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A franchise first! Captain Sandy Yawn<\/strong><\/a> stepped up to help Captain Lee Rosbach<\/strong><\/a> amid his departure from Below Deck<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cCapt Sandy came in an[d] bailed me out in a tough situation and I appreciate her efforts,\u201d Lee, 73, tweeted<\/a> on Tuesday, December 19, about his season 10 exit. He originally joined the series during its debut on Bravo in 2013.<\/a><\/p>\n During the new episode, viewers watched the captain say goodbye to his crew<\/a> as he headed back to the U.S. to deal with his health issues. Lee noted that he planned to come back to finish<\/a> the charter season.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m gonna go back to the [United] States, get this straightened out \u2014 and as soon as I do \u2014 I\u2019ll be on the first plane back here and tell whoever\u2019s on board to get the f\u2014k off my boat,\u201d he quipped to his costars in Thursday\u2019s episode, while referring to his plane ticket as \u201croundtrip.\u201d<\/p>\n Lee previously opened up about how his personal issues were affecting his time on St. David<\/a>. \u201cMy injury, it\u2019s getting worse. The left side of my body, I don\u2019t feel anything,\u201d he explained in an episode earlier this month. \u201cI expected a lot more progress than I\u2019m experiencing, and the most frustrating part about it is, I can\u2019t do a god goddamn thing about it, and it\u2019s hard.\u201d<\/p>\n At the time, the Florida native admitted he wanted to do \u201cright by\u201d his fellow cast members<\/a> by stepping aside. \u201cOne of my biggest problems now is I\u2019m not able to observe. I don\u2019t know who\u2019s doing what, it\u2019s my job,\u201d he added. \u201cThey expect that out of me. There comes a point if a captain is really being objective, he should be putting the best interests of his crew first.\u201d<\/p>\n In an emotional moment, Lee i<\/a>nformed his costars of his exit<\/a>, saying, \u201cAs you guys know I\u2019ve been struggling with my mobility, and it\u2019s been hard and I\u2019ve let you guys down and for that, I apologize. So I\u2019ve made a decision to leave the boat.\u201d<\/p>\n Ahead of his onscreen departure, the OG Below Deck<\/em> star discussed the progress he made with his health.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cBack surgery came out great, it really did,\u201d he exclusively told Us Weekly<\/em> in December. \u201cYou will find this season that I do something that I\u2019ve never, ever done before in my career or in my life. And there\u2019s gonna be a lot of situations where you\u2019re gonna go like, \u2018Wow, didn\u2019t see that coming at all.\u2019 And not only will it be true for the viewers, [but] it was also true for myself and the crew.\u201d<\/p>\n Sandy, 56, for her part, has become a familiar presence in the franchise after joining Below Deck Mediterranean<\/em> in 2017<\/a>. The reality TV star\u2019s appearance marks the first crossover in Below Deck franchise history.<\/a><\/p>\n