Yahoo Sports Below Deck 's Captain Lee Rosbach Closes Out 'Magical' Tenure on Bravo: 'It Feels Right'
Karolina Wojtasik/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty
Below Deck is officially a man down after Captain Lee Rosbach said his final farewell to the Bravo hit after 10 "crazy" seasons.
Rosbach, 73, appeared in his final episode on the yachting show on Monday night. As another charter season wrapped up, the man affectionately known as the "Stud of the Sea" sprinkled in a few of his signature salty words of advice and reflected on the coda to his four-decade-long career in yachting.
"Being a captain and being out on the water, there's just something kind of magical out there," he said early in the episode. "It feels right, it's kind of like Christmas morning."
Season 10's final charter guests were body builders, which hit close to home for Rosbach, who hit the gym every day for weeks in order to return to the ship after he had to temporarily step away due to health concerns.
But, despite his admiration for the guest's commitment to physical fitness, he did draw a line when they asked the crew of motor yacht St. David to star in their own body building show.
Rosbach — a self-professed "gym rat" — was not about to take off his shirt for the guests. As he quipped in an interview: "There is only so much lipstick you can put on this pig."
The guests disembarked quickly since it was only a one-day charter, and with that Rosbach returned his ship to port one last time.
"When you're coming to the dock, it's kind of a bittersweet moment," he acknowledged. "It's your last docking — you sure as hell don't want to f--- that up."
RELATED: Below Deck's Captain Lee Rosbach Reveals How He Was Cast on the Show by 'Accident'
Laurent Bassett/Bravo Captain Lee Rosbach
After he bid adieu to his team members one by one, he mused aloud: "I really hate to say goodbye to any of this crew. I would stack them up against anyone, I really would."
Taking stock of his time on the sea, he offered up his trademark humor. "Going on 40 years I've been a yacht captain, have I seen a lot of crazy s---?" he asked, before adding a wry laugh: "Is a 40-pound robin fat? Yeah."
He continued over a montage of moments from the show that ranged from wacky to legitimately life-or-death: "Have I been in situations that I didn't think I was gonna make it through? Oh yeah."
But, he affirmed, "Deciding to become a yacht captain has been the best decision I have ever made in my life."
And of this season in particular, he said, "I made a promise that I would come back. That's a promise that I delivered. I want people to look at the job that I've done and go, 'He set the bar high, and he kept it high.' God d---, what a ride."
"I don't know what's gonna happen in the future, but the ocean's always gonna be part of me," he concluded. "I've still got the best god d--- job in the world."
RELATED: Kate Chastain Reacts to Captain Lee Rosbach's Below Deck Exit: 'He Had a Great Run'
Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images Captian Lee Rosbach
Rosbach was forced to exit motor yacht St. David early into filming for season 10, a reluctant decision he described to chef Rachel Hargrove as "one of the most humbling experiences of my life."
Below Deck Mediterranean's Captain Sandy Yawn stepped in for much of the season, with Rosbach telling PEOPLE in December: "She really did me a solid. I'm grateful she was there."
"That's a very difficult situation that I put her in," he explained. "You're taking over somebody else's boat and somebody's else's crew. That's hard enough as it is — now add on top of it the fact that you're also filming a TV show and you've got me over here saying, 'By the way, I may or may not be back. It's open-ended, but I'll do my best!' I recognize how hard that is."
RELATED: Captain Lee Rosbach Says He Owes Captain Sandy Yawn for Taking Over for Him on Below Deck
Monica Schipper/Bravo via Getty
Below Deck debuted in July 2013, and its 10th season kicked off Nov. 21 with Rosbach and the St. David crew navigating the waters around the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia.
RELATED: Kate Chastain Is Pregnant with Her First Baby! See the Below Deck Star's Bump Pic
Kate Chastain — who developed a close personal bond with Rosbach while serving as his chief stew for several seasons — reflected on her mentor's time on Below Deck during a visit to Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen in mid-December.
"You know, I think he had a great run," said Chastain, 40. "Ten years! It was his choice, for health reasons, and I think he's pleased with it."
Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty
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Ahead of Watch What Happens Live's "Ce-LEE-brate Good Times!" special on March 27 at 10 p.m. ET on Bravo, Below Deck can be streamed in full on Peacock.
