Captain Sandy Yawn encounters maritime law again. This time, there was a very serious issue regarding the authenticity of her bosun’s documents. During the premiere episode of Below Deck Mediterranean, the relevant authorities boarded the boat to check the crew’s certifications. Immediately, they flagged Ruan Irving’s papers because they were not originals.
A solution seemed possible when Sandy suggested Ruan have a friend express mail his documents over. Then, the Port Authority suggested that Ruan’s documents could have been forged. That, and he couldn’t correctly call the distance between boats.
Ultimately, the easiest solution was to leave the problem at the dock and shove off. Ruan later called to say he would not be returning. Curious.
Captain Sandy didn’t think it was a mistake
So, what was Captain Sandy’s reaction to the situation? And did she catch him in a lie? Here’s what happened during the episode.
“In this port — because it is so highly regulated — an MCA officer can board the vessel at any time and it is all about a safe operation of the vessel. From life rafts to certificates that we have to hold,” she said in a confessional.
The officer suggested the South Africa native presented a “not certified” medical license. “These are all photocopies of a certified copy,” the officer explained.
“You should always have the originals. The boat can be detained for that. On a private boat it is fine. On a commercial yacht, it’s a bit more strict,” Ruan was advised.
The bosun said, “I left them in a safe at home so I made certified copies at the police station. I can try to get them sent here.”
Captain Sandy could not leave the dock with Ruan until the issue was cleared.
“That is not OK,” she reacted during the episode. “We are in a bind. For the MCA officer, he wants originals. There’s a reason why [he wants them], you can’t forge an original.”
Speaking of forgery…
When Sandy attempted to scan Ruan’s document, another person’s picture surfaced.
“You have got to be freaking kidding me. This is someone else’s picture on Ruan’s certificate. This is major; this is like a whole different level, this is not okay,” Sandy reacted. “The entire vessel could be arrested because of one crew member.”
Ruan then flagged Monaco as the location where he got his Yachtmasters. Sandy responded that there’s no certification of that sort in Monaco without going “to class.”
“On one of the boats because the ticket expired, we needed to get a ticket done quickly. A guy came on the boat and he issued us our tickets,” he explained.
In confessional, Ruan insisted, “I have been on boats for three years with that same ticket and I swear to God the last thing on my mind is that the ticket was false.”
For her part, Sandy was skeptical and didn’t think her bosun would come back. It turns out that she was correct. Ruan phoned her to say he was returning to South Africa.
“I am a factual person. I am seeing what I see — this is a problem. Sometimes mistakes happen, however, I am kind of thinking this isn’t the case here,” she stated. “Regardless this is really bad and I am in a horrible situation having to start the first charter without a chief stew and now a bosun.”
Catch Below Deck Mediterranean Mondays at 9/8c on Bravo.
TELL US – WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE TRUTH ABOUT RUAN’S CERTIFICATION? DID YOU THINK HE WOULD RETURN? WAS SANDY CORRECT TO LEAVE HIM AT THE DOCK?
