Transcript continued on pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
Discovery: Welcome to this week's Deadliest Catch chat. Our guest is Sig Hansen, captain aboard the Northwestern. He's a fourth generation crab fisherman and has been a captain for almost 20 years. Ask Sig about running his family-owned vessel and this season of crab fishing.
Sig: Glad to be home, and able to participate!
Kccomment: Now that you're done with the promotional tour, what did you think of all the famous people you met?
Sig: I was overwhelmed by the response I received from them. It was surprising to me that people I consider famous are looking at us the same way. It's flattering.
Will: Hello Captain Sig, what is your greatest memory out at sea? Worst?
Sig: I would chalk it up to having our greatest season. I think I was 28 years old at the time, and I think we fished 2 million pounds of opilio. Quite an accomplishment. Worst memory was when we had a deck hand, Brad Parker who had been on the boat 19 years and he was injured, hit by a rogue wave. Luckily he came out of it OK, but it was a wake-up call that things can happen at any time. We were very close, so that made it that much harder to deal with.
Lisekins: My family and I are HUGE fans. Thanks for giving us a glimpse into this proud and compelling tradition. It's a thrill to watch you and all the men do an honest day's work in some of the most spectacular scenery I've ever seen. I have one question, though - what's the deal, real men don't wear life vests?? Seriously, though, how come the only time I see anyone in a vest is when they're up on an icy stack?
Sig: Most boats make it a standard rule to wear the vest on the stack. On deck, the life vest is cumbersome and a lot of the men, though you don't see it, wear life suspenders that will fill from a CO2 cartridge. So even though you may not see it, they are more protected than you might think.
Carling: Have Edgar or Norman ever captained the boat? Would you let them?
Sig: We're weaning Edgar into the captain's chair more and more. He has not had a full season yet, but he does relieve me at times. Norman has taken the boat to and from Alaska, and it's our intent to split the captain's chair more and more as time goes on.
