Andy Hillstrand is an American fisherman and reality TV star, born September 25, 1963 in Homer, Alaska USA. He is known for appearing on Discovery Channel’s “Deadliest Catch” as the co-captain of Time Bandit.
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Early life
Andrew Paul Hillstrand was born the second of three sons of John Hillstrand Sr. and Joan Phillips. With his brothers Johnathan and Neil, he learned to fish from an early age, as their family has been involved in commercial fishing for generations.
Andy’s parents divorced when he was a child. His father remarried a woman named Nancy, while his mother currently owns and operates the “Homer Time Bandit” online store, dedicated to selling Time Bandit’s themed merchandise.
There is no information about Andy’s education, however, it is known that he is fond of music and plays various instruments such as guitar and drums.
Career
Fishing and deadliest catch
Andy has been a co-captain of his family’s Time Bandit crabbing boat for years, along with his brother Johnathan. Spending most of his life aboard commercial vessels, Andy is an expert not only on how the fish trade works, but has also gained technical and practical experience on how to manage and navigate commercial fishing vessels.
Officially licensed captains with over three decades of experience, Andy and Johnathan first appeared on the second season of Discovery Channel’s “Deadliest Catch.”
This reality TV show centers on life on board with various fishing boat crews, as they sail the seas risking their lives in commercial fishing, one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, because fishermen have a higher death rate than flight engineers and pilots. .
Featuring crude, sensitive, and somewhat violent situations, the audience for “Deadliest Catch” is predominantly male, ages largely in the 18-49 age bracket. Andy appeared on the show primarily during Opilio Crab season, while his brother Jonathan was in charge during King Crab season.
Release of Deadliest Catch
Andy’s brother, Johnathan, announced at the end of the 13th season of “Deadliest Catch” his retirement, and with him, his boat and his family would also be leaving the show.
However, as JohNathan continued to share videos on social media of himself fishing, it was speculated that his real reason for leaving was different than what was advertised. In a Facebook post on Jonathan’s official page, his social media assistant, Shelly, responded to fan questions regarding the issue: “Plans have been made for Capt Johnathan to ‘retire’ from bass fishing. king crab and Opilio crab, in order to start a brand new crab fishery this year.. Unfortunately the paperwork and permits have not been received, so Captain Johnathan is back to the Kings and Opilio crab fishery this year.
Knowing that Johnathan was still actively fishing, fans of the show hoped the family would eventually return to “Deadliest Catch.”
Unfortunately, an engine failure on the family fishing boat Time Bandit prevented the brothers from going crabbing in 2018.
Johnathan made the announcement on his Twitter account: ‘For anyone asking what our plans are for the season. We are going fishing as soon as the engine is back on the boat. To date, we have not agreed to have cameras on the boat. So it doesn’t look like we’ll be back on the show! #deadliestcatch’.
He continued with the heartbreaking news: “This is the first time in 38 years that I’m going to miss a Bering Sea King crabbing season, besides the closest in the mid 80’s!! Our main engine blew up so no season!!!’
While unclear if Time Bandit’s and his crew were returning to the show, fan spirits lifted after Johnathan revealed some promising news a few days later about the boat’s status, while also thanking his fans. for their continued support: “Thank you all for all of your encouraging messages!! God bless you all! My wife and I have been busy moving to Pierce County. The Time Bandit is back together and running great 🙂 Eddie Sr, Eddie Jr and Axel bring it back to Homer I’ll let you all know.
End of fishing adventures
Fans’ hopes of “Deadliest Catch” were dashed when Time Bandit went on sale on Dock Street Brokers in 2019.
The Hillstrand family boat’s sale price was originally $2,888,888, but the price was then lowered to $1,900,000 months later. Fans were surprised to see photos of the legendary fishing boat with a completely different appearance, as it changed from black to red and its name is no longer visible. This marked the end of the Hillstrand family fishing tradition and the official retirement of Andy and his brother from commercial fishing.
time bandit
Although offered for sale by her owners, Time Bandit enjoyed many years of glory as she sailed the waters commanded by the family of Hillstrand.
In an interview with Dockwalk in 2009, Andy revealed various interesting details about the enormous fishing boat belonging to his family: “The Time Bandit was built by my father, myself and my two brothers in a shipyard in Charleston , Oregon in 1991,” he said. , emphasizing why the boat was important to his family: “Time Bandit is one of the most seaworthy boats, and it was built with our father who is no longer with us.
Along with this information, Andy also clarified some technical specifications, revealing that the fuel capacity of Time Bandit’s boat is 20,000 gallons, its hull is half an inch and its height is 113 feet.
According to its interior, the crew quarters are 12 feet by 12 feet in size and each cabin contained two double beds.
Time Bandit also included facilities resembling any normal house, such as a kitchen, dishwasher, microwave, stove, and others. Although the boat is insured by Wells Fargo, Andy revealed that it was “too expensive” to provide fishermen on his boat with pension benefits and health insurance.
Other careers
In 2008, Andy and Johnathan co-authored their first and so far only book, Time Bandit: Two Brothers, the Bering Sea, and One of the World’s Deadliest Jobs. In this captivating book, the brothers recount their life-threatening experiences aboard Time Bandit.
The Hillstrand brothers also got into the fireworks market, creating their own brand called “Time Bandit Fireworks”.
In 2013, however, former Time Bandit deckhand David Zielinski suffered a serious injury to his right hand, the product of a faulty Hillstrand brothers’ brand of fireworks.
Zielinski sued the brand, and in 2019 a Seattle jury determined he should be awarded $2.7 million in compensation, though Zielinski was later determined to be partly responsible for the accident, the amount was reduced by half. Passionate about horseback riding, Andy Hillstrand started Hobby Horse Acres – run by Andy’s wife, Sabrina, this school is located on his ranch in Indiana and teaches children and adults all about horseback riding.
Private life
Andy is married to Sabrina Hillstrand, whom he met at 19 at a party in their native Homer. Andy described being away from his wife and two children for several months a year as ‘the hardest part’ of his job.
Suspended in the wings.
Posted by Captain Andy Hillstrand’s fan page on Sunday, October 2, 2011
Sabrina, who dislikes life on boats and stays ashore while her husband is on deck, tried to convince Andy to quit fishing and find a less dangerous job, even though things didn’t work out. went according to plan for the couple: “I owned a donut shop for a while, but it didn’t do well. And she got pregnant so I needed the money and went back to fishing. Well Although the life of a fisherman is not easy, Andy believes that the time he spends on the water is worth it because he can support his family economically.
Physical appearance
Andy Hillstrand is a man of white ethnicity, who has a remarkably strong build. He has green eyes and keeps his blonde hair short.
Net value
Andy Hillstrand’s net worth is estimated at $1.5 million, thanks in large part to his long stint working in the crab fishery, as well as profits from his fireworks business, his book released, Time Bandit and “Hobby Horse Riding” merchandise.
Happy birthday @captjohnathan ! Thank you for all those crazy memories brother. Here are many more! pic.twitter.com/2B8R07apQJ
—Andy Hillstrand (@capt_andy) August 5, 2018
Interesting facts
Although licensed as captains, neither Andy nor his brother Johnathan are engineers; their brother Neil is however the engineer of Time Bandit. This is unusual because bridge bosses are usually also engineers.
When asked what was the most amazing thing he had ever seen at sea, he said, “Two hundred porpoises come on the boat, jump up and do whatever you’d see them do at Sea-World… freaking out and all.”
The Hillstrand brothers have rejected the Discovery Channel’s first offer to appear in “Deadliest Catch”. However, they accepted the network’s second proposal after Andy saw cameras on board The Maverick boat.
