See full version: Deadliest Catch; Captain Sig Hansen Previews COVID; s Impact on Season 17
It’s February 2021, and Deadliest Catch‘s Capt. Sig Hansen, who’s chatting with us via Zoom from the wheelhouse of his F/V Northwestern docked in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, is still incredulous about the pandemic’s devastating effects on the crab fishing industry.
“How long is that trust gonna last?” Sig asks in the two-hour premiere. Longtime fans can guess!
Season 17 of the Emmy-winning reality series, shot last winter, picks up at a crisis point: Half the Bering Sea fleet is tied up in Seattle due to increased COVID-19 regulations. If the boats that have made it to Dutch are unable to catch the fleet’s full 5 million-pound quota, they will fail to prove the health of the fishery and could face a government mandated shutdown to allow time for crab stocks to replenish. more
Having won every world championship since 2011 and Paralympic gold at both London 2012 and Rio 2016, Great Britain are creating something of dynasty in this event. The Americans, who have six consecutive silver medals to the British, will hope to thwart Team GB’s campaign for a third Paralympic title.
Ukraine’s current world, European and Paralympic champion Roman Polianskyi comes in as red-hot favourite. Also, likely to feature on the podium is Aleksey Chuvashev the Russian athlete who took silver at the 2019 World Championships and Australia’s Erik Horrie. A former wheelchair basketball player Horrie has yet to return from a major rowing championship without a medal. The five-time world champion took silver at both London 2012 and Rio 2016. Looking to disrupt the expected storyline is Welshman Ben Pritchard – a relative newcomer to the sport the British sculler missed the medals at the 2019 World Championships finishing fourth but won a silver medal at the 2021 European Championships.
Great Britain’s golden duo of Laurence Whiteley and Lauren Rowles won this event at the Rio 2016 Paralympics and are highly favoured to defend their title at Tokyo 2020. Before rowing Rowles was a wheelchair racer and at 16 years old she was England’s youngest track and field athlete at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Laurence and Lauren enter the Olympic regatta as current world and European champions. [links]
Unbeaten since her fourth-place finish at Rio 2016 Birgit Skarstein will target the gold medal at Tokyo 2020. Her talents extend far beyond the water; the Norwegian four-time rowing world champion is also a two-time winter Paralympian in the cross-country skiing events. Skarstein is well-recognised at home as the first contestant to achieve a perfect score on Norway’s television show ‘Dancing with the Stars’. more
The biggest threat to the British crew comes from the Dutch duo of Marinus Corné de Koning and Annika van der Meer whose new formation resulted in two consecutive world titles at the start of this Paralympic cycle. The battle for the minor medals will be fierce; the French 2021 European bronze medallists will need to hold off Poland and Ukraine if they are to feature on the podium at Tokyo 2020.
The flame is lit and the postponed Paralympics have finally begun. Four days after the spectacular opening ceremony the rowers will get to take their first strokes in anger. Eight races will take place on Friday at the Sea Forest Waterway – these are the two heats for each of the four boat classes. The winner of each race progresses direct to their A-Final scheduled for Sunday, the rest will face a repechage on Saturday. Here’s a quick catch up on who the likely medal contenders are as well as those looking to upset the form guide. more
But hey, its for a good cause. . more [links]
Where were we? Right the boat and its super lucky new owners. So, interested in actually doing something to help the people affected by the storm the good folks at Mr. Colbert's show have put together this book, entirely written by el presidente (in the sense that they've taken his quotes and put them in a book) and then donate 100% of the proceeds to the survivors and victims who are, incidentally, a looooonnnnggg way from getting back to normal. [links]
Whose Boat is This Boat? is not a book about you Donald, sorry! It is about your sorry soulless heart. His comments show he is totally unable to understand and show empathy. One of probably a few people in the world to truly lack a soul and we have him as the leader of our country! The rest are in the GOP House and Senate!
Every time we saw Stephen Colbert flogging this on his show, Jennifer would say "we should buy that - the money's going to a good cause;" and so we surprised her with it for Christmas. It will now take a place of honor (and probably never be looked a Silly, stupid book that takes all of a minute to read - but an automatic 5 stars for just sticking another pin in the overinflated orange balloon that is (and I still cannot believe I'm saying this) the current president of the United States. Sigh. here
The illustrations will have you laughing out loud at the absurdity of the text. [links]
This nonfiction ode to boats features six kinds of workers and their boats—a patrol boat, a tugboat, a car ferry, a lobster boat, a lifeboat, and a fireboat—with important parts properly labeled. The answer to each inquiring refrain lies under a gatefold, engaging the reader in an informative guessing game. With lyrical (and factual!) text by New York Times–bestselling author Toni Buzzeo, and the stylized art of Tom Froese, this sturdy board book is perfect for curious and playful young readers. . more
People on top, and cars below. Whose boat is that? Do you know? more
The car ferry captain's!
I move cars and drivers from shore to shore. more