Archive for the ‘Featured’ Category

Posted on August 27, 2010 - by Morgan Howard

Keith Anderson Fundraising Event

Keith Arthur Anderson has been missing since Jan. 6^th 2010. He was last seen in the Sultan, WA area and his vehicle was found on a remote logging road near Darrington, WA.  Keith Anderson is the father of Jake Anderson, one of the deckhands of the F/V Northwestern.  The CorneliaMarie.com website first reported on this January 13th of this year.  You can view the details here.

Jake Anderson is good friends with the deckhands on the F/V Cornelia Marie, especially Jake Harris.  In fact, during Season 6 of the Deadliest Catch, Jake and Jake switched boats.  You can see part of that episode here.  The Jakes hey even did a fun promotion for a video game together you can watch here.

So, now Jake and his brother Josh are going to help out their friend Jake tomorrow.  The “2 Bit Saloon” in Ballard, Washington is putting on a fund raiser to help raise funds for the Search for Keith Anderson Fund.  Some of the Deadliest Catch crew will be there sitting in a dunk tank and ready to get wet. There will be a barbecue, Raffel, and music provided by Dragstip Riot.  Suggested Donation is $5.  I talked to Jake Harris today and he said he’s bringing his swim trunks and ready to get wet.  His brother Josh will be there as well.

A couple of weeks ago, my mom Cornelia, along with Jake Anderson, Nick Mavar, Matt Bradley, and Jonathan Hillstrand showed up to sign autographs in Anacortes for the Search forKeith Anderson Fund.  There was also Deadliest Catch items sold at silent Auction, and the family cooked up some food for everyone donated by The Market.  All proceeds went toward the efforts needed to find Keith Anderson.  The picture above was taken from the event and the searchforkeith.com website.

Jake Anderson has been through so much – if you can come out and support the cause – that would be great.

Posted on August 25, 2010 - by Morgan Howard

Cornelia Marie at Emmys

F/V Cornelia Marie crew walked down the red carpet at the 2010 Creative Arts Emmy Awards in Los Angeles.  The event will air as a two-hour special on Friday, August 27, at 1:00 p.m. (ET/PT), on E! Entertainment Television.   Jake, Josh and Derrick Ray, our relief skipper joined Thom Beers and Todd Stanley from Original Productions.

The boys actually presented a couple of awards with “Deadliest Catch” creator Thom Beers.  You can see the three of them here posing for the cameras.   Derrick Ray was invited to attend as a guest of longtime Cornelia Marie cameraman Todd Stanley.  We have written about Todd Stanley before, (click here) and think highly of him at the CM family.  Of course, we think that Todd and his crew should have won for best cinematography but unfortunately they did not.

The Deadliest Catch did win one Emmy  – I believe it was nominated for a total of four awards.  “Deadliest Catch” won for outstanding sound mixing for non-fiction programming. The award went to Bob Bronow, re-recording mixer.  DC was also nominated for outstanding picture editing for non-fiction programming but did not win.

Deadliest Catch lost to HBO’s “By The People: The Election of Barack Obama.”  I haven’t seen this doc – it’s probably of high quality but seems like it should be in a different category.  Deadliest Catch is unique show with different limitations and challenges than traditional documentaries.  Thom Beers has often commented on how he thinks the Emmys need to work on their categories.  Click here to read why he calls some of their decisions “ridiculous”.

The Creative Emmy Awards have concluded, but there’s still no answer to whether the Cornelia Marie will be back on the show next season.  We have received a lot emails from many of you and are always grateful for your support… even from thousands of miles away in Europe.  Check out what Nick from the Netherlands is up to on Facebook!

Posted on July 27, 2010 - by Morgan Howard

Season Finale of Deadliest Catch

Tonight is the last episode of this season of “Deadliest Catch”. Discovery is calling this one “Endless” and provides the following description. “Tension runs high on the Northwestern. Edgar Hansen is fed up with the 22 year marathon of pain, and confronts older brother Sig. Josh Harris returns to the Cornelia Marie and the Opilio Season ends with a harrowing mayday.”

We were the last Bering Sea crab fishing boat fishing Opilios this year. We almost ran out of time – I think we only had a week left in the season when we finally finished catching our quota. After our skipper passed away, the boat suffered an enormous amount of breakdowns.

