TV - Movies
The Scary
Overboard Moment
On Deadliest Catch
You Might Have
Forgotten
By STEVE BOHNER
The title of "Deadliest Catch" doesn't lie; the captains and crew on this reality show face the stormy waters and feisty ocean creatures of the Bering Sea in every episode. Some crew members even lose their lives at sea, and while one incident from Season 3 thankfully didn't end in tragedy, it still stands out as a truly shocking "DC" moment.
During an episode aboard the Time Bandit, a boat featured in over a dozen seasons of the show, Captain Johnathan Hillstrand saw a deckhand from a nearby boat get swallowed up by 30-foot waves. The deckhand was trying to secure crab pots on the vessel, an extremely dangerous practice when the sea is looking rough.
As the ship rolled back and forth through the massive waves, the man was practically submerged in the waters that crested over the side of the boat. Once Hillstrand noticed the deckhand had disappeared, he sounded the alarm and cried "Man overboard," immediately preparing to rescue the lost crew member.
Temperatures of the Bering Sea can dip below freezing depending on the time of year, but Hillstrand's crew pulled the struggling deckhand aboard just in time, as he was already in the early stages of shock. He showed gratitude to the captain and crew as they warmed him back up to a safe body temperature, a relieving end to a stunning accident.