Visitors experience 'deadliest catch': Bering Sea crab boat a show boat to remember.

• Author: Welch, Laine
• Position: TOURISM

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The Aleutian Ballad gained fame as one of the "Deadliest Catch" crab boats in the Bering Sea. But after the Aleutian Ballad was nearly capsized by a 60-foot rogue wave, the skipper decided it was time to change course.

The 107-foot crab boat is now starring in a different role--last summer the ship began taking cruise ship visitors on sea-going reality tours in calmer waters near Ketchikan. From May through September, the Bering Sea Crab Fishermen's Tour sets out to share a day-in-the-life aboard an Alaska fishing boat.

The new venture is a realized vision for Aleutian Ballad owner and fishing veteran Dave Lethin, who said he got the idea about 10 years ago.

"We were offloading halibut at a Ketchikan dock when a big cruise ship pulled into port. All of a sudden hundreds of visitors were crowding the rails to watch us. They were just fascinated with the whole process. That's when I got the idea that if people were that excited about just delivering fish, they'd probably love to see Alaska fishermen at work," Lethin said.

Since, it has been his dream to introduce others to the fishing life. After saying so long to the Bering Sea, David and his wife, Danene, decided the time was right to redirect the Aleutian Ballad toward a new stock in trade--tourists.

"I really wanted to share the lifestyle and the allure that draws fishermen to the sea. And to show them all the amazing things that are beneath the sea," he said.

While some skeptics cast doubts on his "off-the-wall" idea, Lethin invested $2.5 million to completely revamp the big fishing boat. To accommodate up to 150 visitors in safety and comfort, three tiers of stadium-style seats were placed on deck in an enclosed and heated observation area, with more seats above deck out in the open for those days of sunny weather. Among a list of refurbishments, too many to mention, the boat was rewired and replumbed and the galley was expanded to include a small gift shop.

During the eight-month conversion project, Lethin and his partner worked out an exclusive licensing partnership with the Metlakatla Indians, the only federally recognized Native American tribe in Alaska, with sovereign nation status. The Metlakatla tribe has total jurisdiction of the waters off its Annette Island shorelines, northeast of the Queen Charlotte Islands, an area of about 85 square miles.

"It is extremely fortunate that the Metlakatla tribe allows us to fish there, because we wouldn't be able to...