About Crabwizard

The F/V Wizard is owned by K.H. Colburn Inc., a corporation set up by Keith and Florence Colburn who are sole share holders. Keith Colburn is a long-time crabber in the Bering Sea who was the Captain of the Wizard for many years prior to purchasing it in 2005.

Now in the second year of ownership, and with the 2006/07 season having just been completed in late March, it looks like…the new owners of the Wizard are going to make it.

 

About Keith Colburn 

As a captain, Keith takes pride in being a pro. When asked about his demeanor as a captain he says, “I’m a gambler big-time! But my heart never left the deck. I’m safe and cautious but I don’t follow the pack.  There’s a fine line between being a gambler and a professional".

Lives are at stake and the captain is the guy responsible for them, and Keith takes pride in the fact that no major injuries have occurred under his command. Indeed, when he pulls the Wizard back into town, his gauge of success is:
1) Is everyone okay?
2) Did we catch any crab?
3) How is the boat?

Learning the craft

Keith learned the craft of crabbing from an old pro John Jorgensen, whose father and grandfather emigrated from Norway to Alaska in the pioneer days of commercial fishing.

John told me to “tune out the rest of the fleet”, referring to the radio that connects all commercial fishermen. “If you want to catch crab, turn this thing off…if you want to follow people turn it on”. 

Keith did just that; he turned his radio off and followed his instincts, which often led him north. He traveled far north, like in 2002 when they went 200 miles further north than anyone else and found themselves fishing all alone and next to the ice--with freight car sized ice chunks floating all around.  That was the record year when Keith and crew delivered 540,000 lbs of snow crab in a year where the average catch was 130,000 lbs, and the second highest catch was only 300,000 lbs.

The risky strategy paid off again in 2004 when the Wizard went far north again and ended up with a total take of 400,000 lbs of crab when the second highest producing boat was at a mere 250,000 lbs, and the fleet average was 125,000 lbs.

Trusting instincts

These are examples of when, as Keith says, “You have to cross great stretches of desert. You see, I don’t think of the ocean as waves on top, I think of the bottom of the ocean. I try to picture the bottom and figure out what nook and cranny the crabs are in and then find the heart of the schools of crab--and sometimes you need to go long way to find them”.

Keith adds that, “Fishing so far up north is dangerous because you can loose your gear and you can loose days of valuable fishing time if you don’t find the crab. If you’re wrong it can ruin your whole season”.

But gambling usually paid of for the Colburn brothers. As captains of the Wizard, Keith and his brother Monte (a seasoned captain as well) have had their share of success: The Wizard is usually in the top 10 out of 200+ boats in the fleet year after year.  In fact to put it in perspective the Wizard has produced the most snow crab since 1999.  And from 1996 to 2000, Keith was the #2 king crab producing captain out of 180 captains.

Managing Risks

All of the Wizard's largeness helps it achieve top crabbing honors. The same largeness accounts for dangers too. With four (4000 cubic foot) size crab holds filled up, the vessel is very stable, but In heavy seas the Wizard tends to cut through waves instead of bobbing over them like lighter boats. With her low water line this means more chances of big waves coming onboard. With the tanks always pressed (full) the crew needs to keep a watchful eye to avoid slack tanks, (partially full) An effect called "free surface" which can cause a crabber to capsize.

The dangers persist but Keith and his brother Monte continue to gamble like seasoned pros.