‘Below Deck Med’: Captain Sandy Reveals New Details About Terrifying Pirate Encounter

Below Deck Mediterranean fans have likely heard the story about how Captain Sandy Yawn had to outsmart a gang of pirates in the Red Sea.

Yawn shared details of the account during the Below Deck Mediterranean After Show but has also spoken extensively about the terrifying encounter where guns were pointed at her vessel. Yawn said she’s actually encountered pirates on a number of occasions. But adds, “I was never attacked by pirates. You know how the story grows?” But, “I’ve been chased by pirates several times.”

And while she’s offered detailed insight into some of her encounters she recently revealed how dangerous the pirate encounter was to her crew—especially the women working on board.

Women were not accepted in this territory

Yawn said she had to keep the women on board below deck because they were not accepted in Yemen. “We found these two islands off Yemen, and made our way there at five knots on one engine and when we anchored, it was at about four in the morning,” she told Express.co.uk.

“When we woke up there was a military zone and we were surrounded by gunboats,” she continued. “And basically, all the women had to stay below [deck] and hide because we were in a place where women were not accepted.

“As a result of that, we tried to leave their territory and once we left, the boat caught on fire and that was about 15 minutes into our trip,” she added. “I had heard a warship [on the radio], and what had stuck out to me was a female voice and I heard this female voice on the Navy warship 68 and she stuck in my brain because I was like ‘wow, that’s really cool’.”

She also had crew drama at the same time

A Below Deck Med After Show producer asked Yawn to provide more details about the encounter. “I was already stressed out. Like I didn’t need to hear that pirates were coming,” she recounted. “When they’re off the bow, that’s when you can tell me the pirates are here!”

Then one crew member tried to kill another crew member. “The chief engineer tried to kill the guy who pulled the CO2,” she recalled. “This was all happening at once. I actually had one guy from California who said ‘I’m going tell them I’m Canadian!’ And I’m like, “Man up! You’re American. You got balls. Man up!’”

In the end, her calm and controlled demeanor helped keep the boat and her crew safe. “And that was a defining moment in my career. I won an award for that and my crew were fantastic,” she told Express.co.uk. “We did a fire drill the day before that happened so we managed to get the fire out very quickly.”

“And I called that warship to rescue us, I just said ‘I’m an American citizen, our boat was on fire and we’re stuck in Northern Territory,'” she added. “The coolest part about that was they said, ‘you are our priority and you will remain our priority until you are safe’ and then they came and rescued us.”