Introducing the North American

November 27, 2007

Vessel: 110-foot house forward
Pots: 100
Quota: 90,000 pounds

One of the new boats taking on the Bering Sea in this season of Deadliest Catch is the North American. It’s a 110-foot house forward fishing vessel, built in 1975, and bought new by Erling Skaar. And, here is where the long fishing rivalry between the North American and the Northwestern begins. Skaar was an engineer aboard the F/V Foremost, owned by Sig Hansen’s father, Sverre. By all accounts, Sig’s father taught the Skaars how to fish, then they struck out on their own, competing with the Hansens for the Bering’s crab bounty and the biggest catch. The Skaars have been out of the game for a while, using their boat as a research vessel to track global warming in the Arctic Circle. But Erling's sons, Sten and John, are back and bringing a fierce fishing rivalry with them. They say they can outfish the Hansens any day. Both of Norwegian descent, the two families run the same style Marco boats. But who will be the top producer? We’ll just see, won’t we?

We’ll introduce Capt. Sten in our next posting. In the meantime, the guys are on their way back to Dutch Harbor with the close of king crab season. The Wizard was the first boat to return. In a recent conversation with Capt. Keith Colburn, we learned that the fishing wasn't as challenging as dealing with all the personalities onboard. First, there was tension in the wheelhouse. Keith and his brother Monty don’t always see eye to eye when catching crab. But they’re brothers, and isn't there always a rivalry between brothers? Keith is also keeping a close eye on his greenhorns this season. One is a young 21-year-old, the other is 10 years older, but both are being tested by the Bering in their own ways …

Are you curious about the Hansen/Skaar rivalry? Who do you think will catch more crab? Interested in seeing the rivalry between the Colburn brothers? Post your comments.

Comments

[Robski Holland]

Great, i'm pretty sure the Hansens will kick *ss. Very curious about the new series. Can't wait untill April. Here in Europe we probally have to wait till october 2008 till its on.

[Balu]

I hope the Hansens will win.I bet everything on them because they have a bigger boat!I hope they will kick a$$.

[Carole]

What about the Coburns court case where he was found liable for neglect in injury to crew member. Was it the main reason they hurried back for Seattle Expo or because he was called to testify??

[Minarvia]

This should be interesting between the North American and the Northwestern.

[redbudacres]

Oh! Goodness. Doesn't poor Sig have enough rivals out there already?
Yes...it should be interesting indeed.

[Minariva]

If you want to see what the F/V North American look like, you can follow this link:

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee92/FValbum/North.American_MelAK.jpg

[zinfab]

"What about the Coburns court case where he was found liable for neglect in injury to crew member. Was it the main reason they hurried back for Seattle Expo or because he was called to testify??"

was this an ambush post, or what?

put up or take the trash away.

[Katie]

Sig is gonna kick a$$! Normally I root for the underdog, but the NorthWestern is my favorite boat! Now more than ever I can't wait for season 4 to see how they do!

[flash]

"What about the Coburns court case where he was found liable for neglect in injury to crew member. Was it the main reason they hurried back for Seattle Expo or because he was called to testify??"

Keith finished early because he caught his crab in good order and didn't dink around on the grounds.

The case is not against keith COLBURN, (capitalized because youre having trouble with it) the was against the former vessel owner, and a verdict was reached this summer.

do your research,

[woasisss]

Carole....you don't have your info correct! Thanks Flash for you nippin it in the bud!I would always hope that people don't believe everything they hear as gospel!Capt. Keith is an honorable man.He and Florence do more good for the fishing industry then you would know!I would hope DC will show it as it is instead of cuttin and splicin to make for good ratings! We love the our Capt. and crews,who are just regular folks trying to make an honest living at something that most of us aren't cut out for!My respect goes out to all the men and women who risk their lives to bring us the bounty of the sea!Live Life Large Capt. Keith and Crew!

[PIPHS]

A thought just dawned on me with the North American, the rivial that is between them and the Northwestern is a kind of a moot point since both vessels will have quotas. Snice the Northwestern has a bigger quota then the North American of course they are going to win out. So what the point of bringing then in?

The only way that this will be really competitive is if they have that Season 3 fisherman's wager (a set amount of crab in the fewest pots or to see who can finish up their quota first).

I also agree with woasisss on Keith and the Wizard, they are an honorable crew that didn't once pan for the cammeras unlike some other crews do to get the airtime. I also comment Keith on speaking up aganist the NW crab in Walmart on his KIRO 7 interview that he did Friday Nov 16.

[Ice Man]

The Northwestern will take the North American for sure....there is no way Sig would ever let any other Norwegian take over the top spot in the Bering sea. No doubt, Sig and Edgar rock hardcore!!

[Marie-Claire]

I can't wait to see the North American with the Skaar brothers! I am ready to see some new competition, and I even heard that they are hot!!! : )

I can't wait until March!

[Crabwinner102]

Thats not true, Sig isnt norwegian, hes russian now! Sigvie Hansenoff!

[Mystic]

Woasiss said "Capt. Keith is an honorable man.He and Florence do more good for the fishing industry then you would know!I would hope DC will show it as it is instead of cuttin and splicin to make for good ratings! We love the our Capt. and crews,who are just regular folks trying to make an honest living at something that most of us aren't cut out for!My respect goes out to all the men and women who risk their lives to bring us the bounty of the sea!Live Life Large Capt. Keith and Crew!"