Did you watch the “Behind the Scenes” episode on Sunday night?  According to EW.com author Mandi it was just as emotional as the past few episodes of Deadliest Catch:

“Foolishly, I thought the toughest episodes of Deadliest Catch were behind us, but watching last night’s behind-the-scenes look at the filming of season 6, I actually beat my sofa with a pillow and shouted, “[Creative expletive that it's a shame I can't share] I. Cannot. Take it. I Cannot. Take it.” — on two separate occasions.”

Mandi goes on to give full detail of the episode and why she thought it was so good.  Phil’s cameraman Todd Stanley was featured in the episode.  He stated on his facebook page that the article was “dead on” accurate.  I wrote about Todd recently when he gave a radio interview about his relationship with Capt. Phil.

Prior to the last episode at 9 pm, Discovery Channel is showing back to back episodes from this season starting at 9 am.

Posted on July 23, 2010 - by Morgan Howard

Fishermen’s Festival honors Capt. Phil

In the video above, Capt. Jim Wilson talks about being stuck in St. Paul with Capt. Phil and the Cornelia Marie this year while crab fishing. Jim was on of the guys Phil wanted to take his place when he had his stroke in February. Jim is currently the skipper of the F/V Cornelia Marie while our boat finishes its salmon tendering contract in Alaska. This video features Phil’s good friends telling stories about him and was made specifically to raise money for the “Commercial Fishermen’s Festival”.

I recently watched the short tribute DVD honoring Captain Phil Harris.  Besides the round table discussion, it also includes exclusive photos of Phil’s memorial and other pics submitted by his friends and family.  The DVD does not compare to the tribute show produced by Discovery Channel, but the DVD sales go toward a good cause.  Josh  told Johnathan  and Harry Lewis that he really enjoyed the tribute honoring his dad.  If you donate $20 to the festival, you will receive a copy of the DVD – check out the online store.

The “Commercial Fishermen’s Festival” takes place in Astoria, Oregon on September 18-19, 2010. Astoria is a working fishing community and the home of many Alaska fishermen. The mission of the festival is to help commercial fishermen – from educating the public about the industry to educating themselves so they can save lives. The guys behind the festival and on the board are friends of Capt. Phil. In fact, Phil was scheduled to attend.

The festival organizers decided to rename their signature competition to the “Captain Phil Harris Highliner Competition”. I plan on attending with my family as well as (hopefully) Josh and Jake.  Johnathan, Andy (and maybe Keith and Sig) are also going to be there. There’s a great write-up of the event on the F/V Time Bandit’s website. I guess you can even win a ride with Johnathan on the “Time Bandit Harley”.   The organizers are adding more cool events, so check back with their website for updates.  If you’re a Deadliest Catch fan, I’m guessing you’ll have a great time.

Posted on July 20, 2010 - by Morgan Howard

Remembering Capt. Phil – Todd Stanley

Discovery Channel is calling tonight’s episode, “Valhalla”. The description reads “Captain Phil Harris loses his battle for life while the boats – unaware of the news – battle the biggest storm of the season. Eventually, eldest son Josh breaks the news to the fleet and reactions are intense and unforgettable.”

Derrick Ray, the relief skipper for Phil also had the difficult responsibility of telling the news. Our crew is close, both Freddie and Steve have fished for Phil for too many years to count. The guys on the boat aren’t just deckhands – they are more like family. If you watched “After the Catch” last week, you got a chance to see Freddie and how much he cared for Phil. Also, in the Cornelia Marie family is Todd Stanley. Todd was Phil’s cameraman in the wheelhouse for three years and became one of his closest friends. Recently, Todd talked about his relationship with Phil on the radio (KNCI). Here is an excerpt from that interview.

[Pat] I remember you telling me that, that, um, you’d never had anybody close to you die before?

[Todd] Not like that. I haven’t ever spent that many days in a row with somebody, you know. So, uh… Phil just… you know, he and I were real good friends. I mean, he’s the kind of friend that would call me at 3:00 a.m.… (in Capt. Phil’s voice) “What’re you doin?”
“What do you mean, what am I doin? I’m sleeping.”
(Phil’s voice) “Oh, man. I’m watching this coin show and I just bought some gold coins.  You won’t believe it, these things are amazing.”

