Deadliest Catch star knocked out as crew battles extreme weather conditions
“Just be nice and safe out there, OK?” are the haunting words of Wizard Captain Keith Colburn before one of the deckhands on his boat gets knocked out. Deadliest Catch is famed for its hardy cast members who battle extreme weather conditions in a bid to earn a living. The TV show has seen many injuries and even fatalities in its time.
Discovery Channel often gives viewers a glimpse into the adventurous lives of many people all over the world. Deadliest Catch hones in on the crab fishermen who spend most of their lives at sea. They fight against huge waves, freezing conditions, and technical difficulties all the time. The show’s season 20 episodes see one man “down” in a terrifying turn of events.
Deadliest Catch deckhand knocked out
Sighing as he sits down at the helm of the F/V Wizard, Captain Keith tells the cameras how the boat is covered in ice in season 20 episode 12.
“Just overnight here, we’ve definitely taken some ice on board. Just to make the work area safe, we’ve got to chip a bunch of ice and get all that off of there,” he explains.
The crab fisherman opts to fish north of the usual grounds during season 20, and tells the cameras: “We are definitely the lone ranger out here.”
As the deckhands work tirelessly to crack the ice off the ship, their next task is to drop crab pots into the sea.
One deckhand, OJ Ganuelas, 36, is asked if he “needs help” during one point of the episode, he replies: “I got this.”
A few moments later, a loud thud is heard as OJ, through no fault of his own, is hit by some ice.
Deadliest Catch star is out cold
After OJ is taken out by the frozen block, Captain Keith shouts: “What happened?” from inside the boat.
OJ’s fellow crew members tell the Captain “he’s down.”
The crew scrambles to OJ’s side and shouts: “OJ’s down,” another, clearly terrified, says: “Holy sh**! He’s out cold!”
Another shouts: “He’s knocked out,” before Keith dashes to his employee’s side.
The crew lower OJ’s body from on top of the pots to the deck where they lay him down and check his condition.
They’re urged to “keep his neck secure.”
As OJ begins to move, Keith shouts: “OJ, don’t move, don’t move!”
The Wizard captain instructs his team to move OJ inside: “Just don’t let his head move, OK?”
The team sits OJ up inside the boat as he comes round to consciousness.
The removal of OJ’s cap reveals blood on his head. The boat’s captain says he can “see a little nick,” and he tells the deckhand he’s “not good to go.”
Keith tells the cameras: “I don’t know if he’s got a traumatic brain injury or not. He seems perfectly normal.”
But, he adds how OJ won’t let his co-stars “see any weakness” so he “didn’t want to take any chances” by letting him get back to work immediately.
After a break, OJ asks if he can return to the deck. He seemingly returns to his job and is OK. Per OJ’s Instagram page, he’s still loving life as a fisherman and was working aboard the Wizard this summer.
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