Discussing the incredible opportunity, Captain Lee told The List, “Planning a vacation can be stressful.
It’s those things that come up and bite you in the butt.”
What drew you to this project?
How great is that?
They don’t have to worry about packing.
They don’t have to worry about travel arrangements.
They don’t have to worry about anything except getting there and having fun.
And who’s going to feed the parakeet?"
Here, Dramamine has taken all the worry out of it.
There’s no drama.
All [the winners] have to do is enjoy life.
You already get to travel the world!
But I’ve got to work when I get there.
Where would you go if you could pick anywhere in the world?
Well, definitely someplace warm maybe the Maldives or Seychelles or Galapagos.
The closest I’ve come to anything like that would be Tahiti.
That was pretty good.
I really enjoyed that.
You’ve had an incredible career in yachting so far.
How did you first get started?
I was 35 and I’d taken a job helping to deliver a sailboat to Saint Martin.
It wasn’t until we got out of sight of land that I started not feeling quite so good.
I carried that with me every [night] watch that I did.
That was my first year.
I spent my first year seasick.
But I was determined.
On overcoming seasickness to become a captain
You got through the seasickness?
Now, I’m much better prepared for when people come on board.
The people over at Dramamine make it so easy, and it’s so effective.
If you don’t, you want the non-drowsy kind you’ve got that too.
The ones [my wife] Mary Anne likes are theGinger Chews.
It’s not just for seasickness.
Pregnant women feel nauseous a lot.
To me, those Ginger Chews would be the ideal thing.
Pop a ginger or two, and you’re good to go.
When did you realize you wanted to become a captain?
I knew after the first trip.
I wanted to work on the water.
I was talking to what I thought was the owner.
He wasn’t the owner; he was the captain.
I said, “You get paid for this?”
I was so astonished.
That was the icing on the cake.
What did your wife say then when you announced that you wanted to become a captain?
You forget about those study habits, long nights prepping for exams.
But we made it through, and I can confidently say it was worth it.
Did you think the show was going to be a success when you first started?
Well, it didn’t quite work out that way.
10 or 11 years later, here we are, still going at it.
You have to remember, this all happened 12 years ago.
She said, “If you premiered at 750,000 and could maintain that throughout the season.”
We only had 10 episodes in the first season.
She goes, “750,000 probably gets you an invitation back.”
I think we debuted at 1,250,000, and everybody’s jaw hit the floor.
Nobody could believe it, least of all me.
Your friendship withKate Chastainis another one of the great parts of the show.
Did you always enjoy working with her, and are you still close?
I love working with Kate.
Kate was my one worry-free department.
It was give her a task and forget about it.
I didn’t have to.
I could always depend on her.
That made my job a lot easier.
Are you excited now Kate has expanded her family?
I’m so happy for her.
I really am.Sullivan Cay I love that name.
I couldn’t be more tickled for her.
I still chat with Eddie [Lucas].
We probably talk once every month or two months.
She’s trying to branch out; she wants to be a standup comic.
From the yachting world, there’s no lack of material.
There really isn’t.
That’s what I would call a target-rich environment.
How did you feel about becoming a reality TV star?
It’s one of those things that sneaks up on you.
The first year, it was like, “Okay, I’ve got to do it.
No way out of it.”
The boss says you’re doing it, you’re doing it.
The second year, we had a lot of fun.
I guess I’m in television."
It’s subtle, the way it works its way into your life.
Before you know it, your life will never be the same again.
The toothpaste is out of the tube go ahead, try and put it back in.
Where do you stand with the show?
I’m probably going to take a year off for Season 11.
After that, I don’t know.
I’m going to stand back, take a look at it.
[It’s] comfortable sitting around by the pool"?
Any time somebody calls up and says, “You want to go golfing?”
you go, “Sure, why not?”
But retirement is totally overrated.
you might only go fishing so much.
you’re free to only go golfing so much, and I like to stay busy.
The only thing that I absolutely love doing every day is I go to the gym.
I’m enjoying life, and I’m feeling great.
I’ve got some other things in the works that I’m not at liberty to say.
I know that was your next question.
But no, I wouldn’t be opposed to going back and heading out to sea again.
That wouldn’t offend me at all.
Do you have any future plans you’re free to tell us about?
Anywhere you’re traveling to or anything you’re hoping to do?
We’re going to do some diving for treasure hunting.
He’s got one of these little track airplanes.
They’re amphibious planes.
They’re only two-seaters, and they’re relatively smaller now.
They’re for taking out and having fun, basically.
We’ll be doing some of that.
I’m looking forward to my week over there.
On his standout career moments
What are some of the standout moments from your career so far?
There have been a lot.
Every time I stop and think of how close he came to dying, that gives me chills.
But there’ve been a lot of fun moments.
Most captains probably wouldn’t have the stones to cut a charter guest loose and let him float away.
We kept waiting for him to wake up, and he wouldn’t.
Then we had to send a jet ski out there to give him one of those rude water awakenings.
Is there anything else you want us to know about Dramamine’s Ditch the Drama Sweepstakes?
Enter as often as you’re free to.
Enter as often as you’re able to.
Dramamine makes outstanding products, so you could enter as often as you’d like to.
I’m going to be pulling for somebody big time.
Three people are going to have that opportunity.
We’ve got the details handled.
Learn more about Dramamine andenter their Ditch the Drama Sweepstakeson theirwebsite.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
