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Isaac38305: How much sleep do you usually get at a time?
Russell Newberry: What we do on the boat is when we get out and it's time to work, we try to get 18 hours on and 6 hours off, or 20 hours on and 4 hours off, with short breaks - an hour here or there - a couple of times during the day.
Flnanap: Russell, my family watches the show faithfully, and we each picked our boats, and your boat happens to be mine. You always seem to be in a good mood although you're beat. What keeps you in such a good mood?
Russell Newberry: The fact that when I'm out there, it's almost over! Mostly when we're out there, we're making some money. Everybody wants to be a highliner, but it's nice to be above average anyway.
southeastern: My uncle says the pots are made from chain link fence material but I say they're made of a kind of netting ... am I right?
Russell Newberry: Yes you are. They're made out of web.
DCFan622424: How has the safety of crab boats changed, for better or worse, since you started crabbing?
Russell Newberry: Amazingly much better. When the Coast Guard comes to our boat and does inspections, they're very thorough. We do drills repeatedly now, when we didn't practice them much 20 years ago. All the technology has made it not super safe, but certainly a lot safer.
bdaman1131: What is the hardest job on the boat?
Russell Newberry: Being the skipper. If he's put his gear where there's no crab, then it's a lonely spot. As far as physical work, anything on deck is hard work. But the skipper's got the toughest job trying to look after his crew and make them money. We're all in on a team effort.
tautog: Hey what do you bring on a trip as far as personal belongings? How many packs of smokes, how many energy drinks, pairs of socks, or random ... etc?
Russell Newberry: You know, I don't take anything personal any more. I just take my rain gear, gloves, the stuff I'm going to wear on deck, a couple of photos of my family and my daughter, my computer. But as far as any coffee or energy drinks, we get that on the boat collectively. I just want to make sure I have my gear for working on deck in all kinds of weather.
abner: When you get caught in the ice flow, can it do real damage to the hull of the boat and will it cost you all of your catch if you take too long to get to the processor? That was scary when you guys got caught in it.
Russell Newberry: Absolutely. The ice is the biggest enemy out there. Our vessels aren't made to ice break through the floes, nothing like the Coast Guard or Navy has. Our vessels can get crushed like a tin can out there. Any ice at any speed is like hitting a rock. As far as going to the processor, you have to deliver your crab live. A crab will live on your boat anywhere from 12-18 days, so you have a couple of weeks' leeway to get to your processor.
