Debby Downer posts about Deadliest Catch.

Yeah... I'm a slacker. Ok, now that we've covered the basics, let's move along to something else. The only reason I'm blogging today is so I'll feel less horrible about myself. You know what's nice? Being the only person in a group not invited to something... and everyone else having no problem talking about it in front of you. Happy Thursday, Liz, you suck. 

Fine.

So, here's more outdated Deadliest Catch stuff. Well, first there's some baseball with friends. The Mariners apparently play this sport, but I think that might be debated by the fans of the game. Lynn, Travis, Kristina, and I all made it into the season opener, sans tickets, thanks to some expert schmoozin' by Trav. The Mariners were my first pro baseball game, so going back was fun. I do have fond memories of that day and the team, even if they didn't exactly win.

 Here's somebody hitting a ball that somebody else probably caught.

 

Lynn and I are totally pumped to be at the game, especially since we were late, and tickets were going, going, gone!

...And here's a visual treat for all of us. I now know what Santa does in the off season. He goes to Baseball games, wears a giant hot dog on his head, and probably forces parents into difficult conversations with their children.

I wish this picture was better, but it's not. Look past the kid on his phone and the grampa in the jacket and see beyond to the dude in the jersey that seems to be sprouting odd, bear-shaped growths. Yeah, that guy... look at him. He's wearing a Mariner's uniform covered in teddy bears. WHAT IS GOING ON THERE? ...Should we hide the children?

If you can't tell by the Sad Sam faces in this picture, the Mariners pretty much stunk it up. I felt bad for Lynn...  he was so excited to go to the game!

Still, it was fun to watch. Live sports are always interesting, and the atmosphere was charged, though it was more a "trade 'em all!" kind of charged... 

Our final shot at the game... I forgot to tell Kristina and Trav we were doing "happy fun times faces" for this one. 

Alright, here's some CatchCon stuff...

The Deckhand relay... always fun to watch. Here you see Mike "THE BEAST" Fourtner getting into a survival suit in record time. It looks like he's about two feet off the ground, but if you look closely, you can totally see his left leg is still on the ground. Optical illusions FTW! Also, his GIANT BOAT shoes may be used as flotation devices in case of emergency.

Around the time everyone else finished the first station of the relay, Mike was done with the whole thing and safety ensconced in his apparently condemned survival suit.

Now, everyone else gets in on the fun. Gumby is pleased.

Jake Anderson gets some nice air as he tries to wriggle into his suit.

Sometimes, you've got to help a brother out.

Poor Lynn, he got caught up in the "toss the hook" portion of the event, and it took him a little longer to get to the suits. Also, notice his hat. That Mariner's game was pretty bad...

That's some determination on that face right there!

Lynn was in his suit in record time!

And well, Lynn, you look kind of murderific in this shot. Just sayin'. 

A little later, or earlier, I don't remember timelines at all... Lenny was out there on the ground coiling line like a pro. You know, Lenny doesn't get his due on the show, but Lenny's awesome. He's a super nice guy, and funny, and totally rocks the deck and engine room. So, let him know! Give him a shout out on Crabwizard!

 The Captain's Panel. This is one of the most enjoyed aspects of CatchCon. Jeff Conroy, moderates the forum and the Captains answer questions posed by fans about what was seen during the season, or whatever is on their minds relating to the show, crabbing, life in general.

 Here, Captain Scott Campbell Jr. a newbie to the show, but not the fishing biz is answering a question about something or other. Capt. Keith looks on, and as you can see he was still wearing a brace from some recent surgery. Of course, it's no secret I'm a Wiz gal, but I really like that Capt. Scott and his Seabrooke. I think they're a good addition to the show.

Jake Harris was around being a goofball and enjoying the festivities... and his brother was somewhere else shooting off his mouth. I won't go into it, but suffice to say, he needed to check himself. And that's all I have to say about that. I hope they're both doing well, and getting through the sad times/ problems that have plagued them so heavily during the last few years.

