| Sig Hansen | |
|---|---|
Sig Hansen aboard the F/V Northwestern |
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| Born | Sigurd Jonny Hansen April 28, 1966 Seattle, Washington, U.S.[1] |
| Occupation |
Captain aboard the Northwestern Author |
Sigurd Jonny "Sig" Hansen (born April 28, 1966) is an American Captain of the fishing vessel Northwestern. Since 2006, Hansen has been featured in all seasons of the documentary television series Deadliest Catch, for which he also serves as technical advisor for the production.[2]
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Sigurd Jonny Hansen was born the eldest of three sons of Sverre Hansen in Seattle, descended from a long lineage of Norwegian-ancestry fishermen; his father and grandfather pioneered opilio crab fishing in Alaska as a way of giving crab boats a chance to earn money year-round rather than in short mostly late-year seasons. He began fishing at age 14, working on his family's boat. After he graduated from high school, he began fishing year-round, spending on average 10 months per year in Alaska and the Bering Sea. Occasionally he would also fish mackerel and cod in Norway during the summer. In his early years he would cut school so that he could go fishing.[2]
Hansen started as a deckhand on his father's boat before his teenage years, working his way up the ranks and proving himself to be a capable and steady presence at sea. At age 22, he became a “relief skipper”, relieving other captains on the Northwestern, as well as doing short-haul stints on other boats in the fleet.[3]
By age 24, he began running the Northwestern full time and over the years, the Northwestern has become a top producer with an excellent safety record; the Northwestern has never had a single death at sea in the nearly 20 years Hansen has been at its helm, and its serious injury rate is significantly lower than other boats in the Bering Sea fleet as well. In 2005 for King Crab and 2006 for Opilio The Northwestern won the final derby seasons taking home the titles for both the highest poundage caught and the highest dollars earned between the featured boats in the Deadliest Catch.[3]
As of 2011, Sig Hansen serves as the full-time captain during king and opilio crab seasons, as well as the pot cod fishery on the Northwestern. His younger brothers, Edgar and Norman, are deck boss and deckhand, respectively.
In March 2010, Hansen became a published author with the release of his book (co-written with Mark Sundeen), North By Northwestern: A Seafaring Family on Deadly Alaskan Waters, which reached the bestseller lists of the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.
On April 29, 2010, Hansen was a guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. During the show, he expressed his desire to be a contestant on the next season of the hit ABC reality television series Dancing with the Stars.[4] Leno's staff set up a Facebook page to gather support for Hansen to be selected to appear on the show.[5] In September 2010, Hansen announced he would not be returning for the seventh season of Deadliest Catch. However, on October 8 it was announced that Hansen would return to the show.
He provided the voice of a boat named Crabby (modeled after The Northwestern herself) in the Disney Pixar film Cars 2.[6]
Hansen is married to wife June. The couple live with their two children in Seattle Nina and Mandy. Hansen is an alumnus of Shorewood High School.
Like his brothers, he speaks fluent Norwegian, which he learned before English as his Norwegian parents spoke the language at home. He follows the "Norwegian Fisherman's Diet" while at sea: coffee, chocolate and cigarettes.[3] He is a supporter of the Seahawks and the Mariners.[3]