According to TMZ, Captain Phil Harris' son Jake Harris, was accused by the current captain of the Cornelia Marie, that Jake had been abusing prescription drugs while on board the ship. The captain, Derek Ray, called the police who came and searched the boat and interviewed all the crew. Although they found some paraphernalia they did not make any arrests. Deadliest Catch has just not been the same since Captain Phil has died. I don't know if it is just the balance or all the other dram surrounding the other boats, but the show has not felt the same since he died.
Of course it could just be that after all these years of watching pretty much the same thing episode after episode that I am getting bored with it. I can tell you that if Jake was doing drugs while Phil was alive, Phil would not have tolerated it at all and the police would have never been brought in. Phil would have just handled it himself. You didn't cross Phil.
It's tragic that someone else is sailing his boat.
ReplyDeleteI loved Capt'n Phil so much. He was so bad ass and cranky. But he was so filled with love for his family. He was just a funny mofo.
ReplyDeleteI haven't watched since he passed. He was the heart of the show and his youngest just seems so lost without him. Too sad to watch.
Do Phil's son's own the boat? This seems odd to me...but what a tragedy...pray that Jake gets help.
ReplyDeleteIs Jake the youngest? I think he was in rehab when Phil passed.
ReplyDeletewait a minute. the last season, phil died. there was only an episode or 2 without him so we don't even KNOW what the show will be like without him----although of course it won't be the same at all. i loved the guy, like everyone did.
ReplyDeletebut isn't this the kid who told phil about his drug problem right before phil stroked out? then he went to rehab?
if i'm right and i think i am, phil knew about his son's drug problem.
and i disagree---if jake had said he was getting clean and then brought that shit on the boat, i think phil WOULD have called the cops on him.
It's not the same without Phil. We don't watch it anymore. I couldn't watch the last episode with him. My husband said he couldn't NOT watch it. But we haven't watched it since.
ReplyDeletePhil's sons may 'own' the boat, but neither is necessarily capable of running the boat. And by 'own', I mean it's probably like a house--there's a mortgage-like loan/line on the boat to keep it afloat (need that line of credit at least for inevitable repairs and maintenance, etc.).
ReplyDeleteThe sons probably receive the majority shares of the haul.
I don't completely agree with Enty, either. I think Jake was using before Phil became sick and Phil tried to force him into recovery, but wasn't able to. I think Phil definitely would not have taken this from any non-family crew, but from his sons he was trying to help...that's another story. My two cents.
I believe there is a woman who owns half the boat and his sons own half now. Phil had a daughter, too.
ReplyDeleteI was really rooting for Jake to get his life together, especially now that his dad is gone.
i looked it up and the new season---the first without phil---doesn't start until april.
ReplyDeleteso back to my original question for enty: how can you say 'the show has not felt the same since he died' when there's BEEN no show since he died?
Yes Phil knew about Jake's drug use and, if the editing of the series is to be believed, it was effectively what killed Phil. Phil had returned to the ship with a bad back and had presription painkillers. He entered his cabin to get some and discovered Jake stealing some. After Phil stormed that he wanted Jake out of his life, Jake confessed his addiction. Phil softened but insisted that Jake had to receive treatment. In port Phil went down to his cabin and had the stroke that ultimately killed him two or three weeks later. The boys visited their father in hospital and Jake left to enter rehab (at that time it was felt Phil was making a recovery). With the editing of the shows it is not always clear what is shot when but it would appear that the discovery of Jake's addiction and the stroke ocurred in a two or three day period (the boat was sailing back to port to offload and Phil was discovered when the needed him to sign off the offload numbers at the dock). I think we all recognize that Phil wasn't a healthy man and didn't have a healthy lifestyle but extreme stress (such as Jake's addiction) is known to trigger strokes. I'm sure Jake is living with some guilt. Before his death Phil told the boys that he loved them and vice versa; so I'm sure he died with some degree of peace. Jake did fulfill his promise to undertake rehab but often there are slips along the wayand I wish Jake luck.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't surprise me at all. As someone who grew up on boats (my father lived at sea for months at a time on a houseboat with other hand loggers, fisherman, etc. in camps), the drug and alcohol abuse in those situations/that lifestyle is rampant. Rampant, I say.
ReplyDelete^^^Add construction workers and laborers to that group.
ReplyDeletenancer, you know enty is ass backwards half of the time.
ReplyDelete@rebellious - that's what I've heard, too. In fact one of the readers said that here recently, and another reader jumped all over him/her saying it wasn't true, so I'm just going to have to trust you on that since I don't know anyone in that line of work ;)
ReplyDeleteSorry Enty, I don't know what you're saying on this one. Captain Phil only missed an episode or two (if you include those with him in the hospital) and he did find Jake stealing his prescription drugs while on the boat. They got into a huge argument and "shortly after in TV land" Phil had the stroke that led to his death. Jake went to rehab while his dad was still in the hospital, which is what he had promised his dad he would do. I read somewhere that Discovery Channel even supported Jake in his effort to get clean by helping him get into a good rehab center.
ReplyDeleteSo basically, Phil DID find Jake doing drugs on his boat & while he didn't call the police, he did tell Jake that he was done, that he wanted nothing to do with him, and that as soon as they got back to shore he was off the boat for good. I can't imagine anyone who watches the show forgetting this, because it was heartbreaking to watch...especially since you knew the stroke was around the corner. It sounds like the new captain did the right thing & is looking out for Jake & the crew, though I really wish Jake would have been able to clean up on his own by now.
jake was high as a kite on the show ALL the time. just look at his eyes! my bf who works on fishing boats commented way before the rehab shit that the boy looked stoned as shit. no suprise since most fishing boats hire convicts etc and you work with druggies. lots of the erratic tempers can be attributed to lack or sleep/and withdrawal. lots of half day boats in my city have tweakers for crew.
ReplyDelete