Well said ...bravo! Couldn't have said it better myself.

[Lhiiiz]

Season 4 sounds to be interesting for sure! I'm excited to see the introduction of the North American and look forward to seeing how that crew handles the Bering Sea. I don't really see how there can be any true contest between them and the NW given the quota system and respective shares, but I'm sure we'll see one anyway! lol!

Now, as far as The Wizard and the Colburns, great boat, great Captains, great crew. The explaination of the lawsuit has already been given so I won't go into that. I will say however that I have nothing but admiration for Keith, Monte, Florence, Lenny, and Crosby. I am also very curious to see the 2 new crew members. The Colburn's involvement in the industry from working the deck to participating on various councils makes them in my view, worthy of nothing but respect.

[fv GLOBAL]

Bring on the Skaars and the North American, comrade Hansenoff is afraid no one!

[Lhiiiz]

I should add that the same goes for Gary, Nick, and Art...was Gary on the Wizard for Kings?

[Sherri]

Am new to this site, more or less, but have a question I hope can be fairly answered. Are the Hansens actually promoting that Russian King Crab or just letting that company use their pictures and signatures? I am more than confused on this one! Thanks for any help clearing this up!

[PIPHS]

Sherri, we don't know for sure about it. I'm sitting back to see if all of the facts about the issue come to light before I make my choice on the matter.

[Webdoc]

Sherri, if you do some research, it is right out there in black and white. The Japanese buy the largest majority of the crab caught by the American Fleet. So it is a supply and demand situation. If the Japanese are paying top dollar for the crab, while at the same time American consumers also want crab, the one who pays the most gets the best crab.

So don't be too upset with the Hansens, they aren't doing anything that the other food distributors aren't doing. Unless your local seafood eatery gets their crab delivered straight from the dock 90% chance it is Russian crab. I worked in the food industry for years.

Also remember, that crab is crab, an Opilio crab will taste like an Opilio no matter who catches it. Russian crab is caught in the Bering Sea also.

If you are going to complain to anyone about Americans getting Russian crab, complain to the brokers who sell the American crab to the Japanese. The crab boats are required to sell the largest share of their catch to certain processors under the IFQ. Those Processors are partly owned by the Japanese. These are the same processors who are doing their best not to pay the boats/crews more more money.

Similar to what happens to farmers, American farmers don't make a whole lot of money, but everyone else up the line makes good money.

There is a company called the Texas Rib Company, they are based out of Indiana, their ribs come from Canada and South America, and are proccessed in N.W. Ohio. I have seen with my own eyes, ribs from Venezuala come off the truck, taken out of the original box, put in a different box with the Texas Rib Co logo on it, and right out to the same truck to be shipped to the customer.

This sort of thing happens every day in every part of the American Food Industry, Produce from other countries is shipped in daily.

[Webdoc]

As someone already pointed out, the comment made by Discovery "But who will be the top producer? We’ll just see, won’t we?", is a bunch of hype. The days of Derby style fishing is over, it ended at the end of Season 1, they are now filming season 4. Te boats have a predetermined quota that tells them how much they are allowed to catch.

It is this type of hype and false drama that is eventually going to bring this show to a ruin I am afraid.

It is the reason the Maverick will no longer be on the show. Their BS portrayal of Blake started in Season 2 when they said the reason he wasn't on during Opie season was he wasn't made Captain. That was a lie, the reason was he went home to run his dads crab boat because his father had become ill.

Then we have Season 3, the hype about Blake and Phil. Well if you do some research and actually look instead of following the narrator blindly, the Cornelia Marie, the Aleutian Ballad, and the Maverick were partner boats, all part of a co-op.

Lets discuss Co-op, under a co-op the boats can make up for each others shortcomings. So when Blake came up short, tthe other 2 boats could have made up the difference with no penalties for any of the boats.

Now, as far as the sharing information thing goes. If you watch the video, the way it is edited, the same conversation has people talking during daylight and darkness. Yet they were less than 100 miles apart. It doesn't go from pitch black night to 12 noon bright in 100 miles. Also, part of the conversation was using a 2-way radio, and the other half a sat phone? I work in communications, a VHF radio does not connect to a Sat-Phone. That whole segment was creatively;y edited to create hype. For that reason the Maverick said no more BS and they won't be on the show anymore.

So take anything said with a grain of salt

[Jennifer McKenzie]

Just wondering if we have any info on what The North American's quota is. It would be a bit pointless to ponder "competition" if TNA's quota is significantly less than TNW.

[Webdoc]

Here ate the respective quotas

F/V Northwestern 335,000 LBS
F/V North America 90,000 LBS

what competition?

The F/V North American is much smaller than the NW same basic boat, but the NW has been stretched at least twice..

[PIPHS]

Okay, Webdoc if what the Hansens doing is okay, in your book, then why is reported that they are getting a ton of hate e-mail over the deal? Why did both Phil and Jonhtan refused the deal, when they were offer the deal? I thought that these guys were friends? Also why did Capt. Keith said that there is a lot of anger toward them right from the fleet? Also why did the Gov. of Alaska called from an investgation in it?

Also, webdoc, I had both type of crab, Alaska and Russia, I will tell you there is a BIG different in taste, for one the Russia type is satly the Alaskan isn't. Just a few things to think about.