 This was a huge highlight from my trip. I finally got to meet this lady! This is my friend Mel and we've talked online for years on various forums and facebook. It was our love of the deliciously handsome er, highly talented Corey Arnold and of course, Deadliest Catch, that brought us together. I was so thrilled to finally get to meet her. I can't wait to see her again!

I didn't get to see that much of this guy, which kind of sucks. As most DC fans know, Trav jumped aboard the F/V Time Bandit this season, and has been doing some excellent racing with Time Bandit Offshore, so if you know of a super boat race in your area featuring the one and only Travis Lofland, make your way out there and support him and the crew. Oh, and Travis, head back to B'ham sometime soon, K?

 Paul Sr. from American Choppers was there and unveiled the Deadliest Catch Bike. I don't have any pics of Paul, but here's a couple of the paint job on the tank and fender of the bike. There was some cool chrome work as well, though I didn't care for the wheels. However, my pics don't do the paint justice. Check out the pics from CC and of the bike on Crabwizard for more, including Sr. introducing the bike.

I love that color scheme, and of course, seeing the Wizard, even in illustrated form, is always a treat.

Anyway, I think that's all I'm going to cover. Everything else was just good times with friends, and I don't really have any more pictures. Sorry I'm such a Debby Downer today, but you know, being snubbed is just so fun.

Next post: Tornadoes abound, I turn 30, some English people get married, and I find myself in Canada.  Such is my glamorous life.

CatchCon 2011: Part Two-It's About a Staircase!

 We were being filmed coming into the pier. I'm not sure they've done that before. I honestly don't recall from years past. Most of us were on the bow of the boat, taking pictures, thus ruining what would probably have been a dramatic shot. :)

 

I made him pose for this shot.  I'm awesome at interrupting serious work. Anyway, that's a monkey fist knot and it weighs down the line he's holding so that he can toss it to someone on the pier and drag the big lines through to tie up the boat. Hooray for not drifting! 

After we were secure, the NW slipped in beside us, being driven by none other than...

Edgar Hansen! Jake Anderson was of course, there to help out as well.

Edgar's not fond of taking direction from others when it comes to tying up the boat!

  Matt Bradley was around for the ride too! Good to see him back on the deck, even if he doesn't look happy to be there. (Oh, and Ryan, if you happen to read this, show up next time, k? How else can we get fake married and freak out our loved ones?)

 Here, Jake and Matt are setting buoys between the two boats along with Danny Maki! Danny is one of the new crewmen on the Wizard and a super guy! It was great to get to meet him, and I'm looking forward to the next time I see him. 

I also managed to snag a shot of the elusive Norman Hansen. I once spent an evening just talking to Norm about all kinds of stuff. He's actually a very nice guy with a great personality, just kind of quiet. I'm sure he doesn't remember me in the slightest. 

Monte and Keith directing the action on deck!

One of the camera guys was filming everything. I tried to stay out of his way.  I probably failed.

 Here you can see Soper running the crane... FROM BEHIND HIS BACK, just like he does during the season, so that he can keep his eyes on the deck. Great skills... he has them.

 At one point, the crane actually sprung a leak, and here's Lenny, well, his hands at least, taking care of it!

The sorting table has to be moved out of the way so that people can walk on the deck during the tours... outside of bagging bait, it's times like this when it's handy to have greenhorns.

I know this isn't the most interesting shot ever, but I like it, a lot. The crane was swinging over my head, and I managed to snag a shot as it buzzed past. I figure this is a "crab's eye view." 

After moving the table, it was time to bring the gangway down onto the deck so that people could travel onto the boats. That giant metal staircase is weird. The stairs aren't deep, and they're too long, but not quite long enough that you want to take two at a time, so you end up just kind of shuffling down it while the boat is rocking, praying you don't take a header down the sucker. It's like the stairway to heaven... by which I mean, it's surprising nobody had died on the thing yet. Deadliest Catch, deadliest staircase.  "On a staaaaaaircase I ride..."

