"Deadliest Catch" returns to the Discovery Channel tonight for Season 12 of the crab fishing show that takes place on the cold and dangerous Bering Sea. Veteran captain and longtime star Sig Hansen has been on the show for the past 11 years and has seen that just about anything can happen out at sea, including having a heart attack.
"That was close," Hansen said of the heart attack he had while filming the show in early March. "That was like a 50/50 chance."
Hansen was filming the upcoming season when the medical scare happened and, initially, wanted to keep filming, but his crew forced him to get medical attention. Once the boat was docked, Hansen was airlifted to Anchorage, Ala., where he was immediately taken to a medical facility for treatment. With the experience now in his past, Hansen said the heart attack was actually not the most frightening part of the entire situation.
"It was actually scarier when you got home and then you realize, 'Did that really happen?'" he said. "In the moment, it wasn't so bad, just made me angry."
The 49-year-old said that since his heart attack, he has tried to make some changes to his lifestyle, including eating healthier foods and giving up cigarettes.
While Hansen has been on the show since its inception, the new season will introduce the youngest captain to ever join the "Deadliest Catch" fleet, 23-year-old Sean Dwyer. The young captain's father used to also be a fisherman, but recently passed away from ALS. Dwyer's father was the one who gifted him with his boat, the Brenna A, and he put his dad's initials on the vessel to honor him.
"We shared a strong passion in fishing and working on boats and, as he became more disabled from the disease, I became his hands-on connection to the business," Dwyer said. "I learned about every aspect of the boats and the business from my dad. I find myself thinking, 'What would my dad have done here?' quite often."
When asked if Captain Hansen had any advice for the newbie of the show, he simply said: "Know your role, shut your hole."
"Deadliest Catch airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Discovery Channel.
