This week, I’ll be at the annual International Boating and Water Safety Summit in Daytona Beach, Florida, where I’ll be speaking to representatives of the National Safe Boating Council, National Water Safety Congress, Coast Guard Boating Safety Division, and state and national safe boating organizations.

Fishing for crab much of the year, and promoting The Deadliest Catch during the off-season, makes it difficult to squeeze in a quiet moment to blog.   I signed on as national spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard’s “Boat Responsibly” initiative.  No one survives in this business for very long without making safety at sea a priority, and life jacket use is the number one way to increase safety both in professional, and recreational boating. For me and my crew, it’s a top priority.

On board The Wizard, we have an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) mounted on the upper deck to reduce the time it takes marine Search and Rescue to locate us in an emergency. Before we leave the dock we conduct safety drills for everything from man overboard, to how to call for assistance using the marine radios, and we make certain that every person knows exactly what to do, with or without the captain. Most important, everyone wears a life jacket, either an auto-inflatable vest style or a full jacket with foam flotation. The Coast Guard estimates that 90 percent of those who drown in boating accidents might have survived had they been wearing a life jacket. That’s a sobering statistic for anyone who spends time on the water.

As fans of the show are well aware, we’ve had some close calls on board The Wizard because of the rough nature of the work we do, including some serious injuries. I take it personally when accidents happen despite our best efforts, so we make every incident a learning experience and a chance to improve our safety procedures even further.

For the Coast Guard, I’ve appeared in Public Service Announcements now being shown on television and in movie theaters around the country, and Soundings magazine published a three-page spread recently (http://www.soundingsonline.com/features/in-depth/246652-deadliest-skipper-is-on-a-safety-mission) on The Deadliest Catch and my work as safety spokesperson (January issue). But one of the things I enjoy most is having the chance to share my experience and to talk to others directly about the importance of boating responsibly. During my time ashore I talk about safety during public appearances at boat shows and water sporting events.

While in Daytona, I’ll also be talking to the Daytona Beach Sea Cadets about life jackets and demonstrating several models for children and adults at the Daytona Lagoon Water Park the morning of Sunday, March 28^th at the Wave Pool.  A thank you to Mustang Survival Corporation, which was kind enough to donate the life jackets I’ll be demonstrating at this event.

The U.S. Coast Guard’s Integrated Support Command in Kodiak, Alaska, provides critical emergency assistance to us crab boat captains, and to The Deadliest Catch production team, whenever the going gets rough out there on the Bering Sea.  I am proud therefore to take a leadership role in this important Coast Guard boating safety initiative.

After the Daytona event, however, and before Season Six of The Deadliest Catch premieres on April 13th, my wife and I are taking a little time off for a well-earned vacation and to celebrate her birthday. 

Regards, and remember to “Boat Responsibly”

Captain Keith

Testimony of

Captain Keith H. Colburn

USCG Master 1600 tons, Owner and Operator of the Fishing Vessel Wizard

Joint Oversight Hearing on

Energy Development in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and the Future of Our Oceans

Before the Subcommittees on

Energy and Mineral Resources

and

Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife

U.S. House of Representatives

March 24, 2009

Hearing Testimony Transcript 

Every season that Deadliest Catch is on TV, the viewing audience has grown, and that is an incredibly good thing for promoting all fisheries in the United States. Before the docu-drama Catch, there was very little understanding outside the fishing community as to the level and amount of work that is required to bring the catch to the dock.

Understanding the hardships endured by fishers to harvest fish, and justifying the quality of the wild seafood products are passions that I really need to sit down and express.

Another important topic is the Catch show itself. Being a part of the show has allowed me the to meet genuine people around the country. This has been an amazing experience that I could have never foreseen. Unfortunately, not all of this growing audience has seen the show in a positive light. The naysayers have come out of the closet bringing their cynicism with them, and conspiracies abound surrounding the authenticity of the show.

It is to these topics, and many others that I will write when time allows. I hope that my readers will be patient. The schedule of a fisherman is hectic, and working to help Discovery promote the show has only increased the workload.

This entry in the Crabwizard Captain’s Log was intended to specifically alert fans of the F/V Wizard and her crew to the launch of our store. Once I sit down and start typing I tend to stray…

So here we have it. The Crabwizard Store is now officially open for business! This is a product of a multitude of requests for gear from the fans that I hope you will wear with pride. The store is solely for the fans, and I encourage everyone that navigates our store to send feed back on it’s functionality, and make recommendations on future items that you would be interested in. Take a look, and let me know what you think.

Thanks, Captain Keith

Ahoy, Deadliest Catch fans.

The long awaited season 4 debuts tonight at 9pm PST. Tonight features a 2 hour recap of season 3 with all new footage and a lot of surprises.

The crabwizard web site is back in action as well, and will be updated weekly. Look for new galleries, capts. log entries, and the much anticipated crabwizard store to be showing up soon.

I would like to send out a warm thank you (unlike the Bering Sea 2008 snowcrab season) to all the fans of the show. Special thanks to the wizettes, and diehard Wizard fans for their continued and tireless support during the long winter.

The Wizard and her crew return to Seattle after a long winter, tomorrow night, and will be entering the Ballard Locks at approximately 22:00 PST. ETA updates will be posted in the crabwizard forum for those who would like to come down to greet the crew.

Enjoy the show, and enjoy the crabwizard site.

As a special treat to the DC faithful the wizquiz returns, and question one for the 2008 season will go active immediately following this announcement.

Regards, Captain Keith

Captain Keith tells of his first year in Alaska and gives tips for those looking to get a start in Alaskan crabbing. This is part 1 of a multi part entry.

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