Shane Coopersmith Opens Up About His Below Deck Exit: "I Really Tried 100 Percent"

After a series of mistakes this season of Below Deck, Shane Coopersmith was let go by Captain Lee Rosbach in the December 14 episode. 

After discussing the deckhand's progress this season of Below Deck with bosun Eddie Lucas, Captain Lee called Shane into the bridge. "A lot of people underestimate the amount of work that gets put in here," Captain Lee told Shane. "I don't have time for you to catch up."

"You're a good guy, but sleeping in, taking naps in the middle of cleanup, and then this morning missing your alarm," Eddie added, "It's kind of the final straw."

So, Captain Lee told Shane that he had no choice but to let him go. "Unfortunately, the time has come for us to part company," Captain Lee told the deckhand. "You're just not getting it done for me."

Shane shared his reaction to getting fired during an interview in the episode. "I feel empty, like a vacuum just sucked everything up inside of me," he said. "Giving everything I knew I could give, it wasn't enough."

He later told Eddie while packing that he believes he "would have exceeded" the bosun's expectations by the end of the season. "We don't have that time," Eddie told Shane. "I needed you up and running two charters ago."

Captain Lee and Eddie opened up more about their decision to let Shane go in the Below Deck After Show, which you can view, above. "The first rule of thumb when you find yourself in a hole is to stop digging. Shane just never got the memo," Captain Lee explained. "After not answering his radio, after running around without his shirt on, after deciding to go for a dip while we're on charter, after taking a nap while everybody else is working, that was it."

Eddie added that he felt like he had done his best to show Shane the ropes. "The job of a deckhand isn't rocket science," Eddie said in the Below Deck After Show. "After explaining it once — which isn't very difficult — but then having to explain it again, that's when you're like, now I'm just wasting my time with you."

Both Eddie and Captain Lee noted how surprised they were by Shane's reaction to being let go. "The look of utter shock on his face, I just couldn't get over it. I'll never forget that. I'll carry that to my grave," Captain Lee said. "In what world did you actually think you were doing a good job?"

Shane admitted in the Below Deck After Show that he could have done more to get ready for this charter season. "My biggest regret was not being prepared enough for the boat," he said. "I should have prepared more, and that's on me."

However, Shane said that he gave everything he had while working as a deckhand on My Seanna. "The second I stepped on the boat, I tried so hard — and I really did go to 100 percent of my ability. Not at one moment did I give up, did I ever say, 'Eff this,' or anything. I was just like, I really tried 100 percent while I was on the boat," Shane shared. "I'm proud of myself for doing that, I really am. It was just a huge undertaking. It was just really tough, and I was really under-experienced."

Shane said the "saddest part" of leaving the yacht was saying goodbye to everyone in the crew. "It's a bummer saying bye," he said in the Below Deck After Show. "It's like the time got cut short, and I should've been around there for longer."

Still, Shane maintained his signature optimism as he left the My Seanna crew. "I'm getting picked up by my girlfriend, and I'm heading straight to the closest beach," Shane said in his last interview on Below Deck. "Overall, I'm chalking it up as a success, and I would say I'm proud of myself — except for oversleeping and the laz and the fenders... and docking."

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