Just found out this morning that Captain Phil Harris of the Cornelia Marie has passed away. 
I’m sure there will be more news and updates on corneliamarie.com . Him and the boys on the Time Bandit are my favorites! It won’t be the same show without Phil.
That’s sad to hear, but not completely surprising. The guy was hard on his body. He was a fun guy to watch along with the Hillstrands.
He got through the cancer the first time I guess it snagged him on this last trip.
He had a stroke just the past week or so… He used to hang out in Kodiak quite a bit and we would see him in the bars and about town.
I guess living on Red Bull and Marlboro’s alone for the entire O-crab season is not a good thing after all. Yes he was one of my favorite too, and he will be missed, but truth be known, he probably exceeded his life expectancy by more than a few years living that kind of life style!
Sad to hear it, but not surprising. Those guys seem to lead a hard & fast life both at sea & at home.
Prayers out to his loved ones.
Mike
Capt. Phil Harris of the Cornelia Marie was my kinda dude. “My way or highway” will probably appear on his regrettably premature tombstone. Colorful character who displayed a certain disrespect for life , devil be damned. Unfortunately the probability of his early demise was predictable to many. I extend my sincerest condolences to his family and to all who he touched throughout his life who, as do I, will miss him.
Mark
As someone I know said, I will now proceed to smoke 3 packs in 2 hours in honor of Captain Phil.
(Not really, it’s a disgusting habit).
Thing of him and all who risk their lives the next time you have crab legs. That is a Malox job and the man had courage by the buckets full. The good Captain and all of those folks risk their lives so you and I can enjoy what is essentially a luxury.
God Bless them all. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.
They all have courage by the buckets full.
In the summer of '97 I was a spit rat in Homer and worked for John Hillstrand Sr. at Coal Point Seafoods. After hauling fish during the day I cleaned the shop at night for a few extra bucks. John had an apartment at the shop and liked to hang-out at night and drink PBR.
He talked about the boat, how much he missed it, and the cash his sons were making. No matter how well things were at the shop he always said he’d rather be fishing.
Quite a guy, I will miss him.
This was taken this past July in Kodiak. I am in the center and the guy in orange bibs is Doug, one of the owners of Cameraland in NY.
I’ve worked on commercial trawlers north of the Queen Charlotte Islands which saw bad conditions but nothing like the Alaskan crab fleet sees. It’s not a life for the faint at heart and I would think it would take a toll on anyone. Even with that and all the cigarettes, he is gone too soon and I send my condolences to the family.