Being an Alaska fisherman ain't for the weak. And no one knows that better than the rough-hewn crabbers who ply the Bering Sea and whose adventures are chronicled on Discovery's Deadliest Catch.
In an exclusive interview with E! News, Keith Colburn, skipper of The Wizard, fills us in on his boat's latest travails—the crazy weather; his family feud with the Hilstrands; what viewers can expect leading up to the season finale; but especially, how he and his mates have been faring in the wake of Cornelia Marie Captain Phil Harris' death last year.
Five episodes into the seventh season and it's already been a long haul.
When Deadliest Catch returned last month, the crews came together to pay tribute to their fallen friend, who died at age 53 from complications of a stroke suffered in February 2010, watching as Phil's ashes were placed in a crab pot and dropped into the sea.
For Captain Keith, such moments are all too familiar.
"I've been doing it for 25 years. The longer you're up there the more you begin to run a tally on friends and acquantainces...a comrade or competitor or a combination of the two...who were on boats you knew real well that haven't come back," he tells E! News. "And now, last year, all of America got to feel what we periodically go through."
Colburn added that it was a sober reminder for Deadliest Catch fans what goes on in front of the camera isn't manufactured for their entertainment.
"We are the real guys. It is a real job and there are real dangers involved it," he said
After the memorial, The Wizard gang went to work in what subsequent episodes has shown to be one of the toughest seasons these scraggily fishermen ever encountered.
"We used to be able to come home and put the season behind us whether it was a good one or a bad one and just remember the good parts and the bad parts of the season but...right now we're reliving a pretty miserable fishery for The Wizard," Colburn notes.
From empty pots to terrible winter squalls popping up at a moment's notice, Colburn has been at the helm throughout, while constantly re-thinking how to meet his quota. "We literally hit 14 days of more blank pots than I've held in 14 years combined. It was that futile and it started to wear on myself, the crew and everybody," he says.
Time Bandit skippers Andy and Jonathan Hilstrand joined Northwestern Capt. Sig Hansen in announcing they were quitting Deadliest Catch last year after Discovery sued them for breach of contract. The parties eventually settled their differences and the fishermen rejoined the series. While Colburn wasn't a party to the legal action, he sympathized with his rivals.
"The show never was in jeopardy. Discovery had decided they were gonna move forward either with or without the two boats," remarks The Wizard chief. "I think they had a valid beef, but at the end of the day things were resolved and I'm glad to see both of those boats on the show."
Here's more on what Capt. Keith had to say about the latest Deadliest Catch voyage and his fellow deep sea trawlers.
On whether he and his competitors ever hang out off the show:
"I actually went up and hung out with Josh Harris from the Cornelia Marie," he tells E! "We live about 30 miles apart and I hung out with him at a local tavern to watch the first episode."
On watching his real-life drama play out on the tube:
"[Producers] don't have time to play 16,000 hours worth of material. So when they only play 16 45-minute shows, obviously a lot gets lost and a lot get discarded that sometimes we wished would help set up the story better."
On his family feud with the Hilstrands:
"There was a little Dutch Harbor dustup prior to the season that actually was not captured on camera but managed to become an issue on the show. It wasn't between me [but] between my brother and Andy Hilstrand. The bad blood seems to still be there unfortunately. And I've been with Jon and Andy recently and at the end of the day...basically as fishermen we learn to laugh about it afterwards."
On teaming up with Crown Royal Whisky to promote boating safety this summer:
"We're trying to get the message out to people that it's just about being a safe boater. Before you leave the dock, go through your checklist. Make sure you're aware who your passengers are, whether they can swim, make sure everyone has a life jacket, checking the weather. Leave some type of contact info or a float plan with somebody at home so they know when you're coming back and who you have on the boat."
On how long Colburn plans to keep at it:
"At some point, I am gonna step aside. I've got a huge investment in the boat that I'm trying to pay down as quickly as I can and once I feel comfortable that I've got my finances in order, I'll hand it off, I would imagine, to my brother."
On Deadliest Catch's season finale:
"We have two or three more episodes of the King Crab fishery and all I can say is that when the Snow Crab C. Opilio Fishery hits, all hell's gonna break lose. It was as bad a winter as I've seen. And you know what? When the weather gets bad, stuff breaks. Mind breaks and bodies get busted up and I think they'll be a lot of that on TV."
We can't wait.