Wow. (Pat continues laughter) So, you know, I mean, we were close, you know. One of the things, you know, not too many people, probably really nobody even knows about, is that, uh, Phil, about an hour before he passed away… he gave me, uh, he gave me his gold ring. It’s got a diamond and a couple of rubies in it. These crabbers, you know, they all have… They all wear some kind of bling, whether it’s a golden, diamond-encrusted king crab on a necklace or something. But he bought this, this was the first piece of jewelry he bought as a teenager, as a young crab fisherman, you know. Something, you know, I tried to give back to the boys, and Josh wouldn’t, wouldn’t take it. But that… you know, I wear it proudly on my hand today, and I… it reminds me of him every single day.

Todd also goes on to talk about some behind the scenes moments such as the arguments between Josh and Jake.  For the full transcript, go here.

Posted on July 14, 2010 - by Morgan Howard

Deadliest Catch’s Farewell to Capt. Phil

Discovery Channel and Original Productions handled the passing of our Capt. Phil Harris with compassion and respect. The show never wavered too far from their established format, look and feel. I’ve read some great articles on how the Deadliest Catch surpasses all other reality shows. You can read one here and here.

But, more importantly how does Phil’s family feel about how the show’s been edited this season?  Josh gave this answer when asked by Entertainment Weekly:

I think they have done a wonderful job, I’m actually kind of shocked.  /  The old man wanted to go out big. The only different way he had in mind was to be 70 years old, popping about 50 Viagras and having a 21-year-old Vegas hooker. That was the original way he wanted to go. But I think this way will suffice for him.

And how did Josh feel about watching the scene where his dad says he loves him?

That f—ed me up a little bit. It’s a process, I’m working through it. He was pissed. He thought he was a failure and that he f—ed up. That irritated me so much. He’s such a good guy, and he had such a big heart. To be in the last moments of your life and think you are a failure, just broke my heart. It absolutely crushed me because he wasn’t a failure at all. He produced two good kids and did the best job he could with the cards he was dealt. We weren’t born rich. Everything we’ve got, we earned. It’s not like Discovery has handed us a house full of money. I think I got $1,000 and a fruit basket that I have never seen. They say they sent it!

Here is the schedule for the rest of the season (via Deadliest Reports)

DEADLIEST CATCH: Episode 15 – Tuesday, July 20 at 9PM ET/PT
The news of Phil’S death reaches the rest of the fleet. Captains Keith, Johnathan, Andy and Sig all struggle to come to terms with their friend and colleague’s passing.

CAPTAIN PHIL HARRIS REMEMBERED – Tuesday, July 20 at 10PM ET/PT
A special one-hour look back at the life of Captain Phil Harris, skipper of Cornelia Marie. The special includes interviews with fellow captains and deckhands, memorable “Phil moments” from the past six seasons of DEADLIEST CATCH, never-before-seen footage from behind the scenes and fan remembrances recorded at CatchCon 2010 and Phil’s public memorial service in Seattle.

DEADLIEST CATCH: Episode 16 – Tuesday, July 27 at 9PM ET/PT
On the finale of the sixth season of DEADLIEST CATCH, the fleet is still absorbing the news about Phil. But the stormy waters of the Bering Sea never take a break, and the Captains and the crew must soldier on in the race to make their quotas, as the Opilio season comes to an end.

BEHIND THE SCENES–Sunday July 25th at 10pm ET/PT
A Deadliest Catch cameraman faces every grueling hour with his subjects. In this behind the scenes special, one cameraman battles life-threatening seasickness, while another is forced to produce the story of his life.

Posted on July 13, 2010 - by Morgan Howard

Farewell to our Capt. Phil

Tonight we say “farewell” to our skipper, Capt. Phil Harris of the F/V Cornelia Marie.  I expect Discovery will use great sensitivity in telling the story of Phil’s last hours.

I guess in one respect we’re all in the same boat together.  We all have similar feelings in regard to tonight episode of “Deadliest Catch”.  My Mom and even Josh don’t really know what to expect on the show.

