Chapter 1~ Greenhorns
Far to the north, in a remote region of the world, lies Unalaska Island. It lies just off the Alaskan Peninsula and is the first in the Aleutian Chain. South of the island lies the vast Pacific where one may not see land for thousands of miles. To the north is nearly 400 square miles of the world's most violent, and unpredictable waters, the Bering Sea. One would be foolish or even crazy to live or work here but for a select few, this remote spit of rock and the sea around it, is home.
Northwestern had been here for as long as she could remember. She was launched in 1977 as one of the finest Marco Crab Boats in the Pacific. Since then, she'd been all over the North Pacific, fishing cod, salmon and of course, crab. Crab, by far, was her favorite and October was king crab season. She couldn't think of anything better.
She was 125 feet in length with a 28 foot beam. Her hull was snow white with a blue stripe down the length of it. She was a house forward which meant that her wheelhouse was on the bow in front of the deck. The Norwegian crest was on both the front of the wheelhouse and on her prow. She had bright blue eyes. She was pretty and while many a male had made their advances on her, she'd turned them down. Her only love was the sea and the bounty that lay in it.
As the planes came in to land at the small airstrip carrying her crew and captain she knew the season was ready to start. Pulling up next to her at the dock was another crab boat, her fleet mate, the 92 foot Maverick. "Hello Northwestern." He greeted cordially. She smiled. "Hello Maverick, have a good trip up?" He shrugged. "Stormy, windy, typical I suppose." He answered. She laughed. "You can't expect calm seas up here." She said. "No, that's why I love this job." He replied.
Captain Sig Hansen, a veteran of over 20 years at her helm, at last approached. "Well old girl, you ready to head out?" He asked. "Whenever you are." She replied. He patted her bow and climbed aboard. Edgar, the chief engineer, paused as he passed. "Hello Northwestern." He said. She nodded. "Edgar, a pleasure as always." She said. Norman gave her a nod and friendly wink, blushing as she looked at him. Northwestern smiled and nodded. Norman was always so shy and she wondered just how well that would work out when "Sig's Surprise" as he liked to call it, arrived.
Right on schedule, four men arrived. Two climbed aboard Northwestern and another two climbed aboard Maverick. "I still can't believe you talked me into this." He grumbled to her. She chuckled. "I thought it was a good idea for people to know what we're doing up here." She said. He grunted. "I hope they have good sea legs" was all he said.
This year, Northwestern, Maverick, and a few other boats had chosen to allow a camera crew on board to document their king and opilio crab seasons. The show, named Deadliest Catch, would be aired on Discovery Channel.
As the start of the season grew closer, Northwestern's muscles tensed in anticipation. The season was run by a system known as the derby. How it worked was all boats had to get out and catch their crab as fast as they could before the season ended and no one ever knew when it ended. There was a set amount of pounds of total crab that ships could catch and if one was fast enough, they could catch all of it themselves. It had happened before. The key was speed. The faster you caught crab, the more of the total crab you got. For Northwestern, who lived for excitement and danger, there was no better job in the world.
As she shifted impatiently, she saw a new man walking down the dock. It was a greenhorn and he climbed aboard her. She groaned. "Great, the one thing we need is a greenhorn to slow us down." She grumbled. "Now, now." Sig chided her. "There's no need to be like that. We'll see how he does." She sniffed but gave the newbie a death glare as he climbed aboard. Seeing Sig, the man started towards him, holding out his hand in a handshake. "I'll shake it after the season if you do a good job." Sig said. Northwestern snickered. "First rule Sig has about greeting greenhorns, he doesn't." She whispered. "Thanks for the tip." He replied. "Name's Bradford, Bradford Davis." "Well Bradford Davis, I hope you can stick around." She said. "I'm planning on it." He said.
At last, it was time to go. Northwestern practically snapped her mooring lines as she headed out. Joining her on the run to the crab grounds were Maverick, Sea Star, and Big Valley. She looked at the gray vessel. He was a bit smaller than her and like her, shared a love for the sea and the bounty to be had here. Northwestern had a certain fondness for him and he, her. Maverick turned west for the grounds first. "I'll see ya all there!" He called and raced off. Northwestern turned to her remaining companion. "Be safe out there, Valley." She whispered. "Of course, I always am." He replied. They nuzzled briefly and he continued north while Northwestern chased after Maverick.
She prided herself on being the fastest boat in the fleet with a top speed of 12 knots. She quickly passed her black and red rival, sounding her horn in farewell as she did so. "I'll see you on the crab grounds, Maverick!" She called. "Northwestern you sneak!" He shouted. The response he got was lighthearted laughter as white ship continued on her search for her bounty.