The Discovery Channel has just released the bios of the upcoming Season 3 Crews. Check it out!

Each year, hundreds of fishermen converge on Dutch Harbor, Alaska, for the beginning of the Alaskan king crab season. While at sea, they face nearly 24-hour shifts for days at a time, in less than optimal conditions: 40-foot waves, 80-mph winds, subfreezing weather and 700-pound crab pots slamming against the deck — not to mention a nearly 100 percent injury rate.

But the payoff can be huge: Well-placed pots can collect millions of dollars worth of highly prized king crabs … or just enough crabs to cover the boat’s operating expenses. Whatever the take, the men and their families will feel the effects the rest of the year.

So who are these men, and, this season, women, risking their lives for their livelihood? Meet the crews of the eight boats featured during Deadliest
Catch 3.

The Northwestern

Sig Hansen revels in the strategy and competition of fishing. He has been a captain for the past 18 years, and is the eldest of the three brothers who operate the family-owned vessel. A fourth-generation Norwegian fisherman, Sig tends to be very superstitious. The Seattle, Wash., resident operates the Northwestern with help and unsolicited opinions from his younger brother, Deck Boss Edgar Hansen, and his more reserved brother, Deckhand Norman Hansen.

Working alongside the Hansen brothers as deckhands are Nick Mavar Jr. and Matt Bradley, both of whom have been a part of the crew for several years.

Cornelia Marie

This season marks Capt. Phil Harris’ 16th year with the Cornelia Marie and his 30th year in the crab-fishing industry. As a co-owner, Phil was responsible for making the Cornelia Marie one of the top-performing boats last season, despite some major mechanical difficulties.

Phil, who resides in Seattle, will be joined this season by his two sons: Jake (who celebrated his 21st birthday while out at sea during king crab season) returns for his third year as a deckhand, this time earning full share. Taking his place on board as the greenhorn this year is his older brother Josh (23). This is Josh’s first season crab fishing on the Bering Sea, and Jake is eager to show him the ropes.

Joining the Harris clan is First Mate Roger Jensen, who has been Phil’s loyal and trusted deckhand since 1988; Deckhand Dave Millman, who is returning after suffering an injury last opilio season; and Engineer Mark Anderson, new to the Cornelia Marie this season.

Time Bandit

Brothers Johnathan and Andy Hillstrand share the skippering duties on board their family-operated vessel, the Time Bandit. Designed by the Hillstrands’ father and custom-built by the brothers, the boat features luxuries unheard of on other crab boats, such as staterooms with queen-sized beds, a four-person sauna and a dishwasher.

Johnathan is the captain during king crab season. He runs a tight ship and is not afraid to speak his mind. When he’s not embracing the elements at sea, the Homer, Alaska, resident enjoys a zest for life on the edge that includes riding a Harley that is rigged to rocket to 120 mph at the touch of a button.

Andy Hillstrand is skipper during opilio season and also runs the business side. During the off-season, Andy spends time at his ranch in Indiana, where he engages in his other passion — training horses.

The youngest of the brothers, Deckhand Neal Hillstrand is responsible for prepping the boat at the start of each season and serves as the cook. Deckhand Nathan Vandecoevering also returns to fish on the Time Bandit. New to the boat this year is Deckhand Russ Newberry, who brings with him nearly 20 years of crabbing experience.

Maverick

Greenhorn Capt. Blake Painter takes the helm of the Maverick while husband-and-wife owners Rick and Donna Quashnick take off this year’s king crab season. Rick and Donna return to run the boat for opilio season.

A second-generation fisherman from Astoria, Ore., Blake started fishing at the age of 3 and made his first professional fishing trip to Alaska when he was 13. Blake, now 26, has been fishing on the Maverick for the past six years.

Deckhands Mike and Marvin Johnson are Blake’s former roommates and long-time friends. The brothers are also second-generation fishermen who worked in the logging industry in Astoria prior to fishing the Bering Sea. They both credit Blake for getting them into the crab-fishing industry.

Greenhorn Ed Green played high school football with Capt. Blake. He has seven years of fishing experience and his captain’s license, and he spent several years skippering a charter boat but this is his first season on a crab boat. The crew’s most experienced fisherman by far is Deck Boss Scott Templin, who is entering his 18th year of crabbing. He has worked with Blake in the past on some of the Maverick’s partner boats, and fished last year with the Aleutian Ballad.

The Wizard

Capt. Keith Colburn of Redmond, Wash., took a huge risk this year purchasing the Wizard, a World War II-era Navy ship that was converted into a fishing vessel in 1978 and is one of the largest vessels in the fleet at 155 feet in length. Keith wasn’t fishing when rationalization took effect last year, so unlike other boats in the fleet, he wasn’t assigned a quota of crab — forcing him to lease his entire catch and making the stakes that much higher.

