`Deadliest Catch` crab boat tour is `the real deal` Eyes pop, jaws drop during sea-going reality tour
Released on = August 7, 2007, 10:27 pm
Press Release Author = Great Land Fish News
Industry = Entertainment
Press Release Summary = (Ketchikan, Alaska) Fans of the TV show "Deadliest Catch" are experiencing for themselves the exhilaration and realities of a life at sea.
Press Release Body = The crabber Aleutian Ballad left the "Deadliest Catch" fleet two years ago after it was capsized by a 60 foot rogue wave in the Bering Sea. Since then the 107-foot vessel has been refurbished to star in a different role: thrilling visitors with sea-going reality tours in calmer waters near Ketchikan, Alaska. The new venture is the vision of Aleutian Ballad owner Dave Lethin who conceived the tour idea ten years ago. "I wanted to share with people the lifestyle and the allure that draws fishermen to the sea," he said. Lethin has condensed a day in the fishing life to a four hour tour. From the heated comfort of sheltered observation areas, up to 150 guests can watch the Aleutian Ballad's seasoned crew launch and retrieve 700 pound pots full of crab, octopus and other sea creatures. "They've seen it on TV and now they get to hear the water dripping off the crab pot and smell the bait and feel it crash down on the launcher. They say, 'Wow! This is the real deal'," Lethin said. "It's awesome. We had a grand time," said Beth McIntosh of Mesquite, Texas who was on board for the inaugural crab boat tour last week. "My nephew, Micah, hasn't stopped talking about it yet." Most important to the Aleutian Ballad crew is that the crab boat tours are giving an authentic glimpse of the fishing life. "People see what we catch and how we catch it," said Dave Lethin. 'They experience that exhilarating feeling when the crab pot comes over the side. We share our sea stories about the things that have scared us so badly our knees were knocking. Now they understand why we go back for more." //
2012
