The Time Deadliest Catch's Keith Colburn Led The Cast Into A Typhoon

The top priorities of any captain on Discovery Channel's "Deadliest Catch" are to bring their crew home safely, and catch a lot of crabs — but sometimes those two priorities conflict with one another. Captain of the Wizard, Keith Colburn, knows that this is a fine line that crabbing captains have to walk, and making the wrong choices can be deadly. So it was quite a surprise when Colburn made an odd decision to kick off the 16th season of the show.

At the beginning of Season 16, the captains of the boats on the Bering Sea had to make an important decision as king crab season began — is it worth the risk to begin your trip as a typhoon is still active over the fishing grounds? Typhoon Hagibis had just wreaked havoc on the island nation of Japan and was still swirling over the Bering Sea when their fishing season began in 2019.

With nearly every captain deciding to stay at port and wait for the storm to pass, the captain of the Wizard had a plan that he thought could give him the head start of a lifetime.

"This year I made a mistake," Captain Keith Colburn admitted in an interview with Build's Matt Forte. Colburn launched his boat at the beginning of the king crab season despite the fact that Typhoon Hagibis was still moving over the Bering Sea. The typhoon went on to kill over 100 people and was listed as the costliest typhoon since 1980 to originate in the Pacific Basin.

Colburn told Forte that he was hoping to ride the typhoon's storm swell — a series of waves that originate from a storm front — but because of a low pressure system, the Bering Sea was not cooperative. Colburn shared that the waves were a minimum of 40 feet with some cresting much higher; it was a dangerous start to king crab season for Colburn and his crew onboard the Wizard.

Luckily for Colburn and his crew, he did get his 155-foot vessel home safely — but it wasn't without regret from the veteran captain. "I've got a big boat, a safe boat, and we weathered the storm, but ... I have to remind myself all the time, 'Keith, you know what? Remember what your chores are here. Get the boat, the crew, and everybody home safe,'" Colburn revealed. The captain has had anything from a spotless reputation — with many fans downright not liking him at all — but at least he is able to admit when he makes a mistake and hopefully will learn from it as well.