Joining Keith are his brother Monte, an experienced deckhand who takes over as skipper for the last half of opilio season; First Mate Gary Soper, a 20-year fishing veteran; and deckhands Art Peterson, Lenny Lakinoff, Crosby LeVeen and Nick Malar (who returns to fishing two years after surviving a car wreck that broke both his legs).

Farwest Leader

Capt. Greg Moncrief is called “the natural” by many of his fellow fishermen because he is naturally gifted at finding crab. He’s a 20-year veteran of the fishing industry and has spent the last five years on the Farwest Leader. Greg resides in the Harbor Point area of Washington with his Norwegian-born wife Ragnhild and their two daughters. This season, Ragnhild is taking some time off from her full-time job as a travel agent to join the crew as a deckhand and cook.

Joining the husband-and-wife team are Engineer Chris “Chilly” Anderson and deckhands John Mavar, who has been with the Farwest Leader for the past four years; Tico Tyson, a Seattle resident who has spent six of his eight years in the business crabbing on the Farwest Leader; and Ricky Lopez.

Aleutian Ballad

Capt. Jerry “Corky” Tilley of West Port, Wash., began fishing professionally during the summers at the age of 12 and got on a crab boat when he was 16. He made his first trip to the Bering Sea right after high school and has been fishing ever since. As captain and part-owner of the Aleutian Ballad, Corky says this will be his last season at sea.

But for now, Corky has a lot riding on his final season, including his daughter Nicole and son Matthew, who serve as deckhands. Twenty-six-year-old Nicole dropped out of beauty school to join the family’s fishing business, where she works hard to prove herself to the guys on deck. Matthew, the greenest deckhand on the Aleutian Ballad, has worked alongside Nicole on other fishing boats in the past, and the two have a good working relationship.

Joining the Tilley family for their final voyage together aboard the Aleutian Ballad are Engineer Brandon Krenz, Deckhand Allen “Kiwi” Brant and Deckhand Kenny McMahon.

Early Dawn

Capt. Allen Oakley, an intense and focused man, has served on the Early Dawn for the majority of his 21-year career, and has skippered the boat for 15 of those years. Allen saw the Early Dawn for the first time when he took a summer off from college to become a fisherman and knew that “Someday, I had to get on that boat.” Little did he know that serving as a deckhand on the Early Dawn would lead to his partial ownership, as well as command, of the craft. Allen, who resides in Blaine, Wash., also owns partial shares in three other fishing boats.

Accompanying Capt. Allen as a greenhorn is the co-owner’s son, Bryan Mezich. Standing 6′6″ tall, Bryan certainly has the size to become a skilled hand, and he postponed his college career to try the family business. Bryan will be mentored by 20-year veteran Pat Quinn, who has worked the past five years for Allen. Rounding out the crew are Engineer Mike Fish and Deck Boss Rick Fehs.

Source?

The Discovery Channel released a few of the episode titles for this upcoming season, check them out.

1. A Tragic Beginning (Apr. 03)

Welcome back to Dutch Harbor, Alaska. The largest fishing port in the United States is buzzing with life as 81 fishing vessels, including the Northwestern, the Cornelia Marie, and the Time Bandit, return to start the 2006 Red King Crab season.

2. The Unforgiving Sea (April 10th)

After a fishing boat sinks, the fleet works with the Coast Guard to find survivors. Equipment failures plague the Northwestern & Cornelia Marie, and the Time Bandit & Maverick start fishing only to have one boat come up empty while the other fills

3. Pain and Paybacks (April 17th)

After a deadly start, the Bering Sea is still claiming victims. Working in high seas, Deckhand Lenny Lakanoff of the Wizard suffers a crippling injury, leaving Captain Keith scrambling to shore. On the Northwestern, Deckhand Matt fears possible jail time.

4. Man Overboard! (April 24th)

Halfway through the season the grind is on. On all the boats the men are working 40 hours without sleep. Equipment failures, fatigue and bad weather are making fishing even more dangerous, and the men of the high seas must deal with repairs and rescues.

Thanks to Deadliest Reports for Tipping us on this release.

In case you missed it, the Season 2 Marathon of Deadliest Catch aired today from 9:00Am-7:00PM EST, showing non-stop 10 episodes.

The Discovery Channel will show a few scattered episodes until the Season 3 Premiere on April 3rd.

Either way, I can’t wait for the new Season!

RealityTVWebsite reports that the much anticipated Season 3 of Deadliest Catch will not only introduce us to new crews, but also gives us the opportunity to play a fantasy game where we choose our own boats and put our crab fishing skills to the test.

