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Q: How many years have you captained the boat, and how many years have you been fishing?
A: I've been crab fishing for 26 years, and we built the Time Bandit in 1991. So I'd say that's 16 years that I've been running the Time Bandit for opilio (I hope I'm doing the math right!).
Q: Do you have any other siblings besides Johnathan and if so, do they fish as well?
A: Yes, I have three other brothers besides Johnathan. Neal is on the boat fishing with us on all these episodes. Of my other two brothers, one is a doctor, and one works on the North Slope of Alaska, up on the oil fields.
Q: What was it like to build the Time Bandit?
A: It was pretty challenging. We built it with our father, so we built that whole boat in nine months, which is pretty good. I have five brothers in total, counting myself. And as you can expect, we had some times with our father when we didn't get along too well. But to build a crab boat like that in nine months is pretty good.
Q: What is your relationship like with your brothers off the boat?
A: My brothers are pretty much my best friends, besides my wife. We've always been competitive, but we love each other.
Q: Is it frustrating sometimes to switch to the deck when you are used to being in the captain's seat? Do you think about what decision you would have made as opposed to the one your brother made?
A: I've been doing it for so long, switching to the deck, for 14 years. So it's almost a relief for me to go down on deck because I don't have to think about running the boat.
Q: You seem to be very easygoing in the captain's chair. How do you guys stay so collected during such nervewracking times?
A: I've always been pretty laid back, but I do get excited from time to time. The first year being on the show, I didn't really know what to do with all the cameras around, so I was just sort of doing my job and kind of not being myself, really. I can get excited at times, for sure! But I'm not what you'd consider a hot-head. My dad always was a hot-head, a screamer. And that just caused confusion, so that's why I've gone the other way.
Q: How hard is it to accept a greenhorn into the main group of the deckhands?
A: With the quota system that's happened to us, we went from 240 boats down to 80 boats, so approximately 800 to 1000 good crew members have lost their jobs. So it's hard for me to justify hiring a greenhorn when there are so many qualified guys out there who'd love the job. Compared to the old days, when greenhorns could just walk on the dock and ask for a job. And it still happens now, but rarely. A guy on the Aleutian Ballad got a job that way. He said he was going to jump overboard if they didn't take him in. And now this year, a guy on the Wizard basically walked in off the deck.
Q: What is the worst job, in your opinion, to have on deck?
A: To be the bait boy. Actually, if you're the head baiter, we just call him the master baiter.
Q: Are you and your crew as superstitious as the other crews?
A: No, we're not as superstitious as a lot of the crews, but we do knock on wood. We have a few superstitions, but we're not as bad as some of the old Norwegians. They have quite a few superstitions.
Q: What is the most incredible or awe-inspiring thing that you have seen while being out on the sea?
A: I've seen volcanoes blowing up when I'm 12 miles offshore and seeing lava blow out the mountains. And I've stared into 100 foot waves. Those are awe-inspiring times when you really have to think about what you're doing. It gives you the feeling that there's definitely something bigger than yourself out there. It's dangerous fishing.
Q: Have you personally ever had a close call while crabbing?
A: Yes, I've had a line wrapped around my hand once. I just kind of threw my hand forward, and didn't panic. The coils that were wrapping around my hand; I lost my glove, and it happened so fast. It just wasn't my time to go. It could have pulled me right over because there was major tension on the line.
Q: It was so wonderful when you guys rescued Josh. How many hours of training do crew persons get in order to be able to perform a rescue like that? And is there someone on every boat who is trained in first aid?
A: Yes, we have to have somebody on the boat who goes through what we call the AMSEA training for first aid, doing our man overboard drills, and Maydays. Johnathan and I both have our cards. We both went through the training, and we practice all our drills once a month.
Q: How cold was the water you had to dive into to remove the rope from the prop? How long have you been diving?
A: The water was 36 degrees. I've been diving since I was 17 years old, and I'm now 43, about to be 44.
Q: What size was the rope you cut off the wheel and what size is your wheel?
A: Our wheels are 15" in diameter and the rope was 0.75" round. It was wrapped about 3ft thick around the shaft. I went through two knives cutting the rope off; brand new, sharp knives.
Q: How can you go under the boat to cut the rope off your propeller, stay in the water for over an hour and not even be shivering when you came up, but a man in a survival suit may or may not last an hour in the same 36 degree water?
A: A dry suit is made to keep water out. It has insulated underwear, and a survival suit does not have insulated underwear and it does not keep water out all the way. Water does come in, and all it does is warm it to body temperature. Ragnhild, the lady on the Farwest Leader, was putting on her suit and you could see it was above her nose and water was just pouring off.
