‘Deadliest Catch’: Worst Injuries on the Cornelia Marie, Ranked
Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch shows the difficulties of crab fishing on the Bering Sea. Through 19 seasons of the show, fans have seen injuries and deaths occur on the crab boats — and the F/V Cornelia Marie was no stranger to this. Here’s a ranking of the worst injuries on the Cornelia Marie.
5. A crewmember sprained his ankle after getting hit with 80,000 gallons of water
One Deadliest Catch crew member aboard the Cornelia Marie experienced multiple injuries while fishing. One such injury occurred while the boat attempted to outrun an ice pack. The weather conditions were extremely difficult for the crew, thus creating unsafe conditions.
Ultimately, Taylor, one of the crew members dealing with the crab pots in the harsh weather, was tossed across the deck by 80,000 gallons of water. He sprained his ankle and couldn’t continue working for the evening.
Captain Casey McManus commented on the boat entering the rough waters. “We are the farthest northwest boat in the crab fleet right now,” he said. “It’s a huge risk coming up here.”
4. A Cornelia Maria deck boss slipped on ice and hurt his knee in ‘Deadliest Catch’
Taylor, the crew member who injured his ankle aboard the Cornelia Marie, wasn’t the only crew member injured during this trip. The fishing vessel continued north and continued to hit dangerous, icy waters. While the Cornelia Marie was successfully bringing in full crab pots, they lost another crewman, Matt, after he slipped on the deck and hit the ground.
Matt, the deck boss, was then brought to safety. The rest of the crew determined he could no longer work due to his new knee injury.
“They’re dropping like flies,” Captain Josh Harris said. “We’re falling apart at the seams.”
3. A deckhand was hit in the head with a crab pot during a hurricane
Fans already saw Deadliest Catch crew member Taylor suffer one significant injury while working on the Cornelia Marie. And his sprained ankle was far from his worst fall. A broken portside crane on the boat began swinging dangerously during a hurricane, resulting in Taylor getting hit in the side of the head when he stood between a swinging 800-pound crab pot and the steel walls of the wheelhouse.
Taylor went to get the injury assessed by Captain Casey McManus, and it didn’t look good. Casey could barely touch the side of Taylor’s head without Taylor wincing in pain.
2. The same deckhand had his finger ripped open by a coiler
Taylor suffered yet another injury while aboard the Cornelia Maria, which was his most gruesome yet. The Deadliest Catch greenhorn had his finger ripped open by the coiler.
While dealing with the injury, he and Captain Casey McManus determined the best course of action for Taylor’s finger was to remove the excess skin above the wound. “That’s gonna dry out, and then it’s gonna hurt like hell to peel off,” Casey told him. Casey then removed the skin with a knife to dress the wound. Taylor patiently allowed the painful procedure to take place, and he was eventually bandaged and put back on deck to work.
“Poor Taylor, man,” Captain Josh Harris said. “He takes a beating on this boat, that kid.”
1. A greenhorn aboard the Cornelia Marie hit her head on the bait freezer ceiling
The worst injury that took place aboard the Cornelia Marie in Deadliest Catch had to do with greenhorn Maria. While entering rough seas, Maria hit her head on the ceiling of the bait freezer. She hit her head so far that she was briefly knocked out.
Maria then showed signs of a concussion, and Captain Casey McManus put frozen peas on her head after pulling her off the deck. While she hoped to get back on deck, the rest of the crew decided this would be a bad idea.
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