The Best Bad Boys of the Cornelia Marie Launch 7th Season of 'Deadliest Catch'

As the "Deadliest Catch" opened its 7^th season for Discovery Channel, commentator Mike Rowe discussed something many fans have been wondering about since last season ended: the fate of the Cornelia Marie. The Cornelia Marie is the boat guided and nurtured by the late Capt. Phil Harris.

Beloved Capt. Phil suffered a massive stroke toward the end of last season. Phil was taken by Medevac to a hospital in Anchorage. Although he survived a lengthy operation, he died on Feb. 9, 2010.

Phil Harris embodied the Cornelia Marie, so fans will be watching the current season to see how it fares under the leadership of another captain. It will take a big man to fill the captain's perch.

In a website devoted to the Cornelia Marie, Phil was described over and over as honorable and caring. According to the Cornelia Marie website, "Having lost a man over 20 years ago (in a boating accident), Phil was often among the first to volunteer for rescues. One year he actually picked up 22 men." At the same time, it's said that Phil would eat a shot glass just to prove he was the toughest man on his boat. In his free time, he liked to build birdhouses.

That's how friends, family and crew knew him. We, the viewers, saw a man who suffered a brain aneurism and excruciating back pain and cured it with a regimen of coffee and cigarettes. He's the man we wanted to bring a bowl of clam chowder to just to perk up his weary soul...except for the fact that he might bark at us for assuming he was "needy." But his dreamy eyes and devilish smile would make us want to give it a try anyway.

But Phil is gone, we're grieving, and now we have to decide if we're going to give the new guy a chance to work his way into our hearts. Can we make that kind of commitment? Can we do it for the Cornelia Marie?

As the "Deadliest Catch" season opened on April 12, Mike Rowe said what friends, family, crew and viewers were thinking: "For 25 years, Capt. Phil was the driving force for prepping the boat for the launch. Now it's up to the boys, Jake and Josh." Something tells me viewers will be wanting to bring them a bowl a soup by the end of the season.

Josh Harris (now 27 years old) stepped in to run the family business when his father fell ill. While Josh took over the business in those immediate days, the sons decided they needed an experienced captain when they set sail for the current crabbing season. They turned to Derrick Ray, a family friend. Ray, a seasoned seaman, had retired for a short time, but was eager to take the helm. He confided that just like riding a bike, you never forget how to fish.

But he made it clear to Jake and Josh Harris---and everyone else involved---that he'd have to be in charge. Ray set the tone early and often, asserting his alpha dog status to make sure he gets the respect he knows he'll need to bring in money and get the crew home alive. This is, after all, "Deadliest Catch," and losing a man or a few thousand dollars is easy if you make the slightest error.

Among Ray's first acts was to make Jake Harris take a urine test to see if the youngest Harris son was, indeed, drug free after his stint in rehab. Last season, Jake was caught stealing his father's pain medication. After a stormy confrontation, Jake admitted to his father that he was an addict. Phil told him the only way he'd get through it was by going to rehab.

Unfortunately, Phil had his stroke, but since he had survived the operation, Jake decided it was time to enter rehab. While he was there, Phil took a turn for the worse from the stroke and died.

Jake Harris, now in his 5^th season crabbing, completed rehab, and took the urine test required by Capt. Ray. The test came up clean, and a proud Jake stuck the results of the test on the refrigerator much like a 7-year-old boy who had just gotten a perfect score on a math test.

In another power play, Capt. Ray went toe to toe with engineer Steve Ward, questioning his commitment to the current crabbing season. All of this happened before the ship left the harbor to set out a single crab pot. The sea isn't all that will be stormy for the Cornelia Marie this season.

The Cornelia Marie, based in Dutch Harbor, AK, seems tired with age. Last season, the bags under Phil Harris' eyes told the story of the weight he carried as captain of the old vessel. The crew spent five days getting her ready to set out for the 7^th season---after the other boats were already setting and pulling up crab pots. Whether or not the Cornelia Marie makes it beyond the 7^th season will depend a lot on whether or not Capt. Ray and engineer Steve Ward are able to continue to breathe life into the aging vessel.

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