Of the captains regularly featured on Discovery’s “Deadliest Catch,” a few stand out as larger-than-life characters thanks to their incredible longevity. Sig Hansen has been around since the inception of “Deadliest Catch” in 2005, and Johnathan Hillstrand and Keith Colburn have also been around since the series’ early days. “Wild” Bill Wichrowski is the sort of captain who is so embedded in the “Deadliest Catch” DNA that it feels like he has been there forever. In reality, Wichrowski joined the docuseries for Season 6 in 2010, and he’s been a staple of “Deadliest Catch” ever since.

In his 14 seasons on “Deadliest Catch,” Wichrowski has captained several ships. From his “Deadliest Catch” debut in Season 6 until Season 9, Wichrowski captained the F/V Kodiak. After that, he became the captain of the F/V Cape Caution. In Season 13, Wichrowski began his tenure on the F/V Summer Bay. During Season 19, he gained a co-captain in Linda Greenlaw, an East Coast swordfishing legend who joined the series as a crabbing novice.

Those aren’t the only vessels Wichrowski has captained during his decades-long career. Wichrowski has also helmed the F/V Zone Five, the F/V Arctic Eagle, and the F/V Sandra Five. Indeed, Wichrowski’s experience behind the wheel was so extensive that he had partially retired before joining “Deadliest Catch.”

Deadliest Catch brought Wichrowski out of retirement

A native of Pennsylvania, “Wild” Bill Wichrowski first got his sea legs when he joined the Navy in 1975. When his service ended, Wichrowski set his sights on the Bering Sea and the lucrative world of crabbing, where he set up shop for the next 20 years. In 2005, Wichrowski semi-retired to lead sportfishing tours.

When “Deadliest Catch” started taking off, Wichrowski considered a return to crabbing. It was the onset of the recession that sealed the deal. “I stayed in touch with my buddies up there since I was working out of Costa Rica and Mexico,” he told The AV Club in 2014. “I could see how this thing was growing and the notoriety was growing and when the economy took a dip, I decided to get a hold of Discovery to see if they had room for me.”

His return to crabbing wasn’t entirely smooth sailing. In the Season 6 premiere, a crab pot crashes into the side of the F/V Kodiak due to an improperly tied knot. “Welcome back to crabbing,” Wichrowski says to himself, exasperated, before chewing out the deckhands. It’s easy to see why he quickly became the show’s favorite curmudgeon.

Wichrowski is still very much involved in “Deadliest Catch,” though his future on the show could be up in the air. In the final moments of Season 19, Wichrowski receives a prostate cancer diagnosis. His oncologist recommends a combination of chemotherapy and hormones to treat the aggressive disease.