The partner of a builder is often the last one to get a new bathroom, a mechanic doesn’t want to come home and do maintenance on the family car, a chef would rather get takeaways after they have been cooking all day…
Not so for Captain Lee Rosbach. As the star of Below Deck for 10 years, he has been at the helm of some of the world’s most luxurious superyachts, but when he’s off duty, he still jumps at the chance to be back out on the water.
“I wasn’t a captain until I was 40 years old,” the man dubbed “Stud of the Sea” says. “I absolutely love it.”
He may not have found a career on the water until he was 35, but Captain Lee has seen his fair share of troubled waters. So he’s the perfect host for the new true-crime series Deadly Waters with Captain Lee, investigating crimes at sea. From the man who claimed his wife was washed overboard by a rogue wave, to the abandoned charter boat in the Bahamas and alleged pirates in the Caribbean.
As the person responsible for his guests, crew and mega-yachts, Captain Lee has always had immense respect for the ocean and tries to keep all aboard safe.
“Mother Nature is very unforgiving when she wants to be,” says the 74-year-old. He has replaced his trademark white uniform with a sombre black ensemble. “But human nature plays its part too.”
Hosting private groups for Below Deck was often eventful. So, his favourite time on the water was when everyone had gone to bed, with the boat anchored in a sheltered bay. When gentle waves are lapping the side of the hull.
“I try to get as much time with family as a I can,” he shares. “The longest I stayed out on charter was seven months without coming home. The person that invented the phrase ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’ definitely knew what they were talking about.
“I firmly believe that. I think that you don’t know what you’re missing until you don’t have it any more. So I’ve come to appreciate when I can get out on the water and still keep Mama happy.”
“Mama” is Mary Anne, his high-school sweetheart and wife of almost 50 years. She’s the woman he considers to be his best friend.
Parents to one daughter and four sons, the couple spent years buying and running 10 different restaurants. Their last was in Turks & Caicos, south-west of Miami. That was the first time Captain Lee had seen the ocean – and he was instantly hooked.
“I don’t do commercial charters any more and I don’t have a boat of my own,” he says. “But I have access to a lot of friends’ boats, so I have the best of both worlds.
“You have memories on the water that can never be recreated – especially if you spend it with family. There are just so many firsts they will experience being out there,” the grandfather of six and great-grandfather of one says.
“It’s the first time they see a shark or the first time that they’re up at the bow and dolphins are swimming as you’re cruising along. It’s those things that you’ll never forget.”
His children were also adults when he started in the marine industry. Two of his sons also took up careers at sea. Shaun is a chef on superyachts and before his death in 2019, Joshua, 42, was first mate on boats. Captain Lee’s youngest of five children died of a drug overdose after battling a 20-year addiction.
It prompted the couple to fund a scholarship in Joshua’s name to provide in-house treatment for others struggling.
“There is a general stigma attached to people that are addicted,” he explains. “People think these are the people in the back alleys, shooting up. It’s a physical sickness that happens to your next-door neighbours or a doctor whose kid has gone to medical school. They just made a bad choice.”
Captain Lee campaigned Congress to provide more rehabilitation centres, saying at the time, “It’s too late for my family, but it’s not too late for so many people out there who desperately need our help.”
With no plans to fully retire, he is enjoying this new reality TV genre and won’t even rule out working in restaurants again.
“You never know – I’m fairly unpredictable at times,” he admits.
As for a family getaway, where would Captain Lee choose to cruise?
“If I were able to take my whole family anywhere, I think it would probably be either Tahiti or someplace like the Galapagos,” he says. “To where you’re truly away from everything.”
Catch up on Deadly Waters with Captain Lee on Hayu now.
Help is here
Alcohol and Drug Helpline – 0800 787 797.
Depression Helpline – 0800 111 757 or free text 4202 (to talk to a trained counsellor about how you are feeling or to ask any questions).
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
