Any of y'all watch this on the Discovery Channel? I'm absolutely fascinated watching what these guys do and endure fishing for crab. I love to fish, but I sure wouldn't want to do that.

[This message has been edited by Rebbasser (edited 4/10/2007 8:46p).]

I love watching it too. It's a great show.

For me it brings back memories. I worked up there for years. Worked a couple of boats that showed in previous season. Also worked on Northwestern during pot cod season. Hansen Brothers really are that badass.

Just curious, but how good of money does one make doing that? Awesome show too, I just dont have the time to watch it a lot.

"The road goes on forever and the party never ends."

Those guys make HUGE money for not having much education. They were talking about it one time during a break.

They are "men of the sea"

Last season (Opelio crab season) I think they made like $30K for three, three and a half weeks... (for one of the 'better' boats).

You don't have to have an education, but you'd be surprised how educated some guys are. I worked with plenty of guys with college degrees. Of course, you get plenty of on-the-job training and education.

The money is great. A full share is typically 8%. Deck boss usually gets 1.5-2 shares. Captain gets three.

Math is pretty simple. You get 8% of dockside payout. Red kings are paying about $5/pound. So for every 100,000 pounds delivered, you earn a cool $40,000. And believe me, you EARN it.

Red king season is the big money season. But you have blue kings, brown kings, opilio season, bairdi season, and possibily cod season. It all adds up pretty quick.

Yeah, it depends on the boat's quota I think and how well they do. I believe they tell you on the last episode of the season when it's all wrapped up. Seems like last year the money for each deckhand ranged anywhere from about $15k to close to $40k or so I think. But man they work their butts off for it. Tonight's episode talked about the loss of 3 crab fishermen this year.

[edit]Thanks birdman. I agree, they definitely earn it.

[This message has been edited by Ag83 (edited 4/10/2007 9:47p).]

[This message has been edited by Ag83 (edited 4/10/2007 9:46p).]

Birdman,

What was the scariest thing that happened on a boat while you were working?

Did you work during Opilio season and have to bust ice off the deck?

Any rouge waves?

Any crew mistakes that caused injury?

Did you guys ever have to put on the survival suits?

Did you ever respond to a distress call?

Do some of the big cannery boats have a soccer field on top....how big are the boats....how many soccer balls do they lose?

Did you ever see any of the "sea lion" things around the harbor that climb in the boats? How big are they?

Are any of the sister boats that were built in Seattle still around? I think two of them sank the same day early on. I think they were all XXX Star or something like that and supposed to be the best boat ever for crabbing.

quote:

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Math is pretty simple. You get 8% of dockside payout. Red kings are paying about $5/pound. So for every 100,000 pounds delivered, you earn a cool $40,000. And believe me, you EARN it.

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Actually (and I won't do the math here) last years king crab season paid them 83 cents a pound. That is the total pay for the boat. The people averaged between about 15 and 35,000 for the full share guys last year. Not everyone is paid equal.

wow birdman, that is interesting stuff. I'm sure everybody would love to hear some of your stories and insight.

Problem is, there's not a whole lot of other work around there.

Some of those guys are depending on that 3 week season for their entire year's wages.

I don't think that's true Cowtown....I've seen the exact same crew working three different items for the Northwestern in the same year. Those 1/2 share hands come and go but for the most part the full shares and full share plus are the same.

Sounds similar to boat mechanics on big lakes. Guys makes 50-75k in 4-5 months and don't make jack the rest of the year.

don't forget that nice little oil check they get from the state every year just for living there

SOunds like a number of them live in the Seattle area not in Alaska.

ive watched every episode

Not sure where you got the 83 cents/pound number. Red King crab prices have been fairly steady at $4 to $5 per pound. Years ago, they have been as high as $18/lb. You might be confusing Opi or Bairdi prices (you know them as Snow Crab). They pay less, usually $1 to $2 per pound.

The 8% figure is considered one share. It can range from 6% to 10%. On some boats, the crew pays into a kitty. That kitty pays for their share of fuel, food, gear problems, etc. You start at half share. Crew typically votes on whether you are promoted to full share. On some boats, you work up 1% per year. Regardless, a ballpark figure of 8% of dockside price is pretty accurate.

