(December 19, 1956 – February 9, 2010)
Captain Phil got his sea legs while working on fishing boats beginning at the tender age of seven. Ten years later he started crabbing on the F/V American Eagle. When Phil turned 21, he ran a boat, the F/V Golden Viking, out of Seattle making him one of the youngest to captains in the Bering Sea. Phil went on to work on another boat shortly after, but some of his friends stayed on the F/V Golden Viking. It capsized and sank in 1983 near St. Mathew Island, Alaska. Phil lost some very close friends that day and still finds the disaster difficult to talk about.
In 1990 Phil bought into the F/V Cornelia Marie with its namesake, Cornelia Marie and her husband at the time, Ralph Collins. Ralph and Cornelia divorced and Cornelia retained the majority ownership of the boat. Phil stayed on as captain, and Cornelia attended to the business. The boat is unique in that is the last one operating of only three crabbing boats designed by Elmo Horton of Horton Boats, Inc. out of Bayou La Batre, Alabama. Horton normally built tug and other working boats.
Capt. Phil did many interviews, so I hope to add more links to them here in the future.
To buy authentic F/V Cornelia Marie Gear, visit our online store by clicking here.
Check out Phil’s MySpace page!
We have all of Capt. Phil’s great quotes here. Read a great conversation with Phil and Josh here.
The season premiere of “Deadliest Catch” will be April 13, 2010. This will be the sixth season of the “Deadliest Catch” and the fifth season that the “Cornelia Marie” has been featured on the show. The television crew from Original Productions boards our boat during the fall for King Crab season and then [...]
Discovery Channel hosted a memorial service for Capt. Phil’s family and friends today. It was an event most agreed Phil would have loved. F/V Cornelia Marie crew members flew in from the Bering Sea to join former crew members and other Bering Sea captains. Many of the “Deadliest Catch” boat captains were in attendance to [...]
This article comes from People magazine
Before his death on Feb. 9 at 53, Phil Harris, the tough and colorful captain of the Cornelia Marie on Discovery’s Deadliest Catch, fought against all odds, came out of a medically-induced coma following lengthy surgery, spent a few more days with friends and family – and set his two [...]
The following article is by ROSE COX of The Dutch Harbor Fisherman (rcox@alaskanewspapers.com)
To fans of the “Deadliest Catch,” he was captain Phil Harris, the famous crab-killing rider of the wild Bering Sea.
But to those living at the tip of the Aleutian chain, he was just plain Phil, one of the most endearing, demanding – and [...]
My mother Cornelia Marie and I wish to thank everyone for your support on behalf of Josh, Jake and the rest of the family. During this most difficult time you have expressed your sadness and offered your prayers and good wishes. Many of you have also shared your concern for Phil’s boys. Many nice of [...]
