Falling Overboard Happens Often on ‘Deadliest Catch’ — Here’s How the Crew Responds
Many ‘Deadliest Catch’ crew members have been injured — and killed — after falling overboard.
With 20 seasons under its belt, Deadliest Catch keeps its fans on their toes. When they’re not wondering if the crew what twists and turns will happen to the crew during the Alaskan crab season, fans are also keeping up with the personal crises the crew faces on and off the ship. Since Deadliest Catch premiered in 2005, the dangers that come from the crew’s time at sea can come when they least expected.
On multiple occasions, someone on the ship has fallen overboard, causing several deaths or injuries. Fans witnessed this in Season 20 when Captain Sig Hansen found that two of his crew members accidentally slipped into the freezing waters and fell overboard. Like many daring jobs, the Deadliest Catch team has procedures in place to rescue as many crew members as possible when they go overboard.
What happens when someone falls overboard on ‘Deadliest Catch’?
We’re not saying that every Deadliest Catch episode involves someone falling overboard. However, Discovery’s YouTube channel has multiple “man overboard” clips for fans to relive, so take that as you will. In 2017, one of the show’s stars, deckhand Spencer Moore, fell overboard while struggling to attach a pot to the block. The incident was one of Capt. Bill Wichrowski’s most frightening moments as he watched Spencer fall into the 34-degree water.
When someone falls overboard on Deadliest Catch, the crew does whatever they can to come together and help the person in need. In one 2013 episode, several crew members assisted a deckhand named Freddy after Freddy jumped into the freezing water unprovoked. While the crew agreed Freddy was “crazy” for jumping in the water with no clothes on, the team called out “Man Overboard” or “MOB,” and used their buoys to drag him out of the water.
The person guiding the ship often calls out “MOB,” and the crew automatically knows what to do. As seen in previous episodes, medical attention could be required if the person who fell has trouble breathing.
Fans questioned if the “Man Overboard” scene in Season 20 was staged.
As previously mentioned, Deadliest Catch started when many of us added (and deleted) our Myspace Top 8. So, over time, the show probably wanted to shake things up. However, some fans think they’ve gone as far as to stage the fall that occurred in Season 20, Ep. 6.
During the episode, Captain Sig, his son-in-law Clark Pederson, and the Deadliest Catch cameraman fell into the water. According to Collider, Captain Sig sent his crew on a rescue mission, pulling both men back onboard and immediately warming them up below deck.
Thankfully, Clark and the cameraman survived the horrific ordeal. Still, fans aren’t so convinced it wasn’t staged. Some felt Sid was practicing his acting chops as he frantically saved his son-in-law. Others, however, also suggested the scene looked fake because it was actually a safety drill to prepare the Clark for the dangerous waters ahead. The latter would be more plausible, since the Discovery show has never focused on entertainment.
Watch new episodes of Deadliest Catch on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. EST. All episodes re available to stream on Max in the U.S.
