In the unforgiving waters of the Bering Sea, the crew of the crab fishing vessel Time Bandit stared down one of nature’s most formidable foes: Typhoon Kong-Rey, a massive storm barreling in from Taiwan. With waves crashing and winds howling, Captain Keith Colburn and his team pushed through perilous conditions to haul in a bountiful catch, proving once again why Alaskan king crab season is known as the deadliest catch.
The drama unfolded as the Time Bandit, affectionately nicknamed after the heartless character from The Wizard of Oz—though this “Time Bandit” boasts a “big heart” that no storm can stop—navigated directly into the eye of the typhoon. “We’re going to be right in the center,” the captain warned his crew, including deckhands Heather, Storm, and Freddy. “Just be safe. We’ll get through it. It’s going to be slow.”
Amid the chaos, the team adopted a defiant mantra: “We go out in the storm and kill crab. That is all.” Drawing inspiration from futuristic bravado—”I’m back from the future to kill crab”—the crew pressed on, their vessel standing out among the fleet’s “girl boats” like the Northwestern. “This is just the Time Bandit. It’s our buddy,” one crew member quipped, emphasizing the boat’s rugged, nautical spirit.
Navigating the storm proved treacherous. To protect the crew from rogue waves, the captain executed intricate maneuvers, circling the gear to avoid lines tangling or waves breaching the open side. “It’s blowing northerly, and the waves will be right on the open side of the boat,” he explained. “I have to do a full circle around the whole mess so I don’t run the line over. It’s really tricky driving.”
Their perseverance paid off with impressive hauls. One pot yielded what felt like “four pots like five,” estimated at over 400 pounds of crab. “Yeah, baby! Dump her back, guys. I love it,” cheered the crew as they offloaded the catch. But the storm’s fury tested more than their seamanship—a sudden “code red” alert sounded when a tank went flat, threatening to capsize the boat like a “washing machine.”
“The pump’s not running. The water goes down, and it starts going like this,” the captain described the dire situation. “We can capsize. If you don’t get in your survival suits and your life raft, you’re dead.” Quick thinking revealed an electrical short: burnt wires and a hot smell led to a breaker reset. “That’s what breakers are for,” noted engineer Neil, as the team snipped off the damaged parts and got the systems running again.
With the crisis averted, the crew resumed hauling, crediting luck and “angels flying behind us.” As they pulled the final pot, the captain praised his team: “Good job, guys. Thank you. I’m sweating up here.” The Time Bandit, true to its hearty reputation, refused to yield. “Time Bandit” didn’t want us to give up,” reflected one crew member.
This episode highlights the relentless risks of crab fishing, where typhoons like Kong-Rey—packing sustained winds over 100 mph—turn the sea into a battlefield. Yet, for the Time Bandit’s crew, the reward of a successful string outweighs the peril. As Alaskan fisheries report a strong season despite weather disruptions, stories like this remind us of the human grit behind every pound of crab on our plates.
The Time Bandit is expected to dock soon for offloading, weather permitting. Authorities urge all vessels to heed storm warnings as Kong-Rey continues its path across the Pacific.