However, Josh and Johnathan were on the “Tonight Show with Jay Leno” last night and provided an idea of what is to come.  During their segment of the interview, they did show a very emotional clip of the show.  I guess this gives us some idea of what to expect.  Also, before the Tonight Show, they spoke to a reporter from the LA Times:

Josh Harris, in Los Angeles this week for an appearance on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” hasn’t watched Tuesday’s episode yet but says he will because he wants to make sure he said a proper goodbye. He was in shock during those last few days, he said, and doesn’t remember details that he now considers vitally important.

“It was hard to live it, and it’ll be really hard to relive it,” he said, lighting a steady stream of cigarettes on the rooftop of a Hollywood hotel. (He’s promised to kick the habit soon, but he’s too shellshocked at the moment, both from the death and the media attention now swirling around him). “I want to see those final moments of my father.”

Johnathan Hillstrand, co-captain of the Time Bandit and a close family friend in town with Harris for “The Tonight Show,” was at Harris’ bedside up to the end and said he hasn’t decided if he’ll watch the episode.

Josh is flying back from L.A. today and will watch the show here in Seattle.  According to Johnathan’s twitter account he made a decision and will “be watching Deadliest Catch tonight”.  Johnathan’s a great guy and has been a true friend to the Cornelia Marie family.  Thank you Johnathan for all of your support.

Discovery Channel has set up a platform for Live chatting during the show here.  Of course, we’ve always had the ability for real strong supporters of the Cornelia Marie to chat live at http://www.deadliestcatchfan.com - just scroll down to the bottom of the home page.  I do hope they edit carefully and provide honor and justice to a good man.

Posted on July 9, 2010 - by Morgan Howard

Filling in for Capt. Phil – the toughest job

The still shot above is from a video showing Josh on the phone looking for a captain to take his dad’s place.  This scene was not aired on “Deadliest Catch”.  This video clip comes from the an internet only series of videos called “Chasing the Catch”.  These videos were all taken from and include the chase boat, the “FV Aquila”.  This boat is owned by some great folks who have been good friends to the FV Cornelia Marie, thank you Kale and Anji.

As viewers of the show, it was really hard to watch a relief skipper come aboard the FV Cornelia Marie at the end of the last episode.  That new skipper is Derrick Ray and he’s an old family friend of my mother, Cornelia and Capt. Phil.  When Derrick landed in St. Paul to captain the FV Cornelia Marie, we thought Phil was going to make a long but full recovery.  So, it was up to Derrick to step in and finish the Opilio season.  This was a tough situation – to step on board during that time.  Derrick said the crew was very upset and that they “were a train wreck”.

I couldn’t think of a better person to step in during that time than Derrick Ray.  He’s a well known Bering Sea Captain with a big heart to match his talent as a great skipper.

Derrick started making money on the sea at a very young age.   He was a deckhand on charter boats that plyed the waters off the Oregon Coast.   Once high school was over he headed north to Alaska.  Here, he worked on several boats before landing a job as a deckhand on the F/V Milky Way.  The 76 foot Milky Way was then owned by my folks Ralph and Cornelia Collins.  Derrick and I were both deckhands at the same time.

Derrick quickly established himself as a great fisherman.  At the young age of 23, he skippered his first King Crab opening in the Bering Sea.  An enormous undertaking for a young man, but one that Derrick handled well.

A lot happened on board the FV Cornelia Marie after Phil left.  Most of it will not make it to television because of the limited time.  I will write more to try and fill in the gaps.  We appreciate everyone’s continued support of the Cornelia Marie family.

Posted on June 29, 2010 - by Morgan Howard

Capt. Phil’s Story Continues on Deadliest Catch

The hard to watch story of our skipper continues tonight on the “Deadliest Catch”.  Tonight, Phil gets medevacked to Anchorage.  It’s at this point that my Mom, Cornelia M. Devlin joins the family at the hospital.  We also call up good family friend Derrick Ray to fly into St. Paul to take over as skipper of the FV Cornelia Marie.  Derrick is a well known Bering Sea Captain and Phil’s friend as well.  I will write more about Derrick later in the week.  Josh has been speaking to news agencies this week.  You can view his interview with People magazine here.  Deadliest Catch will focus on the passing of our skipper for the remaining episodes.  Here’s a look at what’s left for the season (from Deadliest Reports).

