As the F/V 33 M Seabbrook nears the end of its crabbing season, chaos struck in the final stretch. Captain Scott Campbell Jr. has hauled in impressive numbers—but the mood is anything but celebratory. His brother, first mate Chris “Whipper” Welch, abruptly left the boat citing sudden “stomach pain,” leaving the crew shorthanded and morale sinking.
A Sudden Breakdown
According to Campbell, Whipper seemed fine—until a phone call with his new wife triggered a dramatic turn. He then complained of a torn stomach muscle, a claim the captain dismissed.
“A torn stomach muscle you can work through. These guys got torn muscles left and right.”
Campbell pressured his brother to be honest:
“I want to know what’s really going on… not your stomach.”
Despite the skipper grounding Whipper with an ultimatum—“if you go home… you can never come back to this boat”—the mate elected to disembark mid-trip.
Pressure, Pain, and Pride
Campbell emphasized the stakes aboard a crab boat:
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Every crew member was hurting.
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Whipper’s decision left them one man short at a critical moment.
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The final 15 pots remained to be hauled in before dockside offload.
Even as the crew wrestled with physical pain and exhaustion, Campbell insisted that mental toughness was part of any fisherman’s job.
“You’ve got a family now… push through a little pain and suck it up.”
Was It Illness or Mental Stress?
On deck, Whipper’s protests sounded more emotional than physical:
“Every time I bend down, it’s getting bad… I just don’t know.”
The captain proposed a solution: If personal issues were at play, his brother shouldn’t hide them. But Whipper insisted:
“If I didn’t want to be here, I would have said something.”
A Disappointed Departure
Once docked, Whipper was hurried off the boat to catch a flight home. The rest of the crew prepared to offload to a floating processor and return to sea.
“It’s an inconvenience for us. It’s an inconvenience for him…”
Captain Campbell sees his brother’s departure as a missed opportunity to prove himself.
“If he finishes off the season, then I guess he’ll let his stomach drop and become a man.”
Final Haul Ahead
Despite the disruption, the crew pushed on. As they closed out the season and prepared to offload their haul, the captain kept his eyes forward—and his expectations high. With just the final pots to go, the boat’s fate depended on grit, trust, and working through adversity.