Right now, you're watching only the Bristol Bay red king season. There are several seasons and several targets. If you just worked the prime season for red king, opi, and bairdi, you'd pull down $100k. That's not too shabby. You can live off that easily. Lots of guys travel. Most work in the off-season at home. Part time stuff, just to pay the bills and keep busy. That way, your $100k is just gravy.

No shortage of work in Alaska. There is a shortage of workers. I never spent a day in port that I couldn't find part-time work. One time, we were stuck in port because of mechanical problem. Waiting on a part from Caterpillar can take a long time to reach the Aleutians. We were killing time at the Elbow Room, the bar in first episode. Captain of a tramper walked in with stack of 100s and said "I'm looking for strong backs". Boom. I spent the next 3 days loading it. He paid $25/hr for first 8hrs, then $35/hr for next 8 hours. We worked three 16 hour shifts, paid in cash.

The Alaska Fund dividend check is around $1,500/year. Free money, but nothing major. Most fishermen live in Seattle or Newport, Oregon so they aren't eligible.

Scariest thing was probably making ice. Boat accumulated tons of ice on deck, which is highly dangerous. So we smashed it with baseball bats for loooong time. There's a thread somewhere on texags describing that.

I had several injuries. Only one caused by jackass crewman. He was screwing around while moving a pot on deck and it got away from him. It rolled up on me and my knee. I hurt my MCL. Didn't require surgery, but still hurts. They've said it on the show several times, the injury rate is 100%. That's true. I've never met anybody that worked for a year that didn't get hurt. Not sissy stuff either, injuries like broken bones, dislocations, concussions, knife wounds.

I put on survival suits twice during horrible storms. We had wind steady at 125 knots for two days. When waves starting stacking up, we donned our Gumby suits and sat in wheelhouse. That was not a happy day.

Responded to a couple of distress calls. We were always the second or third boat to get there, so nothing heroic. We were backups. One boat was upside down with crewmen on hull. Another boat was saving those guys. We were alongside in case they missed a guy or a rescuer fell overboard. Had on our suits then too.

Rogue waves are real and not a welcome sight. Essentially, it's 2 or 3 waves stacked on top of each other. We were steaming into Dutch Harbor in about 30ft seas. Nothing too worrisome, but not comfortable. It's like being on rollercoast, but you get used to it. Everybody was asleep except captain. Then we got ROCKED! It broke damn near everything in the boat. Fridge door ripped off, gear all over the place, everything thrown everywhere. Bunkmate was thrown out of bed and broke his nose. It looked like a yard sale. Also had water everywhere, in engine room, on deck, and in our quarters. We waded through water up to wheelhouse with our suits. But it was over in 3 seconds. Just one monster wave.

Captain didn't estimate the size. He said it was the biggest wave he'd seen in 20 years. When we got to port we surveyed the damage. Our gantry was damaged. I climbed up there and measured it. It was 65 feet above the waterline. If I had to guess, I'd say 75 foot wave.

For Aggie students, go stand right next to dorm. Look up. That's a 40 foot wave. And there's another one coming 10 seconds later. And another.

For former students, stand next to telephone pole. That's a 30 foot wave. It doens't seem impressive from car, gotta get out and get next to it.

birdman......


You're Batman!

I once caught a fish this ( ) big!

Great show.

What kind of drugs are these guys taking? Meth?

They sure as hell can't stay up that long on just coffee.

There are only two shows that are "can't miss" for me...24 and Deadliest Catch.

I did, however, really get into Everest: Beyond the Limits when it was on.

Sig Hansen was just on the Daily Show. Pretty good segment. Check for the rerun if you missed it.

Regarding drugs - Too dangerous and too much money at stake to deal with a junkie. Cocaine used to be very popular. Some guys still use it or crack, but it's very rare. The Coasties really cracked down on it.

You don't need illegal drugs to stay awake. You're body gets trained a lot quicker than you think. Plus you're consuming enough coffee and nicotine to kill an elephant. And you're getting a cold shower from the Bering Sea every 30 seconds.

[This message has been edited by birdman (edited 4/17/2007 10:40p).]

birdman - How long did it take to adjust to those waves ? Did you have to take anything to help make the adjustment ? I'm betting that some guys never make it out there due to the sea-sickness.

Man I'd have to take some serious drugs to keep from puking constantly I bet.

birdman, you happen to know anyone from your times there with the last name Heinrichs? He is in his late 30's now

quote:

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Captain didn't estimate the size. He said it was the biggest wave he'd seen in 20 years. When we got to port we surveyed the damage. Our gantry was damaged. I climbed up there and measured it. It was 65 feet above the waterline. If I had to guess, I'd say 75 foot wave.

