by Captain Lee
“Now if this happens one more time, you’re going to eat this for dinner,” I said. That seemed to finally put the fear of God into him. Just to be sure, I made him stay down there in the bilge until he was gagging.
It’s a shame that happened before I was hired on to a reality show. That would have made pretty good TV.
Still, I had, on some level, a bit of admiration for the kid. Johnny was trouble, but he was smart, and he liked to mix it up. Part of the reason that he was hell on wheels was because he just didn’t have enough to stimulate him on the boat, so he made his own fun. The kid was part pirate, and there was something in me that saw a kindred spirit.
Sometimes, of course, the camera was right there even when you had moments when you wish they weren’t. Perhaps the most memorable one of those kinds of adventures was when we had some photographer clients who had brought what I suspected was cocaine onto the boat.
Lots of people seem to view yachting as some kind of above-the-law form of recreation. They think that going out into the ocean means that we’re in international waters, and that laws no longer apply to them. That might mean that they can play all the high-stakes pai gow they want to, but it doesn’t mean you can transport hard drugs. It looked like at least one of these guys was using the same logic as a seven-year-old who says he can do whatever he wants because “America is a free country.” Sure, kid, that’s how laws really work.
It was a tough situation to be in. On the one hand, we want clients to be happy. On the other hand, I don’t want my boat to get boarded by the Coast Guard, and I don’t want to go to jail for twenty-five years. I made the decision to kick them off the boat.
Making that decision wasn’t the end of it. I knew that they’d be pissed, and I sure as hell didn’t want anyone trying to get revenge on me, or the boat, by leaving some of their Brazilian marching powder behind and then making a call to the Coast Guard saying that we were smugglers. That would be petty as hell to do, but in my experience, people can be petty as hell, so you protect yourself. I assigned a crewmember for each of the former clients and told them to watch them like a hawk. Don’t let them out of your sight, and don’t let them hide anything on board.
After they’d left, I then told the crew to take the boat apart. I didn’t want any hidden stashes left on my boat. If I found any powder I couldn’t account for, it was going over the side. It was a hell of a lot of work, we didn’t find anything, and we lost some clients, but it was more than worth it to get that kind of garbage off my boat.
Sometimes, though, the surprises could be amusing. I remember one time, in the first year, the crew was sitting around, talking about what they’d done and jobs they’d worked before coming aboard the Honor. Dave, one of the deckhands, had been a Marine. He knew his job, was a good worker, and sure as hell didn’t create any drama. I was glad to have him on the boat. But he sure amazed our first officer, Alan, when he filled the crew in on one item on his résumé: gay porn. Alan’s jaw just fell to the floor, he was so shocked. Everyone cracked up, since they just had no idea. Can’t judge a book by its cover. But hell, if everyone who worked in porn was as good a worker as Dave and as nice, I’d recruit Adult Video News Award nominees to work my boat.
It’s certainly a unique experience living and working at sea. It’s not like other jobs, where you punch in, do your work, and punch out. For us, punching in might take a few days, or a few months. When you finally do have some downtime, it’s going to be shared with the same people you spend all day working with. When you go to sleep, chances are good that your coworkers are your roommates as well. It can make things filled with more tension and stress, but can also create a strong bond, like family. Who else spends all day together and then also lives together? Sometimes, you get along well with your brothers and sisters, and sometimes you don’t. But you make the best of it because that’s all you can do.
Working on a TV show has been a learning experience, but at the same time, it hasn’t changed who I am or what I do. First and foremost, I’m still a captain, a sailor. Whether there are cameras there or not, I do my job, try to keep the clients safe, try to keep my crew safe, and try to keep the boat in good shape. It’s like I tell everyone who works for me: don’t embarrass yourself or the boat, and things will work out fine.
I’ve got a lot more people who know who I am now, but I don’t think working in TV has changed me. If you thought I was a decent guy before, I’m still a decent guy. If you thought I was an asshole before, then that’s equally unchanged. It’s all I know how to be.
For better or worse, I’m thankful for that, because I’m incredibly appreciative for the life I’ve led. I wasn’t born with a clear path marked out for me way in advance. I worked as a welder because the pay was good, and it let me do something that few people had the skills or the backbone even to attempt. When prospects in manufacturing started drying up, I decided to own a bar and restaurant, because it seemed exciting and because I loved the idea of being my own boss. Sometimes those days were good, sometimes those days were hard. But it’s because of becoming a restaurant owner that I came to Turks and Caicos, and that’s what got me my start working on the high seas.
Once I got a taste of that, I knew I’d finally found my calling. It had the excitement of working the high steel, the beauty of living in a place of infinite horizons, and eventually it had the freedom of being the boss. Every day is different. Every minute provides new problems to solve, new dangers to navigate, new paths to chart. It’s not a life or a career that everyone would want. If it were, then it wouldn’t be for me. It takes a lot of hard work and character, and you always stand up for what you believe to be right. I had a lot of luck, some good, some bad, but it’s exactly the life I want to live. I’ve faced sharks and barracudas, corrupt cops in third-world countries, and some very dedicated Coast Guardsmen who always eventually had my back. I’ve run into devastating storms and survived. I’ve been on the receiving end of my share of punches and gave as good if not better than I got in return. At the end of the day, I’m the captain of my boat and my life, and I’m exactly where I want to be.
