INTERVIEW: New TV captains enter treacherous waters of ‘Deadliest Catch: Dungeon Cove’
Deadliest Catch is one of the most successful reality series on television. It continues to defy the odds with high ratings and a large cultural impact. In many ways, the show, which depicts Alaskan king crab fishers, is a trendsetter, spawning many imitators and making bonafide stars out of its captains.
Now, Deadliest Catch is expanding its television dominance with a new spin-off series, Deadliest Catch: Dungeon Cove, which follows the adventures of captains operating off the coast of Newport, Oregon. The new series premieres Tuesday, Sept. 13 at 9 p.m. on Discovery Channel.
Featured on the show are father-son captains, Gary Ripka and Kenny Ripka. Gary, the father, captains the FV Western Breeze, while Kenny, his son, captains the FV Redeemer. Together they ply the waters of the so-called Graveyard of the Pacific looking for Dungeness crab and large paydays.
“They were looking, going up and down the coast,” Gary said about the initial idea for the series. “They were just contacting a lot of people, and my name kept coming up as a person to talk to because I’ve been doing it a long time, 35 years. And I talked to them. They were interested in doing it, and they asked me if I knew anybody else.”
Kenny admitted that they were a bit hesitant to join the show because they’re fishermen first and new to the reality TV world. “We don’t have experience on TV, and so there were some worries about if it would hinder what we were trying to do, which is catch crabs,” Kenny said. “So there were some reservations, but, all in all, we’re happy we decided to do it. It turned out that they really didn’t interfere at all. If anything, it might have made us perform a little bit better. There were some reservations right off the bat, but, all in all, we’re happy.”
Gary talked to his wife about the prospects of being on the show. He realized quickly that the new series would mean putting himself out there for the world to see. He also weighed the pros and cons with his own father, and they talked about the necessity of having a thick skin. “We decided to go ahead and take a shot,” Gary said. “I’m glad we did.”
ALL IN THE FAMILY
With a father like Gary, it was only natural that Kenny would take a liking to the ocean. However, it took some time for the son to get his sea legs. His first trip happened when he was 10 or 11 years old, and he became extremely seasick on the boat ride. At the time, he reasoned with himself that he wasn’t going to be a fisherman.
“Then I got into some trouble in school and ended up getting expelled from school my freshman year of high school toward the last few months of the school year, and my dad pretty much gave me two options,” Kenny said. “He said, ‘Either go back to school and finish out the school year, or go fishing.’ And going back to school wasn’t an option, so he really only gave me one option. And that was go fishing, so I suffered through seasickness for several years, and ended up going fishing and fell in love with it and the money that you can make doing it and everything. I did go back to school and get my high school diploma, but I still ended up being a fisherman at the end of the day.”
Fishing in the Ripka family goes back a few generations. Gary’s own father was a salmon fisherman in the summers, and that’s how Gary started in the profession. Growing up, Gary had access to a small, 19-foot salmon boat, and he quickly took a liking to the profession and its possibilities.
But make no mistake about it, fishing off the coast of Oregon can be downright deadly. The changing currents and sandbars can cause havoc when navigating a boat, and many ship have gone down in these choppy waters. This is not a playground for newbies.
“We lost two boats and four guys,” Gary said. “Now I don’t think you can fake that. That’s the real deal. I’ve lost a lot of really close friends. I’ve had some really, really close experiences myself. I’ve come close to getting killed several different times, and I’ve fished in Alaska. And I’ve fished down here. I’ve had some lot closer calls down here than I’ve had in Alaska.”
Kenny echoed those sentiments, saying that Dungeness crab fishing off Newport is no minor league game. Everything from the tough weather to the endless risks can prove treacherous. “You really do have to know what you’re doing and feel comfortable with what you’re doing because if you second guess yourself making the wrong decision at the wrong time, it can cost somebody their life,” Kenny said. “I’ve taken out greenhorns working the deck, and I’ve seen them quit before the end of the day is over. It’s a very physically demanding job. You’re working long hours. You’re not keeping real healthy. … It takes a special person that has a lot of drive to be able to do this job.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Deadliest Catch: Dungeon Cove premieres Tuesday, Sept. 12 at 9 p.m. on Discovery Channel. Click here for more information on the new series. Click here for Hollywood Soapbox’s interviews with previous Deadliest Catch stars.