For Aggie students, go stand right next to dorm. Look up. That's a 40 foot wave. And there's another one coming 10 seconds later. And another.

For former students, stand next to telephone pole. That's a 30 foot wave. It doens't seem impressive from car, gotta get out and get next to it.

---

That's crazy and yes, I'd be miserable. I was in a fishing boat in the Pacific with 7-10 foot waves and had to stare at the horizon for three hours straight to keep from hurling.

I worked a couple of summers as a mate on a head boat out of New Hampshire. If the waves were too big we would not go out. Biggest was probably 20 to 25 feet. Big enough on a 50 ft boat.

Keep in mind, you're looking at the larger catcher crab boats. Most boats are smaller than the Northwestern. But, there is another grade of crab boats, called catcher-processors. As the name implies, they catch the crab and process it. Might be the last person to touch crab until consumer. Those boats are generally larger.

C/P vessels in the pollock fisheries are insane. They can be 250ft. The 3 largest vessels are motherships. They don't catch fish, but have boats that catch fish for them. The mothership lassos their net and hauls it onboard. Then they switch out an empty net to catcher boat. Mothership only process the catch. I worked on 600 foot mothership. The crew plays basketball on deck. Lots of soccer and frisbee played on deck too. DON'T AIRBALL OVERBOARD.

I don't remember anybody named Heinrichs. But it's a small community, I might know him. I remember boat names, then my brain thinks of the crew. What boat did he work on?

About 10% of people never have a problem with seasickness ever. I was one of the chosen. No matter how rough, it never bothered me. I didn't like the pounding, but never felt quesy.

About 10% of people are always seasick. I imagine the percent in general population is higher, but most are smart enough to not attempt it. They are one-trip-wonders. They usually get washed out before getting promoted to good crab boat.

Majority of guys get sick on their first couple of trips. They also get sick for a day or two when rough weather hits, then they acclimate. I worked with a giant dude who played lineman for Washington Huskies. He puked like a little girl for first 12 hours of every trip. He did this every trip for 15 years. After the first stretch, he was fine.

But seasick is no excuse. "You bleed and puke on your own time. While you're here, you work" That's your standard captain's motivational speech. If you lay around in your bunk because you're sick, you're outta work. Captain will go to port and throw you and your bag on dock, and you can find your own way home. Most guys will retch for 1 minute inbetween pots and then do their job. I feel sorry for them. But man is it annoying to hear somebody puke for couple of days!

I got a zillion great seasick stories.

But it's not the nausea that's the problem. It's just moving around on boat that makes it tough to acclimate. Is the Conquistador still running at Six Flags? That's what rough seas feels like. Now try to sleep when you're pulling +/- Gs.

Check out the stoves when you watch other episodes. They are built with rail system. You move rails around to lock the pots into position. Otherwise, they'd be on the floor. Every drawer/door has a childproof latch type system. It's just weird living under those conditions.

You always duck when you go through a doorway. That's a real quick way to spot a fisherman. They always duck thru doorways, even on land. When a landman boards a boat, they almost always smash their head. Watch the guys walking on boat or on land, you'll notice it. I still duck.

You're always bracing against a wall with at least one hand. You brace yourself to brush your teeth. You use the walls to help you walk. But when you're working, you usually can't brace yourself. The greenhorns are always stumbling and falling over. In last night's episode, a greenhorn fell in the bight despite nothing seas. Really dangerous situation, but luckily only a bruised ego. Later on, they showed an experienced deckhand. He was swinging a sledgehammer on wet, slippery rocking boat. He didn't have a problem. You just get used to it.

You encircle your plate with crook of elbow so it doesn't slide on table. You hold onto your drink with that hand, at all times. That's a hard habit to break. I still do it and look like a gorilla protecting his banana.

Nobody has mentioned the show's introduction. It's by far the coolest intro since Magnum PI. I'm not a Bon Jovi nut, but the song works well. Plus the cool action and scenery.

birdman, those are some good stories and memories. Thanks for sharing.

F-in awesome Birdman.

Excellent thread.

Thanks for the stories, birdman.

Hey Bird, were you the Master Baiter on your ship.


The only thing worse than a poor loser is a poor winner.