EXCLUSIVE: Below Deck icon Captain Lee has detailed a near-death incident that left him unsure whether to “hug or slap” his co-star who made a mistake that almost cost his life
Below Deck legend Captain Lee Rosbach has detailed a “scary” near-death experience from the show.
The TV star, 74, spoke exclusively to the Daily Star as he promoted his new UK tour titled An Evening With Captain Lee: Nightcap. When asked if he could recall any horror moments on the show, he revealed his “scariest” story.
The captain told us: “The scariest moment was when Ashton Pienaar] got pulled overboard by a line, a tow line and he almost died. So that was pretty scary.
“Afterwards, I got everybody up into the sky lounge and we actually had the footage on our closed-circuit TV system, that most mega yachts have. I just wanted to impress upon everybody, like one of my pet peeves has always been radios. Carry your goddamn radio!
“Because it’s the difference between somebody living and dying, or it could be, and so had somebody turned out to be Riley had she not had her radio and said ‘Man overboard’. He would have been dead.”
He added: “Then how do I call up his parents and tell them that I’m responsible for killing their son? So, I got everybody up in the sky lounge to show everyone exactly where the mistake was made.
“Ashton had just finished telling the crew to never do this, and then he did it, and it wrapped around his leg and pulled him overboard. When I got him back to the boat I said ‘I wasn’t sure whether to hug or slap you, I feel like doing both’. That was the most graphic and scary thing that’s ever happened.”
The Below Deck star has more stories like this in the locker and is getting ready to share them on his tour. The boat pro will be travelling across the UK to spend an evening with his loyals fans.
Talking about his tour, Lee said: “I’m really excited about that and I can’t wait to get stuck in with the tour. It’s just me and a microphone and two fingers of vodka and some ice and we’ll go through some crazy stories, questions and answers and we will play some games. We have a lot of audience participation that’s what makes it fun.”
An Evening With Captain Lee: Nightcap tours nationally from 8 October. Tickets are on sale now via http://aegpresents.co.uk
Tour dates – October 2024
Tuesday 8 th – O2 Academy Glasgow
Wednesday 9 th – London Indigo at The O2
Thursday 10 th – Liverpool Olympia
Saturday 12 th – Manchester RNCM Theatre
Sunday 13 th – Poole Lighthouse
Tuesday 15 th – O2 Guildhall Southampton
Wednesday 16 th – Cambridge Corn Exchange
Thursday 17 th – University of Wolverhampton at The Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton
