‘Deadliest Catch’: Captain Sophia ‘Bob’ Nielsen Takes the Helm of the F/V Seabrooke

Sophia “Bob” Nielsen has a lot to prove on the 20th season of Deadliest Catch. The youngest captain in the fleet has teamed up with Bering Sea vet Captain Greg Wallace on the F/V Seabrooke. But can she handle the bigger vessel and the challenges that come with it?

Sophia ‘Bob’ Nielsen is following in her father’s footsteps on the F/V Seabrooke

Bob made her Deadliest Catch debut in season 19, working with Captain Jake Anderson on the F/V Saga before striking out on her own on the F/V Victory, the boat she inherited from her late father, who died when she was 13. 

Now, after “a real doozy” of a year on the Victory, she’s realized she has more to learn.  

“It was my rookie year on my boat, the Victory. And I ended up putting in close to 40,000 pounds. But I blew up my big generator and I got in a collision,” she explained in the Deadliest Catch Season 20 premiere. “I’m in debt $200,000 right now. Which is why I’m trying to home in on my skipper skills and become a better captain.”

Enter Greg. He knew Bob’s father and is willing to give his daughter a shot as a skipper-in-training on the 109-foot Seabrooke. 

“I met Sophia a few years ago,” he said. “I knew her dad. I had a lot of respect for him when he was alive, and even now. She came at us and wants to learn more, so we’re going to see what we can do to help her out.”

Bob knows that her dad’s legacy was a huge help in landing her current position. 

“I think the only reason I had a leg up with Greg was he knew who my dad was,” she said. 

Is Bob in over her head on ‘Deadliest Catch’ Season 20?

Greg has taken Bob under his wing, but that decision doesn’t sit well with all of his crew, particularly his daughter Megan, a deckhand on the Seabrooke. 

“I had to earn this job,” Megan, who went to school with Bob, said. “I had to work for him for years and really prove myself. She didn’t have to do the same and she’s already up there. So, I don’t know.”

“If she’s not ready, she’s not ready,” Megan added. 

Bob understands why Megan might be suspicious of her. 

“I would be definitely jealous if it was my dad up here teaching some other young girl how to drive the boat,” Bob admitted. 

“I’m super envious of the relationship she has with her father because that’s something I will never get,” she added.  

Bob steps up in the ‘Deadliest Catch’ season premiere 

While Bob still has plenty to learn when it comes to handling the Seabrooke, a tough situation in the premiere proved she could handle unexpected challenges. While working with the crab pots on deck, Megan slipped and dislocated her hip. Bob stepped up to help Megan, who was in serious pain.    

“I’m not even supposed to be out here,” Megan confessed to Bob. She’d injured her hip previously, and doctors told her she needed surgery. But she ignored their advice. 

“I basically just put a Band-Aid on and came out here,” she said. 

After consulting Google, Bob managed to force Megan’s hip back into its socket. But Megan’s future on Seabrooke is now uncertain. 

“I love my daughter, but I don’t know what to do about her,” Greg said.

Meanwhile, Bob knows she will need to step up and show she has what it takes to lead the Seabrooke’s crew. 

“I get skittish because it’s not my boat, not my gear, not my crew,” she said. 

Greg was willing to take a chance on Bob. But he won’t be going easy on her. 

“If you can’t improve you won’t be sitting there long,” he said. “It’s that simple.” 

Deadliest Catch Season 20 airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Discovery Channel. Episodes also stream on Max. 

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