Deadliest Catch Season 12 is underway, Ballard WA Deadliest Catch Boats – F/V Wizard, F/V Northwestern, F/V Cornelia Marie, Alaska Fishermen are scattered all over out Seattle Ship Canal – Marine Traffic the spring is an all time high fish boats are coming and going 24/7, the Ballard Locks are booming while the Ballard Bridge and Fremont Bridge are constantly getting calls on VHF 13 for a lift. May God bless all our Seattle Fishermen that risk their lives in Alaska weather, storms and snotty conditions.
F/V Wizard, Deadliest Catch Boat – Alaska Bering Sea Crabber, home port in Ballard WA! Boats – well a lot of us thought the Wizard was a twin screw – in fact she is a single screw! The F/V Wizard is a single deck crab fishing vessel designed for ocean service with a single diesel-oil propulsion engine, single rudder and single propeller. She was built in 1945 by Ira Bushey and Sons, Inc. of Brooklyn, NY to a U.S. Navy design as a yard oiler.
The Wizard LOA 155′ – beam 30′ – Her original name is an International Marine Organization (IMO) number, YO-210. She is one of the few remaining YO-153 class vessels. In 1978, she was purchased by John Jorgensen and converted at Bender Shipbuilding of Mobile, AL to serve as a crab fishing vessel. A bow thruster was added in 1978. The vessel has now been participating in Alaskan Bering Sea crab fisheries since conversion, most of you know know about her from the TV show Deadliest Catch.
F/V Wizard, Monte & Naknek Sea Gal, Salty Dog Boating News!
Bender Shipyard in Louisiana converted the Wizard to a crabber in 1978, from where John and his family sailed her through the Panama Canal and on to Seattle where Marco Shipyard finished the conversion. She originally had 8 tanks for carrying oil cargo and a capacity of 240,000 gallons. During the conversion, two of the tanks were eliminated to increase the size of the engine room to hold added generators and a salt-water circulation system. Four of the original tanks are used as live holding tanks for crab, and the two forward tanks are used for dry storage and refrigerated seawater unit. The house and living quarters were increased, and a substantial amount of hydraulics for the two cranes and crab pot hauling equipment were added.
NOOA in 2005 – under the Department of Commerce enacted the Crab Rationalization program, vessels of the Bering Sea were awarded IFQs (Individual Fishing Quotas). The Wizard’s King and Opilio crab allocations were among the highest in the Bering Sea for an individual boat, ranking in the top 5 for Kings, and top 10 for Opilio, in a fleet in excess of 250 vessels.
F/V Wizard, Mascot of Salty Dog Boating News, loves a crabbers wheel house!
Keith Colburn and his wife Florence purchased the Wizard in July of 2005. John the former owner – maintains a close relationship with Keith who harvests his IFQ allocation, as well as that of a number of other IFQ crab holders, all by lease agreements. The Wizard is now working with another boat in the Alaska Crab Producers Cooperative, a sub district of the Inter Cooperative Exchange, the largest harvest cooperative in the Bering Sea.
F/V Wizard, Fun Freddy, All smiles – home from the Bering Sea!
F/V Wizard Crew – they are fun! Heck Yah! Always good to see – F/V Wizard, Deadliest Catch, Monte & Naknek Sea Gal, Publisher Salty Dog Boating News; Fall Fishermen Festival – beers and story time!
Freddy is all time ‘Salty Dog News Favorite‘ he’s a teddy bear who is all ‘smiles’ – a family man who loves being a lower 48 So. Cal new dad! Freddy has been fishing for 20 plus years. His Samoan fishing traditions include eating raw fish guts, drinking the blood out of the fish and rubbing fish blood all over his face. Yep its totally grouse – but ‘superstitions at sea work’ ……….. yes they do!
F/V Wizard, Strong Like Bull Robby!
Best of luck to the rest of the Wizard Crew and Captain Keith – thank ya’ll for letting out Salty Dog 100 pound black Lab. Mascot on the boat – Gracy Dog made her way right to the wheel house where mama/Naknek Sea Gal – was visiting with Monte. Thanks to Robby’s freaking strong powers – he picked up Gracy off the dock and plucked her down on the Wizard deck as if she was a 5 pound toy dog. Yes, our Gracy has no problem getting up and down those darn steep stairs aboard the F/V Wizard crabber wheel house! According to Freddy our Salty Dog Gracy – has been the only dog up in their wheel-house! There are more dogs in Seattle than children – must love dog in the PNW!
Wizard – God Bless, may your crew have many great season to come!
Alaska fishermen & fisherwomen – heads up, fast feet, watch your fingers!
NO PAIN – NO GAIN! If you didn’t hurt you would be fish-in!
