“Hell, if I’d jumped on all the dames I’m supposed to have jumped on, I’d have had no time to go fishing.”
—Clark Gable
In the book Time Bandit, written by stars of the documentary TV series Deadliest Catch, Captains Johnathan and Andy Hillstrand describe the way their connection to the ocean has affected and shaped their relationships with family, friends, and lovers.
When the fishermen pull up a crab pot, we root for them. When it’s filled to overflowing (with crabs even clinging to the outside), we experience a full-body rush of excitement, even those of us who have never set foot on a boat. Personally, I’m delighted beyond reason about something that has nothing to do with me whatsoever. I can’t explain the sensation. I can only imagine what the feeling must be like to be there in person. It seems primal. Man and sea.
In reading about Captain Johnathan and Andy, their code of honor became apparent—an almost old-fashioned sense of values. These are people you can trust, men who stand behind their word. Johnathan is described in the book:
Another trait the men admired about him was that he told them what he thought, right now. He would never talk about anyone behind their back. He talked about people straight up. If he liked you, he stared you in the eye and said so. And he was fun to be around.
Or as my friend said, when I told her I was interviewing him: “Ooooh, I love him. I’m so jealous.”
Alison Tyler: Time Bandit makes it clear that you practically think like a fish:
He caught what he was fishing for, with the needed mindset to think like a fish. He had an unusual sense about which direction the fish were moving. He knew how to read the weather. The currents were no mystery to him.
Can you envision any other occupation you might have gone into if you hadn’t been a fisherman?
Johnathan Hillstrand: My brother Andy and I have always wanted to be firemen or astronauts. Later on, we developed a need for horsepower or speed. I would have loved to race cars, but the option never was there. Time Bandit would be a great race car name!
Alison Tyler: Many men go fishing as a form of relaxation or vacation. What do you look forward to in your time off?
Johnathan Hillstrand: We love to sport fish, hang out on the beach, shoot guns. Same as everyone else. Except our weekends last ’til our next season.
Alison Tyler: What is the biggest adrenaline rush you’ve experienced?
Johnathan Hillstrand: On sea 130 foot waves. On land, sky diving.
Alison Tyler: In the book, there’s a passage about an impromptu food fight:
Without much warning, a crewman from the Cornelia Marie started a food fight. Soon the air was thick with profiteroles, tiramisu, mousse au chocolat and globs of homemade ice cream.
You seem like the kind of guy who would be the life of a party.
Johnathan Hillstrand: I resemble that remark.
Alison Tyler: If you were playing the host, who would you invite to a dinner party if time and space were not an issue?
Johnathan Hillstrand: Oh, I’d have to keep it small and interesting. Say Artie Lang and the Queen of England.
Alison Tyler: Time Bandit is named for the classic movie (one of my favorites) by Terry Gilliam. Would you share your top three movies?
Johnathan Hillstrand: Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (with Peter Fonda), Big Trouble Little China and Jaws.
Alison Tyler: The concept of superstitions come up throughout the book:
No one who works on the sea can help but have strong spiritual beliefs. Sometimes, these take the form of superstitions, and I respect that. I feel small in the universe when I am at sea in an 80-knot blow. I am staring into the abyss.
In spite of myself, I am a huge believer—I throw salt whenever I use it, not just when I spill some. Do you personally have any superstitions?
Johnathan Hillstrand: Not many. Knock on wood.
Alison Tyler: You play rock music on deck. What type of music do you blast?
Johnathan Hillstrand: Honky Tonk Woman by the Rolling Stones, and any kind of rock. Check out my My Space page to listen to a few.
Alison Tyler: You state that you have simple pleasures:
I would prefer to be back at fishing camp by nightfall with my buddies in the junkyard behind the Kasilof cannery with a bottle of Crown Royal in one hand and a hot dog in the other.
Johnathan Hillstrand: All we need is oxygen, water, and food to live.
Alison Tyler: Is there anything about the ocean that people don’t usually ask but that you think people should know?
Johnathan Hillstrand: When you’re sitting on your couch saying “I can do that,” remember that 65 degrees of Fahrenheit is a huge increment.
When I left the Hansens on the ice edge last Opilio season, it was -45 degrees. I traveled two and a half days south to the Pacific Ocean, just south of False Pass. It’s 20 degrees there. That is 65 degrees warmer and it was only 20 out! My guys work in that. We’ve lost 13 people to the Bering sea in the last 9 months. Four from the Alaska Ranger, two in Dutch harbor from falling, and seven off the Katmai. The Bering sea will chisel and mold some of the roughest characters. God bless all the families with lost loved ones.
Thank you to everyone who takes the time to read this and look into our lives.
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See Also: The Rumpus
See Also: The Rumpus Long Interview with Tamim Ansary
See Also: The Shorty Q&A with Princess Superstar
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The Deadliest Catch: The Physics of Waves
