Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, sweepstakes, and more!
Below Deck Season 8's New Deckhand Is No Stranger to Boats
The My Seanna yachties welcomed a new crew member following Shane Coopersmith's departure.
After Captain Lee Rosbach let Shane Coopersmith go earlier this season of Below Deck, the My Seanna yachties were in need of a new crew member to serve as deckhand.
Well, their wish was granted in the December 21 episode of Below Deck as Rob Phillips climbed aboard My Seanna to fill the open position.
After meeting bosun Eddie Lucas and chief stew Francesca Rubi, Rob shared that he has experience working on sailing boats, mostly under 20 meters in size. "I'm really happy to have Rob on the team. It seems like he has experience, which is definitely gonna be a change of pace," Eddie said in an interview during the episode, adding, "Anything's better than Shane."
In fact, Rob, who is originally from Canada, said that he comes from a long line of sailors, including his great-great-grandfather and grandfather, who were both in the navy. "Sailing's always gonna be a part of my life," Rob said in the episode.
However, Rob was in a very different line of work before joining the Below Deck crew. He told deckhand James Hough that he had been "living out in a tent somewhere in the bush looking for gold" prior to coming out to the Caribbean.
Rob shared more about his regular occupation in an interview during the episode. "I'm an exploration geologist, which means, in a nutshell, I'm like a nerdy Indiana Jones," he explained. "I look for gold, but as soon as the markets crash, I lose my job, which is why superyachting's kind of like the fallback sometimes."
Though Rob had only just joined the crew, Eddie told Captain Lee while chatting in the bridge that their new deckhand was off to a good start. "He's never worked on big yachts like this, but he still has intuition," Eddie said. "I think he's gonna be a good fit."
Rob revealed his first impressions of the crew during the Below Deck After Show, which you can view, above. "Everyone seemed pretty sound. Like, it was boat people doing boat stuff," he said. "I just had to find my bunk and my shammy, and I was good to go."
Find out what the rest of the My Senna yachties really thought about Rob, above.
Want more Below Deck? New episodes air every Monday at 9/8c or catch up on this season through the Bravo app.
