Fraser Olender Is Already a “Bit Concerned” About the New Stew Leigh-Ann: Here’s Why

Motor yacht St. David has seen quite a bit of turnover on this season of Below Deck. In addition to Captain Sandy Yawn temporarily taking over for Captain Lee Rosbach, after Camille Lamb was fired and replaced by deck-stew Tyler Walker, Alissa Humber was also let go and new second stew Leigh-Ann Smith took over her role on the show's February 27 episode. However, before Leigh-Ann even boarded the yacht, chief stew Fraser Olender expressed that he was a bit weary of how their experience working together might go. 

"We've got two roads here," he said in an interview while discussing Leigh-Ann's previous chief stew experience. "We've got one where they're gonna come in and start doubting me, or we've got: knows what they're doing, can put them anywhere and they're gonna be happy to assist. Hopeful we're gonna have the latter...You just don't know do you." 

After spending some time with Leigh-Ann on the March 6 episode of the show, Fraser's doubts hadn't exactly subsided. "I'm a little bit concerned with how much experience my stew has got because she's a chief, and she's actually been a chief longer than I have," he admitted in an interview. "This is my boat now, and I know how it runs. If she can jump in and do what's being told of her, then she'll have no issues."

The two had their first instance of differing opinions during a beach outing for the charter guests. Leigh-Ann asked for a canopy in order to provide shade, and declared, "we definitely need it," but when the message was relayed to Fraser, he didn't seem pleased. "There's not one thing they need that wasn't packed," he said to bosun Ross McHarg. "People shouldn't be getting creative. That's my job." 

Like viewers at home, Ross was quick to pick up on some palpable tension between the two. As he put it: "I have noticed with Leigh-Ann joining our group, with her having been a chief stew previously, there's maybe the slightest of power struggle in their department."

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