Sig Hansen Sets Sophia ‘Bob’ Nielsen a Big Task as She Joins Crew

Winter has arrived on Deadliest Catch as the captains brave through arctic temperatures to fulfill their crab quotas. This chilly part of the season certainly isn’t for the faint of heart with freezing temperatures meaning ice creates an added level of danger over the next six weeks. However, for each vessel the risk is worth the reward for a piece of the $68 million bounty. 

Beyond the usual suspects featured on the Discovery Channel hit, the July 10 episode chronicles a harrowing rescue on the northern St. George Island shoreline. The monstrous 134-foot Arctic Sea suffered engine failure, which led to the U.S. Coast Guard jumping in action to save nine crew members. Other vessels listened in on the radio with bated breath to find out if these heroes were rescued. 

Read on to see what transpired this week. 

Sig Hansen & Johnathan Hillstrand

Johnathan HIllstrand (Discovery Channel)

The Northwestern was on the hook during this leg for 100,000 pounds of opilio quota worth $1 million. With Sig Hansen’s daughter Mandy at home with the kids, she recommended an unexpected addition to the crew in the form of Sophia “Bob” Nielsen. Even though the daughter of the late Gary Nielson had not worked with opies before, this was her eighth year fishing. The third-generationer built an impressive resume over the time including work on the Saga, Seabrooke, and Aleutian Lady. She looked into further challenging herself by being put in uncomfortable situations to grow her career. “I don’t know what to fear more, you or the ice,” Bob joked to Sig. 

Sig felt his new skipper needed to still prove herself. She immediately got a taste of being throwing in the proverbial deep end with Sig headed into the Russian domain. He crossed an area through the Russian exclusive economic zone to scope out the boats in the area to see if it was worth fishing for crab in the vicinity. There was a point where it looked like a Russian boat was headed their way, but were able to turn back into the American boundary in time. The effort paid off with Sig noticing boats with pots, leading him to believe the spot was fruitful. 

Feeling like he could use a familiar face and even the odds in the area, Sig made a call to Johnathan Hillstrand. Sig offered the Time Bandit captain the opportunity to bring his gear and join him there. Johnathan agreed to add in his 100 pots to the effort in honor of America. 

“He is put-in them on the boat, get it Putin,” he declared, making his best dad joke. 

Keith Colburn

Keith Colburn (Discovery Channel)

The Wizard captain decided to go against the grain by heading west of the islands, betting $7,000 in fuel steering away from the traditional grounds. For Keith Colburn, it was a race for crab and still every man for himself. For the veteran captain, the less ice the better and decided to bring less pots. Much like the others on comms, he heard a Mayday distress signal near St. George. Since his gear wasn’t set, he headed toward the rescue.

The captain prayed that those there would be okay. One by one, they were  airlifted in a basket. The Coast Guard managed to retrieve all of them. A reminder at how the crews put their lives on the line in this industry. Keith tipped his cap to everyone involved in the rescue and the fallen Arctic Sea vessel. He went to the scene and looked in amazement how they got them off. Keith joined the other crew to pay their respects before going back to fishing. 

Jake Anderson 

Jake Anderson had $1.25 in opies to go for aboard the Cornelia Marie. He described the fall season as a learning curve, but the go-getter was ready to push things this time around. He took that mentality into his three-day adventure up the Russian line. She added 20 more pots to his 109, which was seen as a risk due to the weather conditions and prevalence of ice. The crew started to drop the gear in the water, leaning over the line of the Russian sea floor. Jake counted on the tide to help and buoy them back to the U.S. side. Their risky strategy is translated into pots full of crab. This proved a nice start to the winter season. 

Deadliest Catch, Fridays, 8/7c, Discovery Channel