Captain Lee eagerly returns to the Caribbean for season 8 of Below Deck

Captain Lee returns to one his favorite destinations, the Caribbean, for season eight of Below Deck, which will set sail November 2 at 9PM ET/PT on Bravo.

The highly-anticipated season eight will welcome back series veteran and experienced bosun, Eddie Lucas, and the addition of six brand new crew members.

Captain Lee will be forced to wrangle some of the unruliest charter guests yet, while, unexpectedly, braving the early days of the coronavirus pandemic at sea.

Fans are most eager to meet longtime Chief Stewardess Kate Chastain’s replacement, Francesca Rubi who prides herself on running an extremely tight ship. 

The teaser trailer opens on stunning aerial views of the Caribbean’s famous ‘white sandy beaches’ and ‘crystal blue water.’

‘It’s been years since I’ve been in the Caribbean, and I missed the hell out of it,’ remarks Captain Lee in his confessional as b-roll continues to dominate the screen. 

He continues: ‘White sandy beaches, crystal blue water? It’s like putting on your favorite pair of blue jeans. It’s like going home again.’

Captain Lee reveals that this time around he has ‘a new crew, new chef, and a new Chief Stew.’

Aside from Rubi as Chief Stewardes, Rachel Hargrove will take over as ship Chef, Elizabeth Frankini and Isabelle ‘Izzy’ Wouters will be performing stewardess duties, and James Hough and Shane Coopersmith will put in the work as Captain Lee’s go-to deckhands. 

Hargrove may be new to the cast, but the five-star Michelin chef has over 14 years of yachting experience and reigns over her kitchen crew with an iron fist and a ‘zero to a hundred’ type temperament.

Stewardess Frankini has ‘four years of on-and-off freelancing in yachting’ and a ‘namaste vibe’ that is often sent out of whack ‘when she mixes business with pleasure.’

Meanwhile Stewardess Wouters is a certified yacht master who dreams of becoming a deckhand, but, despite her knowledge bank, she struggles in the confidence department.

As for this season’s deckhands, Hough is the obligatory ‘big flirt’ with a ‘work hard, play harder’ attitude, while Coopersmith is described as a ‘California surfer turned environmentalist’ who is ‘attempting to break into the world of yachting.’

Quick clips of each new cast member flashes onto the screen, including a few lengthy shots of Chief Stewardess Rubi in action.

In one scene, Rubi can be seen meticulously polishing a wine glass with a white cloth an raising it into the light to examine the cleanliness. 

‘No watermarks, anywhere. All the time,’ she insisted, before cutting to a scene that shows her sternly reprimanding one of the stewardesses.

‘I am your boss. I am your superior,’ said Francesca, before humbly admitting in her confessional that she does ‘take [her] job a little bit too seriously sometimes.’  

Then, for a bit of familiarity, fans will get to see Captain Lee and series veteran Eddie Lucas engage in some expletive-riddled banter on board.

Having been absent from series for five-years, Eddie returns to the yachting world with a more mature attitude and aims to show his crew what it takes to be a great Bosun.’ 

Season eight of Below Deck comes with many of the jaw-dropping, cringe-inducing moments that draw viewers to reality television, including messy hookups, untamed guests, lots of partying, and ruthless confessionals.

And for the first time, Captain Lee is forced to end one particularly defiant guest’s charter after they refused to return to the luxury yacht.

‘Get your g*ddamn a** back to this boat, now,’ demands the seasoned captain before aggressively declaring: ‘Your charter just ended.’

In a dramatic montage, the crew’s on deck antics comes to an abrupt end as they become more and more aware of the coronavirus pandemic and its fervent spread on land.

‘The f**king world’s going to hell in a f**king handbasket,’ remarks Captain Lee into his walkie talkie with a defeated expression on his face. 

Below Deck, which first premiered in 2013, is produced by 51 Minds with Mark Cronin, Courtland Cox, and Lauren Simms serving as executive producers. Tania Hamidi, Cristina Lopez, and Rebecca Henning are co-executive producers.