DEADLIEST CATCH: Episode 12 – Tuesday, June 29 at 9PM ET/PT

The rest of the fleet begins to hear the unsettling news of their friend and fellow skipper.  Captains Sig Hansen, Andy and Johnathan Hillstrand and Keith Colburn all react with stunned disbelief while still keeping an eye on the turbulent waters, as the Bering Sea stops for no one.

DEADLIEST CATCH: Episode 13 – Tuesday, July 6 at 9PM ET/PT

Josh and Jake Harris continue to watch over their dad at the Anchorage hospital.  They are joined by Johnathan Hillstrand as well as Phil’s inner circle of biker buddy friends.  Ever the stubborn fighter, Phil rallies in the ICU.

DEADLIEST CATCH: Episode 14 – Tuesday, July 13 at 9PM ET/PT

Despite small signs of encouragement, Captain Phil loses his battle.  He passes away surrounded by family and friends.

AFTER THE CATCH: Episode 5 – Tuesday, July 13 at 10PM ET/PT

The fleet wraps up its time at the French Quarter’s Blue Nile bar in the season finale of AFTER THE CATCH.  Captain Phil Harris is remembered in true ‘Nawlins style as fans pour onto Frenchmen Street for a traditional, raucous Jazz Parade.  The celebration brings together all the captains to pay tribute to their friend and colleague.

DEADLIEST CATCH: Episode 15 – Tuesday, July 20 at 9PM ET/PT

The news of Phil’s death reaches the rest of the fleet.  Captains Keith, Johnathan, Andy and Sig all struggle to come to terms with their friend and colleague’s passing.

DEADLIEST CATCH: CAPTAIN PHIL HARRIS REMEMBERED – Tuesday, July 20 at 10PM ET/PT

A special one-hour look back at the life of Captain Phil Harris, skipper of F/V Cornelia Marie.  The special includes interviews with fellow captains and deckhands, memorable “Phil moments” from the past six seasons of DEADLIEST CATCH, never-before-seen footage from behind the scenes and fan remembrances recorded at CatchCon 2010 and Phil’s public memorial service in Seattle.

DEADLIEST CATCH: Episode 16 – Tuesday, July 27 at 9PM ET/PT

On the finale of the sixth season of DEADLIEST CATCH, the fleet is still absorbing the news about Phil.  But the stormy waters of the Bering Sea never take a break, and the Captains and the crew must soldier on in the race to make their quotas, as the Opilio season comes to an end.

Posted on June 22, 2010 - by Morgan Howard

Capt. Phil’s Fate Realized

Tonight, we have finally reached the episode where Capt. Phil suffered his stroke. We have known about this for some time, but haven’t figured out yet how we should feel about it. We can only hope that Discovery Channel doesn’t go “too far” in the editing of these next episodes. These are real lives at stake, not fictional characters played by actors.

Phil’s passing in front of the cameras has drawn lots of media attention. Yesterday, the New York Times wrote an article entitled, “Reality TV Show Faces Ultimate Test”. According to the article, “Capt. Phil had instructed cameramen to keep filming if anything were to happen to him, according to his son Josh and Discovery Channel executives. Out at sea the captain and his longtime cameraman and friend, Todd Stanley, had many conversations about storytelling. “We always talked about having a beginning, a middle and an end,” Mr. Stanley said. “Without one of those three things, you don’t have a story.”

The article goes on further to talk about Josh’s feelings about these next few episodes.

Josh Harris said he was adamant that the consequences of the stroke should be shown, adding that the producers “were very sensitive” about filming. Asked if there were any scenes that he or his brother asked the network not to show, he said, “No, because we want it to be as real as it can get.”

I was surprised from nearly the beginning at how “open” Phil was about letting the cameras capture his life. I remember when the “Deadliest Catch” showed Phil falling asleep at the wheel. I was shocked that Phil let Discovery Channel show that. Of course, it happens to the best of us, but I can’t imagine a skipper ever wanting that to be broadcast to the world. But, Phil wasn’t afraid to show the good and bad.

Now, he leaves us with a new experience in television, where somebody we know lives out their final days in front of the camera.