In addition to exclusive behind-the-scenes footage and online chats, this year’s DEADLIEST CATCH fansite offers viewers a chance to put their own crab- fishing skills to the test — in the comfort of their own homes. To coincide with the season premiere on April 3, Discovery Channel will launch an online game at discovery.com/DeadliestCatch where people can compete with other virtual skippers to find out who has what it takes to bring their crews home safely and with money in their pockets. Players select their boat and crew and navigate to fishing spots in hopes of pulling in a big haul and an even bigger payday. Prizes will be awarded to the top skippers.

Read the Entire Story

The Discovery Channel did a interview with Jeff Conroy, Co-Executive Producer of Deadliest Catch to get an inside perspective of what goes on during filming and get a short look at the upcoming Season 3 of Deadliest Catch.

The interview with Jeff Conroy:

Q: You’ve been producing Deadliest Catch since the series debuted. What do you think makes the series so compelling? What keeps bringing viewers back?

A: I think it’s a combination of things. There’s obviously the compelling nature of watching guys risk their lives in what are real life-and-death situations. There’s the financial stake. Each pot coming up is like pulling the handle of a slot machine — you just have to see what is in it. And finally, I think it’s the characters. They are fathers, sons and husbands who have good days and bad days. But, unfortunately for them, their bad days can have serious consequences.

Q: What characteristics do you look for in the fishermen you profile?

A: I look for straight shooters — guys who are willing to put it all out there, warts and all. It’s boring watching someone who’s perfect, always happy and easy to get along with. I’d much rather see someone who’s willing to tell you they did well one day and they screwed up the next. I’m also looking for people who don’t care about the cameras, which kind of goes along with the straight-shooter characteristic.

Q: What characteristics do you look for in the camera operators you hire?

A: When hiring camera crew, I look for durability and a good story sense. Unlike any other show I have worked on, toughness outranks camerawork as a quality I look for — if you can’t hack it, you aren’t going to get the story no matter how good of a cameraperson you are on land. This job is not for everyone. You’re exhausted the entire time, your camera equipment will fail, your characters can be hostile, and the conditions are ruthless. The producers and camerapeople who are successful have the intuition to follow compelling stories while operating in the worst conditions imaginable for filming a show.

Q: What are some of the most dangerous or frightening encounters you’ve personally experienced while filming Deadliest Catch?

A: Hmmm … is my wife reading this? The longest I have been out for is a week, so I’m a novice compared to most of my crew, but I had a couple moments where I had to reevaluate what the hell I was doing. One time, when I was filming from the bow of the Cornelia Marie, I looked down to fix the plastic bag around my camera and right at that same moment the crane hook slipped out of Dan’s hands up on the stack. I didn’t even see it coming as it skimmed my head. I was lucky it didn’t knock me out, but it did knock some sense into me. Another time, I was leaning over the rail to get a shot of the oncoming waves when Capt. Phil (Harris) yelled, “Jeff, get the hell out of there!” I moved and a big wave crashed on the deck. I’m sure each one of my crew has a list of stories better than these.

Q: How many camera people are on each boat? How many cameras are mounted on each boat and where are they located?

A: There are two to three camera operators/producers on each boat. We have two fixed cameras mounted on the deck to capture the action at the rail, we have a camera on the captain, and then we may at any given time quick-mount another camera to capture a free-run time lapse or an angle our fixed cameras can’t see.

Q: How many cameras have been damaged during the course of filming the series, and how have they been ruined?

A: Oh god. You should ask the accounting department. We lose almost every one of our cameras that we use out on deck. If they make it through the season, you would never want to use them again anyway. The salt and the moisture are deadly, and there’s a good chance that the operator fell on the camera at least once. Do not buy a used camera from us.

Q: Is crab fishing still as dangerous as it was before the quota system was mandated during the second season?

A: I have gotten this question before and the answer is yes, of course. In my opinion, the risks have increased for the boats that have survived the downsizing of the fleet simply because they are on the Bering Sea much longer than before the quota system. The Bering Sea hasn’t changed, and they still try to fish as fast as humanly possible.

Q: What can viewers expect to see during the new season of Deadliest Catch?

A: Tragedy, triumph and some great characters trying to make their way in the deadliest job in the world.

Source

Don’t feel like dishing out $49.95 to watch the entire Second Season of Deadliest Catch? You’re in luck!

On March 25th, from 9:00AM- 7:00Pm, The Discovery Channel will be running a non-stop marathon of Deadliest Catch Season 2. (Episodes 12-22).

This will give you the opportunity to not only catch up on any episodes missed, but will also add to your excitement for the next season.

I will be doing reviews on the marathon episodes as they air, so stay tuned!

Want to know the facts about Crab Fishing? The folks at the Discovery Channel have put together a pretty good list of helpful facts when you are watching the series to better understand Crab Fishing and the toughness the guys must have to do it.