Yeah, I'm ending this one here... with a staircase... because I'm lame awesome like that. Next up, the Mariners disappoint Lynn Guitard, and CatchCon 2011!

CatchCon 2011: Part One- Sailing, Sailing!

 CatchCon!

Well, I'm finally posting about Seattle where another round of Discovery Channel's Deadliest Catch convention, CatchCon took place. Like the previous CatchCons, it was full overrun with fans and fishermen alike! Of course, my experience is usually a bit deviated from the norm at these events, and this year was no exception.

The flight into Seattle was the standard cross country adventure, nothing to write home about... or blog about for that matter. The ride home however was a terror-filled, white-knuckled panic fest, but I'm getting ahead of myself. After landing, I met up with my fabulous friend, the wonderful Cindi, since she was landing only a half-hour after I did. Together, we grabbed our bags, headed outside and met up with our friend Lynn and two of his friends Brianna and Danielle, who were good enough to come pick us up from the airport. Lynn and Cindi are pretty much bff, and he's just a great guy all around.

 Me, Brianna, Cindi, Keith, Danielle, and Lynn at The Market Arms... good times!

We ended up in Ballard at a little establishment called the Market Arms, just outside of PacFish, where we met up with Keith, Monte, Lenny, Gary, and a few of other people. It was a fun night of swapping stories, playing a few darts, and  making new friends and catching up with old ones. However, it was getting late, heading towards the 2 A.M. mark, and we all had an early morning coming at us hard, so we turned it in for the night. The morning would bring us back to PacFish for our annual visit to the F/V Wizard!

Once the lines were untied, we started off pretty quickly. Unfortunately, Monte and the new greenhorn Danny were still standing on the deck of the Pinnacle! However, Keith maneuvered the boat close enough for them to hop aboard, no man left behind on the Wizard!

 Lynn! He's becoming a seasoned vet of the CatchCon shindiggery now.

 Craig Terrill was kind enough to pose for a pic with Jackie and me.

We had a huge crowd on the Wizard this year for the morning crossing. Craig Terrill from the Seattle Seahawks, several people from Discovery Channel, friends and family of the crew, Peter Moran from Rezin Marketing, who does a great job for the Wizard, and then there was us! It was a gorgeous morning for a boat ride.

Norwegians!

 Of course, the F/V Northwestern was gearing up for the ride over as well... 

...Complete with camera crew!

Captain Sig Hansen. Sig wasn't on the boat by the time we arrived at the Locks. I'm not sure if he hopped aboard or drove over to the pier actually. All I know is that he showed up at some point after the boats docked.

We make this same face and take this same picture at every single event we attend together. We're awesome. 

 Here's a shot of a lot of the folks with us for the day on the bow of the boat. Discovery, business partners, deckhands, and a Seahawk or two are all enjoying the ride. Still, I think Jax and I had the best seats in the house.

Riding high! Jackie and I get a great view from the top of the F/V Wizard's Wheelhouse.

We had a stowaway or two make their way to the deck as well! It seemed a few ravens wanted to take the ride from the terminal to the pier! 

Beautiful!

I thought this was a nice shot of Gary Soper. Soper's a cool guy, quiet, but with a great sense of humor. It's always nice to get to see him when I'm around for one of the functions. You'll probably recognize him from the cover of Season 6's DVD box! 

I always love sailing in and seeing the city appear in the distance. The grey, cloud-filled sky just screams "Seattle!"

And, what ride into Seattle would be complete without a picture of the Space Needle?

As we were sailing in, a Coast Guard chopper seemed to appear out of nowhere and fly directly over the boat! I've only seen them two other times, once at a previous CatchCon during a rescue demonstration, and again in Panama City, FL after a very tragic double red flag day when they were out searching for several bodies. The memories are chilling, one for what could happen, the other, for what did.

Thank you, US Coast Guard, for all you do!

 There it is, The Bell Harbor Conference Center, and the pier I've come to know so well. The next day will be a long one...

And, as always, I'm loving every minute of it! Next up, docking the boat, "hey, look, it's Edgar," and other shenanigans.