Aleks: "I Was Furious"

Bravotv.com: You only have one more charter after this. At this point, what's your mood like?
Aleks Taldykin: My mood is a mix of things, but I felt relieved that it’s almost over, and I go back to commanding my own vessel.

Bravotv.com: Which crew members are you closest to? Does anyone really rub you the wrong way?
AT: I would say that I’m closest to Ben. We shared a room for the first half of the show, been in yachting for about the same time and know the run around, and steered as clear (no pun intended) as possible from drama. Lee rubbed me the wrong way, not that I disliked him; I respected him a lot. He would never give me any respect in return, which was unfortunate.

Bravotv.com: You seemed to be pretty pissed with Captain Lee's fire drill feedback last week, but this week, he gives you a compliment. What are your feelings towards him?
AT: The fire drill went out of control because of confusion and miscommunication. I put the electrical fire out with a CO2 extinguisher right then and there as you see on Episode 7, wanted to give the guys some training so I said the fire has spread out of control to the above wooden cabinets, which you would use water to put out, but he thought they were hosing the toaster down with water, which I killed the power to. It was nice to receive a compliment, which was the only one I got on the whole trip. Better than nothing! As you see, I praise my crew constantly when they do a good job; that’s a way of boosting moral and work ethic.

Bravotv.com: This week's charter guests seemed a little difficult, what was your take on them?
AT: You know, I have done this for quite sometime, and they didn’t faze me. I have seen a lot worse. It’s a job I signed up for and prepared for the worst, take it with a grain of salt, and work hard.

Bravotv.com: What went through your mind when you saw C.J. and Sam off the side of the boat?
AT: I was furious. I felt my blood pressure rise. The minute Lee takes off and hands me command, they start to goof off, and it reflects badly on me as their leader. I wasn’t thrilled.

Bravotv.com: You said that you finally saw Adrienne's point about Sam's insubordination. Can you tell us more about that? Did you understand why Captain Lee gives C.J. such a hard time now also?
AT: What people don’t know when watching is that we are spread out; we are not hanging out together. There are times when we won't see the girls for four to six hours, so it's hard to understand what they’re going through. That being said, I finally saw Sam’s true colors -- that she was there to have a good time. We all love to have a good time, but not during charter or working hours. I understood why Lee gave C.J. a hard time -- C.J. is a rebel he likes to do his own thing.Bravotv.com: Did you ever contemplate not telling Captain Lee?
AT: Not at all. He was in charge. It is standard protocol to follow the chain of command.

Bravotv.com: What went through your mind when you tried to speak to C.J. about the incident?
AT: I knew it wasn’t going to be pretty, but the conversation needed to be done. You have to pay the consequences for your actions, and drinking in front of your crew members while they are still working was unprofessional. 

Bravotv.com: How did you come up with the "plea deal"? Why $200?
AT: Lee’s stance was to fire them on the spot. It was a tough situation because we had one charter left, and we really needed the manpower for that last trip. Had to reprimand them someway, and where it hurts -- money.

Bravotv.com: Anything else you'd like to add?
AT: I hope people enjoys the show and what we do for a living. Would be happy to come back for a Season 2 as Captain and show everyone how I run things… a smoother, tighter ship, with leadership and teamwork.