Deadliest Catch star Sig Hansen is shutting down retirement reports despite doctors’ concerns about his health following multiple heart attacks.
“I keep hearing those rumours myself. The more I hear that, the more I kind of want to rebel and not do that,” Hansen told People magazine.
Not only is he not retiring, but it’s not happening “anytime soon,” the longtime crab fisher declared.
“Obviously, I want to see my daughter (Captain Mandy Hansen) move in and partake more, but she had her children, our grandchildren, so that didn’t happen right away,” the captain of the F/V Northwestern explained.
“My son-in-law Clark (Pederson) has been stepping up more and more, and he’s perfectly capable,” Hansen added. “But for me, that’s still kind of an ego thing and I don’t want to retire just yet.”
Older and wiser
Hansen, who turned 60 in April, said the milestone birthday wasn’t celebrated — by choice.
“That’s the whole beauty of it, you know?” he said of his 60th coming and going like any regular day.
“Being in denial is a beautiful thing. It actually works, believe it or not.”
That said, the captain did say he has become “wiser” with age and avoids putting himself in “harm’s way” as much as he did in the past.
“I actually get more fearful as I get older,” he admitted.
Despite that growing fear, Hansen can’t imagine his life away from the sea.
“I know time is limited, so I want to keep doing it while I can,” he told the outlet. “I think there’s a little ego involved. And I don’t want anybody knocking me off my throne just yet. I know there’s a line of people waiting, but I’m not ready for that.”
Even when he does eventually hand over the reins, Hansen admitted he likely won’t step away entirely.
“I don’t think I could ever fully retire. Even if someone else was running the boat, your mind is still active,” he explained. “You’re thinking about the weather, where they’re at. You can never turn it off. I don’t think I’d respect myself if I could just walk away from it completely.”
Despite that growing fear, Hansen can’t imagine his life away from the sea.
“I know time is limited, so I want to keep doing it while I can,” he told the outlet. “I think there’s a little ego involved. And I don’t want anybody knocking me off my throne just yet. I know there’s a line of people waiting, but I’m not ready for that.”
Even when he does eventually hand over the reins, Hansen admitted he likely won’t step away entirely.
“I don’t think I could ever fully retire. Even if someone else was running the boat, your mind is still active,” he explained. “You’re thinking about the weather, where they’re at. You can never turn it off. I don’t think I’d respect myself if I could just walk away from it completely.”
One of the storylines of the current season of the long-running Discovery show centres on the tragic death of 25-year-old deckhand Todd Meadows aboard the fishing vessel Aleutian Lady.
He fell overboard in the Feb. 25 incident, which was captured on film.
Meadows was recovered by his fellow crew members. He died from “drowning with probable hypothermia” and “submersion of body in cold water,” according to his death certificate, which was filed on March 4.
Season 22 of Deadliest Catch premiered on May 8, and featured a tribute to Meadows.