Facts about The Fishing:

• The most lucrative Alaskan crab fisheries occur in the fall and winter; the seasons are often short, lasting less than four weeks. In the Bering Sea specifically, the two most active months are October and January.
• Each season, approximately 250 crab fishing boats converge on Dutch Harbor, Alaska, in search of Alaskan king crab.
• Crab vessels cost several million dollars to build, and tens of thousands of dollars to operate annually.
• The boats range in size from 40 to 200 feet; each crew typically consists of one captain and three to nine deckhands.
• Because the sonar used on most fishing boats is downward-pointing, it doesn’t detect crabs that are right against or buried in the ocean floor. Furthermore, since it is impossible to predict where adult male crabs will be (unless it’s spring, which is mating season), captains must rely on intuition to find the best crabbing location.
• To catch the crabs, fishermen use 700-pound steel traps (”pots”) baited with ground herring, squid, sardines and cod, which are dropped 400 feet below the ocean’s surface.
• On average, the pots measure 7 feet by 7 feet by 3 feet, and soak anywhere from five to 24 hours before being hauled back on deck.

Facts about The Crabs:

• Only male king crabs measuring 6.5 inches and snow crabs measuring 4 inches from spine to spine are kept; females and juveniles are tossed back into the sea.
• In some fisheries, as many as six crabs are discarded for each legal male kept. Such handling of the discarded crabs can result in distress, injury and possibly death to the crabs.
• As they try to get to the bait, crabs often injure each other. A seriously injured crab serves as bait to the others, who will eat it. In fact, “ghost pots” — pots that are lost at sea — will continue to attract and kill crabs through this “self-baiting” process.
• Ghost pots pose a serious problem; in some places they are as dense as 50 per square kilometer, and may catch and kill as many crabs in a year as the fishery does.
• Sometimes crabs die during the fishing process, something fishermen try to avoid since they spoil before they can be sold. However, if the crabs are kept in a tank of circulating seawater, as most are, a few dead crabs won’t harm the others.
• Boats must, as a matter of course, unload hundreds of pounds of “deadloss” after a trip to the fishing grounds.

Facts about The Crews:

• More than 80 percent of the fatalities Alaskan fishermen suffer on the job are due to drowning — either from falling overboard or as a result of a boat accident.
• A crewman’s wages are often based on a share or percentage of harvest earnings. A greenhorn may earn anywhere from 1.5 to 5 percent of the net value of the harvest, after operating expenses and the owner’s and skipper’s shares (often totaling 50 percent or more) have been subtracted.
• When based on percentage of net profit, an Alaskan fisherman may earn somewhere between zero and tens of thousands of dollars, depending on location and type of fishery and the worker’s skills. Other boats offer a daily rate (typically $50 to $100 per day) instead.
• According to the Alaska Department of Labor, crew members are typically expected to purchase their own gear, which can add up to several hundred dollars. This includes wet-weather gear ($100 per set), rubber boots ($40 to $70 per pair), gloves ($2 to $12 per pair), wrist covers or sleeves ($5 per set) and a sleeping bag ($70 to $200).
• In addition, some crew members are charged a share of their boat’s operating expenses — food, fuel, bait and ice.
• In Alaska, crew members are responsible for obtaining their own commercial fishing licenses, the cost of which can range between $60 and $125, depending on whether the individual is a state resident or not.

Facts about The Harvest:

• According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the red king crab fishery is Alaska’s top shellfish fishery.
• Since 1959, when Alaska became a state, nearly 2 billion pounds of red king crab worth $1.6 billion have been harvested from Alaska’s waters, making red king crabs the second most valuable species to fishers during this period (red salmon being the most valuable).
• Crab quotas vary each year, depending on population size. In 2004, the harvest was 15.4 million pounds of red king crab, 5.7 million pounds of golden king crab and 20.4 million pounds of snow crab.
• At $4.70 per pound, the 2004 catch of red king crab was worth $65.8 million at the dock.

Source

Fan of The Crew of the Maverick and Rick and Donna Quashnick? Head on over to their official site for the FV Maverick.

Don’t forget to read up on Donna’s Log Letters During the 2007 Opilio Crab Season.

Also, Take a look at their Photo Gallery.

Enjoy!

If you look directly above the first post title, you will see a new feature here at Deadliest Catch Blog.

I have added an countdown counter set for April 3rd, 9:ooPM EST (New York City) for the Season Premiere of Season 3.

Just like most of you, I will be ecstatic when that counter hits 0 days, 0 hours, 0 minutes, and 0 seconds.

Until then, check back here for the updated countdown.

Fan of The Hansen Family and the F/V Northwestern Crew? Head on over to the Northwestern Forums and talk with other fans.

Also, Don’t forget to check out their main site, FVNorthwestern.com.