Cool start to the season!
I am unhappy that they didn’t give more details about Captain Phil, though. Where were his clots, what was his INR, did he have a V/Q scan and if so, was it abnormal?
If they’re gonna bare all, then bare all!! 
I was absolutely astonished to see Phil back at all, after his interviews at the end of last season. I didn’t think he’d be ready to go back - if they even let him due to the anticoagulants. Sucks that he got pulled off the boat, though.
The season teaser-trailer though, had me pissed off. Don’t scare me like that first episode in - I’m already a fan, trust me, I’ll watch them all.
But I’m glad it’s back.
I was unsurprised but sad to see that Phil’s lifestyle changes didn’t include quitting smoking.
Qadgop, what’s a “minor epithelial dysplasia”? And what’s the reason for pulling Phil off the boat - is it that the rocking & no sleep could worsen his condition, or that he needs to stay within 15 minutes of a hospital at all times?
Keith getting a boat to the noggin looked bad. I’m wondering who was filming that though…
I was wondering about Phil’s results too. Poor guy, though. He might literally be saving his life by staying off the boat, and thus not being out in open water should something happen.
Not good times for Keith (captain of the Wizard), either. Worries about mouth cancer (fortunately not the case but now he’s got to kick his habit), he’s broke, they lost a pot in the water, and then when he dives down to fix the problem with the zinc plate on the hull, he gets nailed in the head by the boat rolling. I wonder if he’s just got a ringing skull and some scalp abrasions, or if it’s much worse.
muldoonthief: IIRC, that’s another way of saying “pre-cancerous cells” and probably won’t develop into cancer - as long as he knocks it off with the tobacco.
I don’t know, they didn’t give enough info. Either he’s still got significant clots in his thigh, or his lungs haven’t cleared adequately yet, or his INR (blood thinner effectiveness) results are not stable enough to go without close monitoring, or they think getting bashed around on the boat while on blood thinners will cause him to bleed to death, or something else.
Dysplasia: It ain’t normal, but if you stop picking at it, it should heal up okay, so knock off the tobacco.
I love this show. I’ve been watching it since the first season, and (despite some who call later season repetitive) I still find it riveting. It’s the only reality show that is really real, and I’ve come to care about the people on it. I’m an over-fifty guy, the closest I’ve ever come to what those men do is to dangle a fishing line in calm water, but I almost cried watching Phil wave goodbye to his boat. Man, that’s gotta be hard.
And poor Keith. I know that a lot of crab fishing is the luck of the draw, but I can feel his pain, pulling those empties.
I have the utmost respect for all the people who do that job. And I don’t even like the taste of crab.
I’ve been crabbing (on the Patuxent and Chesapeake) in days of yore!
So I can really relate to these guys!
Poor Phil, but at least he has Murray to skipper for him. I was really impressed with Murray last season when he stepped up after Phil’s hospitalization. Totally loyal, totally dependable, totally competent.
Yeah, Murray did great last season, including in how he talked to Phil’s sons about what their dad was going through. I can see how being the captain for potentially the whole season would be a much more daunting task to face.
My husband (and I, but I’m a vegetarian) had never bought king crab before watching this show. After watching a season, that changed, and we seriously understood the price and what goes into getting that crab to market.
My favorite show, and my wife’s least. Every time she hears “the vast…Bering Sea…” she leaves the room. More’s the pity.
I can’t wait to see what prank they come up with to one-up the pranks from previous seasons.
I love that woman that shows up on the docks with a load of cash and buys fresh crab as they’re unloading. Talk about fresh!
I don’t wish anything bad on Keith, but neither can I feel any sympathy for him. The guy is a total jerk and a bully, IMO. Phil, on the other hand, I definitely feel for. He was like a sad puppy on that dock when his boat pulled away.
I have no problem with Keith being a dick and all, but he wasn’t all that interesting until this week.
Poor Captain Phil. 
I hope the show keeps us updated.
I loved the fireworks in the fire barrel.
What’s the drink called that they all down before they set sail? It’s Baileys and Crown Royal isn’t it? Not exactly what I would image rugged seafaring men would drink (in public anyway).
Maybe that’s why they call it a “duck fart”. I don’t think they’ve ever mentioned the story behind the tradition though.
I did not watch the fist episode this season and I have not seen much of any season but I did see some of the filming this year. I live in Homer. The Time Bandit has been here for ever and I know many of the people on the show and their families and friends.
Interesting side note. I was out during crabbing season this winter making a movie. Forget Me Not We filmed all over the place. Homer, Aleutians, Bering Sea, Pribs. It was super fun. We were in Dutch Harbor during the start of the Crabbing season. We partied with the crews and saw them all at the bars. The bar in Dutch was wild and the Time Bandit must have payed off the bar good as the Buxom bartenders we all wearing cut up Time Bandit shirts. It was kinda of surreal. The big screens were playing Dutch Harbor’s version of the real deal. Amateur footage of crabbing and Aleutian fishing. Just imagine a frenzy of hard core fishermen and women parting it up to amateur fishing footage days and hours before the start of the season. All the crews portrayed on the discovery channel were there as well sitting pretty in their vip seats.
I wont spoil it for you but I saw some really cool footage. I will talk about it after it airs. I also think I may be in this season. I was framed in a few shots. It is likely that I wont but there is a chance. I did film a movie in the same seas that they crabbed in on only a 72 foot boat. The Pukuk.
We also ended up in St. Paul for a few days with only us and the Time Bandit docked up in the Harbor. Both from Homer and both of us making film. It was kinda surreal. The film crew was sleeping most of the night. Nice to see the crew not being filmed they really cut loose. Plus there were a ton of locals on board. Damn the stories.
If you have any questions i may be able to answer them. If it is about crabbing the perceptions the opinions of other crabbers, and other fishermen, and old timers and locals I can share them. If it is about The Aleutians, The Pribilof’s, The Bering sea I Can probably help with that as well As have been there on a couple one month trips.
I may be able to answer some behind the scene stuff as well. I am not gonna shit on the show in any way as this is not really the thread for that. Some stuff may come though if asked though. But I will add some color if I can to this thread. I may even watch this season.
Any perception by the locals and especially other boats not on the show that the captains / boats that agreed to be on the show are posers / attention whores / sell-outs?
Maybe this is piling on Phil, but shouldn’t he have checked and double checked his fitness for fishing before getting to Dutch?
Murray has to be in the wheelhouse, which means that they are down a man on deck. Not an insignificant loss.
My same thought regarding Keith. He should have seen his doctor earlier, thus getting his test results before the first day of the season.
I found the timing of the medical stuff to be questionable – I think it was set up that way to be more dramatic. I still watch the show, but I’m kind of getting tired of watching the same guys. I think I would rather learn the story of different people. Otherwise, it’s pretty much the same thing each season. On the other hand the soap opera-ish “who will captain the Time Bandit in the future?” is probably what they are aiming for.
I think the show was very fortunate to have caught the last season of derby fishing before quotas were implemented. Since then, it is still interesting, but less so. While some of the characters on DC can get on my nerves, they are nothing compared to the jerks on the New England Lobster rip-off show. That was terrible. Made me lose interest in eating lobster. DC on the other hand makes me crave king crab. Even the opening song makes me think of crab now. Restaurants should play that song if they want to move king crab; would totally work on me.
When we were in Alaska last summer we saw the Aleutian Ballad (season one) in Ketchikan, AK. It’s a tourist attraction now.