Oh Captain my Captain!

One of the stars from one of my favorite shows has died. Phil Harris, the fishing boat captain whose adventures off the Alaska coast were captured on the television show "Deadliest Catch", has died, the Discovery Channel said Tuesday night. He was 53. Harris suffered what his family described as a massive stroke on Jan. 29 while the fishing vessel he captained, Cornelia Marie, was in port at St. Paul Island, Alaska. The reality show on the Discovery Channel has been on the air for five seasons and has gained a huge following. The show chronicles several different ships on their quest for crab in the dangerous waters off of Alaska. I for one love the show and loved Captain Harris. He was harsh and real and didn’t take crap from anyone! Crab fishing is one of the toughest jobs in the world and the Captain has to hold it all together. They work long hours, are constantly stressed and don’t eat right, that is a recipe for disaster.

Most crab boat captains grow up in the industry and therefore some of their children follow in their footsteps. The Harris family is not exception. Captain Harris started crab fishing when he was 10 and two of Phil’s sons, Josh and Jake also worked on the ship and had this to say about their father and captain.

Here is Captain Phil with his two sons Jake (the younger son) and Josh.

"It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to our dad - Captain Phil Harris. Dad has always been a fighter and continued to be until the end," sons Josh and Jake Harris said in a statement released by the network. "For us and the crew, he was someone who never backed down.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the Harris family and the “Deadliest Catch” family. They have lost a dynamic captain, fisherman, husband, father and friend. I look forward to seeing the Discovery Channel’s tribute to Captain Phil. I am sure I will shed a tear during that episode.