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'Deadliest Catch' captains to visit CdA

Melissa Pamer
Staff writer
August 7, 2007

Three fishing captains who battle the frigid waters of the Bering Sea and the sharp claws of Alaskan crabs on the Discovery Channel’s “Deadliest Catch” will make appearances in Coeur d’Alene next week.

Johnathan Hillstrand, captain of the Time Bandit and a graduate of Coeur d’Alene High School, will appear with Capt. Keith Colburn of the Wizard, from Redmond, Wash., and Capt. Sig Hansen of the Seattle-based Northwestern.

Crabbing is considered extremely dangerous but lucrative work. The reality television show follows eight to 10 vessels through the fall and winter crab fishing season in Alaska.

“People see on the show what these guys go through to get this product,” said Sean Dorris, marketing manager of Hayden-based Harbor Crown Seafoods, which is sponsoring the captains’ appearance. The drama and danger portrayed on the series – which will film its fourth season this fall – makes seafood-lovers appreciate the price they pay at the counter for Alaskan crab, Dorris said.

The three captains will appear Tuesday at 5 p.m. at a five-course, crab-themed dinner at the Beachouse restaurant, 3204 Coeur d’Alene Lake Drive in Coeur d’Alene. Reservations are still available by calling (208) 664-6464.

The captains will appear at three area bars on Wednesday: the Beacon at 9 p.m.; the Iron Horse at 10; and the Shore Lounge from 11 on.

“These guys are just good dudes,” Dorris said. “They understand the celebrity of it, but they’re fishermen first and foremost. They’ll just sit down and have a drink with you.”

Harbor Crown Seafoods, established in 2003, runs a wholesale seafood processing plant in Dutch Harbor, a port in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.

Company president and Coeur d’Alene native Ken Dorris became friends with many of the stars of “Deadliest Catch” while working in Alaska for 20 years, Sean Dorris said.

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