It’s safe to say the crews from the wildly popular “Deadliest Catch” television series are the most famous boaters around Puget Sound.

Want proof? Try getting an invite to CatchCon, the one-day “Deadliest Catch” fan festival happening Saturday in Seattle. With a waiting list of more than 1,000, invites to the event are as difficult to snag as Opilio crab in a raging Bering Sea.

Just 500 lucky fans will be admitted to CatchCon, the first “Deadliest Catch” fan event put on by Discovery Channel. Joshua Weinberg, Discovery Channel’s vice president of communications, said the free festival is a way to connect fans with the show they’ve come to love over the past four seasons.

“It’s got such a huge following and really loyal fans, people who want to know anything and everything about the captains, both on and off the boats,” Weinberg said.

CatchCon will bring together captains Sig Hansen, Keith Colburn, Phil Harris and Andy and Johnathan Hillstrand. Fans can get the captains’ autographs and ask them questions during a panel discussion, see a Coast Guard water rescue demonstration and tour two of the fleet’s boats, Northwestern and Wizard.

Chronicling a fleet of commercial crabbing boats based out of Dutch Harbor, Alaska, “Deadliest Catch” offers viewers the vicarious thrill of witnessing the ferocious, icy Bering Sea from the safety of their living rooms. Since premiering in 2005, the documentary series has attracted a growing audience of viewers fascinated by what has long been considered one of the most dangerous jobs in America.

Discovery Channel officials have asked that the location of Saturday’s event be released only to registered attendees, so party-crashers will have to get their intel elsewhere. But check back here late Saturday to read Three Sheets‘ coverage of the event, which runs from noon to 6 p.m.

One thing we can tell you: female fans are expected to outnumber their male counterparts at the fan fest, with registered attendees 59 percent female and 41 percent male.

“I think the captains have their admirers,” Weinberg said, laughing.

About Deborah Bach

Deborah Bach is the editor and co-founder of Three Sheets Northwest. She is an avid sailor and long-time professional journalist. You can find Deborah aboard Three Sheets, an Island Packet 38, with her husband Marty and their cat Lily.

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