Season five launches in April. What can we expect to see at sea?
It’s typical in Alaska to see storms come through and vessels in trouble. It’s as dramatic a lifestyle as we’ve ever had.
How often do you dock at Discovery Channel’s headquarters in Silver Spring, Md.?
We’ve been through D.C. a couple of times. We get a lot of attention when we go through, that’s for sure.
What’s the most extreme situation you’ve faced on your ship, the Northwestern?
We’ve been close to capsizing; we’ve had icing conditions where the boat’s been iced down to where we thought we’d lose her; we’ve had rogue waves that damn near put her 90 degrees on her side. Sometimes you’re afraid for minutes or hours on end, and there are other incidents where it just happens in split seconds.
Do you ever worry about scurvy with your diet of coffee, cigarettes and chocolate?
It works for me. The chocolate—I suppose for me that’s just a little high or a kick. I go through quite a bit. Coffee—I think that’s every fisherman’s diet. And cigarettes—I’ve got to quit one of these days. I’ve been up for over three days and survived on that diet, but that’s just when we’re working really hard.
You guys seem to be superhuman—facing 80-mph winds and hauling crab pots that weigh half a ton. What do you fear?
I fear the fishing. You’re on red alert all the time. And I think the older I get, I’m getting more cautious, you know, because you just feel like your number is going to be up. And I’ve always had a fear of heights.
Acrophobia? You ride 40-foot waves …
I feel I’ve got more control when I’m on the boat. No matter how bad the weather gets, you’re the one that’s maneuvering through those waves.
Any on-board superstitions?
That’s just something you grow up with. That goes back to my grandfather getting into my head. You never open up a can of anything upside down. It simulates an upside-down boat, and so that’s bad luck.
Why does Deadliest Catch have such strong sea legs?
Maybe it’s the work ethic. Or the fact that you go out there and do what you do and it’s not a 9-to-5 job. I think a lot [of viewers] like to live vicariously through it that way.
Bigger Norwegian Sea risk-taker—you or Thor Heyerdahl, the legendary captain of the Kon-Tiki?
I’ll say me. You’ve got to have a little faith in yourself once in a
while, don’t you?