Having a cold one after making landfall in St. Bart’s during my early career.
Mary Anne and me at Capt. Tony’s Saloon in Key West.
Headed out for a day sail in Fort Myers Beach. Building the sea time.
On our way to the Dry Tortugas aboard Rickshaw before the steering cable snapped and I got some of the worst food poisoning known to man, courtesy of accidentally drinking the water this fish was being kept in.
Sunset over the Gulf of Mexico on our way to Key West.
One of my earliest commands, Rickshaw. Lots of blood, sweat, and tears went into her (Fort Myers Beach).
Some live music at our place in Turks and Caicos, the Columbus Club. That’s how we rolled down on the island.
No idea what I was thinking inside the Columbus Club, but it looks important (Turks and Caicos).
Our bar in the Turtle Cove restaurant. The bar was literally a boat sawed in half. That should have told me something right then . . .
My son’s eleventh birthday, and his first time on the ocean on the sport fish named Sandbox (Turks and Caicos).
Getting sea time on Mombo, sport fish style. Going from Turks and Caicos back to the States.
Best first mate I’ve ever had, my wife, Mary Anne, on board Rickshaw.
Night watch on Rickshaw. Gotta be vigilant (Fort Myers Beach).
This is how you celebrate Christmas at sea: helm station cluttered with decorations courtesy of Mary Anne (Fort Myers Beach).
At the helm of Southern Nights on our way to Nassau. I didn’t realize until after the Coast Guard boarded us that it was a drug boat.
In the cockpit of Mombo, the sport fish I cut my teeth on with Captain Rick.
Captain Rick and me getting ready for the St. Thomas Boy Scout Invitational sport fishing tournament. This was right after almost getting killed delivering a boat to the British Virgin Islands with an ec
centric character named Crazy George.
Interior shot of our open-air restaurant over the water in Turtle Cove, Turks and Caicos.
Always on the lookout on Rickshaw (Key West).
It’s always nice when the rainbow appears. The worst is over. On our way to the Bahamas on Rickshaw.
Taking a break from day sailing on Rickshaw, nothing better. Sails up, autopilot on, and someone else doing lookout.
Me manning the DJ station before I got bit by the call of the sea (Turks and Caicos).
Our new restaurant in Turks and Caicos in 1986—lots of work to be done.
My son Josh and his friend on their surfboards under our restaurant in Turtle Cove (Turks and Caicos).
Checking the rigging during a blow in the Bahamas.
Weather isn’t always pleasant on a small sailboat (Bahamas).
Stopped in Key West and had a Captain and Coke, my signature beverage, at the famous Capt. Tony’s Saloon.
One of my very first solo trips on Rickshaw with Mary Anne, offshore of Little Palm Island, just before Key West.
Acknowledgments
I’d like to thank my sister Victoria for helping me find a title for this book. This book would not have been possible without Frances Berwick, who championed Below Deck and was instrumental in providing encouragement to start writing down some of my stories. I’d like to thank Shari Levine, Doug and Rebecca Henning, Mark Cronin, and Courtland Cox, whose brilliance, energy, and drive helped get our show off the ground and where it is today. Finally, I’d like to thank my buddy Raj, without whose support and advice I wouldn’t be here.
About the Authors
CAPTAIN HAROLD LEE ROSBACH is the star of Bravo’s popular reality series Below Deck. He has been in the luxury yachting industry for more than twenty-five years and has commanded more than a dozen superyachts of up to 185 feet. When he’s not offshore, Captain Lee lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with his wife.
Michael Shohl is a writer and editor who makes his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
FOR MORE ON THESE AUTHORS:
Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Captain-Lee
Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Michael-Shohl
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Gallery Books
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Copyright © 2018 by Captain Harold Lee Rosbach
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Gallery Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.
Note to readers: Many names and identifying details have been changed, whether or not so noted in the text.
First Gallery Books hardcover edition September 2018
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Jacket design by John Vairo Jr.
Jacket photograph © Bravo/Contributor/NBCUniversal/Getty Images
Back jacket photograph by Stacy ONell
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Rosbach, Lee, Captain, author. | Shohl, Michael, author.
Title: Running against the tide : true tales from the stud of the sea / by Captain Lee Rosbach ; with Michael Shohl.
Description: New York : Gallery Books, 2018.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018018266 | ISBN 9781501184444 (hardback)
Subjects: LCSH: Rosbach, Lee, Captain. | Television personalities—United States—Biography. | Ship captains—United States—Biography. | BISAC: BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Personal Memoirs.
Classification: LCC PN1992.4.R575 A3 2018 | DDC 791.4502/8092 [B]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018018266
ISBN 978-1-5011-8444-4
ISBN 978-1-5011-8446-8 (ebook)
