that caused nerve issues on the left side of his body.
Initially Captain Lee didn’t worry his crew about his condition, but he explained in a confessional in Episode 4 that he couldn’t “feel anything” and was upset by the fact he couldn’t do “a goddamn thing” about his prognosis. Later in the episode, he spoke to chef Rachel Hargrove about his illness.
“This has probably been one of the most humbling experiences of my life,” Captain Lee said.
Eventually, Captain Lee’s pain became too much to handle. In the episode's final moments, he gathered his crew for an all-hands meeting to inform them that he had decided to leave their yacht, St. David.
"As you guys know, I've been struggling with my mobility, and it's been hard," Captain Lee admitted. “And I've let you guys down, and for that, I apologize. So I've made a decision to leave the boat."
The shocking announcement came at the end of the episode, but fans continued sharing their feelings about Captain Lee’s exit on social media. Many Twitter users were sad to see him go, and admitted to “sobbing” over the idea of his not being on Below Deck in future episodes.
In true social media fashion, fans began theorizing that Captain Sandy Yawn would fill in as Captain Lee’s replacement. And, Bravo fans were correct. As viewers saw in the Dec. 19 episode, the Below Deck Mediterranean star was able to jump in when Captain Lee was forced to depart prematurely.
"She really did me a solid," Captain Lee recently told People. "I'm grateful she was there."
"That's a very difficult situation that I put her in," he continued. "You're taking over somebody else's boat and somebody else's crew. That's hard enough as it is — now add on top of it the fact that you're also filming a TV show and you've got me over here saying, 'By the way, I may or may not be back. It's open-ended, but I'll do my best!' I recognize how hard that is."
Grateful that Captain Sandy was able to jump in, Captain Lee told the outlet that he owes her "big time." However, it seems Captain Lee won't be gone for good from the Bravo series.
"I made a promise to the crew before I left that I would be back before they were done before the season was over, and I would walk on board by myself unassisted," he said. "I'm happy to say that I was able to fulfill the promise."
