THE WIZARD CREW

Born May 12, 1964 in South Lake Tahoe, California

In 1987, Monte joined his brother Keith and began fishing after arriving on St. Paul Island on board the 110’ F/V Juno,

a partner vessel to the Alaska Trader. His first year in Alaska was a marathon, with Monte working more than 10 months straight before returning home. From his very first day in Alaska, Monte’s career has been one adventure after another.

Monte lives with his wife Catherine, and son Gregory in North Lake Tahoe, where they purchased the Colburn family's childhood home. In his free time, Monte enjoys off road motocross, finish wood working and pestering his big brother.

In 1988, he joined Keith aboard the 155’ F/V Wizard as a full share deckhand. After Keith took over in the wheelhouse,

Monte moved up to serve as deck boss. Monte earned his USCG Mates license in 1992 and upgraded to a Masters 1600 ton

in 1995. From 1992-1995, Keith and Monte operated as relief Captain and First Mate. In 1995, Keith and Monte

began operating the Wizard full time together as Captain, and Relief Captain/Mate.

Monte took command of the F/V Sea Fisher in 1998, and then the F/V Norseman in 2001. During these years

Monte and Keith experienced great success working together as partner boats. Monte took the helm of the F/V Sirene

working on an oil spill clean up in Unalaska. He provided support to the many vessels that participated in

an 11 month clean up project after the 400 foot cargo freighter Selandang Ayu ran aground near Dutch Harbor

in December 2004. Today, Monte is First Mate for Keith, and Captain when Keith heads south.

Born November 11, 1962 in Hileigha, Florida

Gary has lived most of his life near the ocean. He moved to Alaska as a boy and began fishing early on in life. Gary lives with his wife and two children in Anchorage, Alaska. Known as "Soper" on board the vessel, Gary

is a full time professional crabber, and currently serves as deck boss and First Mate.

Gary holds a USCG Master License.

Gary has been with the boat for over 20 years, during which he worked as a deckhand alongside both Keith and Monte. Gary is responsible for running the deck and also drives the boat at night when the Wizard operates around the clock. He also maintains and manages both the deck and the gear (crab pots), along with food stores. Soper is the consummate fisherman, a bit grizzled and quiet, wearing tattoos of a tall ship on one arm, and an anchor on the other. To Keith, the anchor is synonymous with what Soper represents on board- “the anchor” and a driving component to the success of the Wizard. He has helped build the business with unwavering dedication.

As a long-time crew member and friend, Gary is part of the heart and soul of the Wizard.

During the summer, Soper fishes salmon in Bristol Bay. His lifelong dream of sailing the world and providing for his family keep him driven. Now 45, that dream comes closer to reality with every good season on board the Wizard.

Monte Colburn

Gary Soper

Born September 16, 1959 in Unalaska, Alaska

Lenny was born and raised in Dutch Harbor before the days when air service and the Bering Sea fisheries turned Unalaksa-Dutch Harbor into the United State's number 1 fishing port. In fact, Lenny never left the island

until the age of 14 and saw his first train at 16.

Lenny is a Native American Russian Aleut, whose family has deep roots on the island of Unalaska going back over a century. The Aleut culture has a rich and diverse history of fishing on the Aleutian chain, and Lenny’s family

to this day maintains their heritage by smoking and drying salmon every year. Raised as a devout Russian Orthodox, Lenny has a wife and daughter and very large extended family. You pretty much can’t go anywhere in Unalaska without running into one of the Lekanoffs, many of whom have lived their entire lives on Unalaska Island. Lenny’s father, Nikolai, is 81 and has been the caretaker of the Church of the Holy Ascension for over 45 years. One of the

oldest churches in the U.S., parts of the church were built in 1825 and it is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The opportunities to fish professionally presented themselves early in life for Lenny, and for over 25 years he

has made his living fishing the waters of the Bering Sea and the Aleutian Islands.

A professional crabber, Lenny joined the Wizard crew after a previous vessel that he crewed on exited the

fishery with the sale of its fishing history into the federal Buyback program. Lenny is in charge of all the

maintenance and upkeep of all the ship's systems from the engine room to the forepeak, as well as

working as a deckhand full time on board the Wizard

Lenny Lekanoff

Lynn Guitard

Born September 23rd, 1985

At only 27 years old, Lynn is the "kid" of the boat and resides in Olympia, WA. He graduated from Thurston High School in 2004. Lynn’s father, Marty, fished in the 1970’s during the king crab heyday and the stories he told his son over the years sparked an interest in giving the Bering Sea a shot. Lynn has been working the summer months out

of Dutch Harbor since he was a 14-year-old with his uncle and father on board the F/V Seahawk and

F/V Miss Amber fishing halibut. If the pressures of the Bering Sea aren't enough, Lynn also has the

added pressure of worrying about letting his family down.

Lenny’s not about to let that happen. Having trained the old school way, Lenny and the Wizard crew aren’t

about to cut any slack to the two new guys. In Lenny’s words with respect to Lynn,

“If the kid’s going to crack, I’m going to be the one to do it.”

Lynn is a single guy, and spends a lot of time in Olympia with his family, including

mother Linda, and younger brother Billy.

Born March 5, 1986 in Tacoma, Washington

After joining the Wizard crew for the 2011 opilio season, Kevin headed to New Zealand to bring his 28 foot sailing

yacht back to the states, just in time for the 2011 king crab season. After battling across several thousand miles

of the Southern Ocean's towering seas and hurricane force winds he arrived at the halfway point,

only after the end of the king crab season.

Having suffered some serious damage in the Southern Ocean, it became obvious he would not make it back in time for the 2012 opilio season either. At that time he had to shift his focus from trying to make it back in time for the opilio season to making repairs and finishing his trip safely. Kevin finally did make it back, just two weeks after the

Wizard finished their season. Kevin was more than happy to find he still had his position on the Wizard,

and rejoined the crew for the 2012 king crab season.

This season was different. Having battled upwind across the Pacific Ocean, Kevin had eliminated any obstacles that could prevent him from missing another season. Kevin is looking forward to a long career on the Wizard team.

For this ocean born fisherman and sailor a new journey has only just begun, here on the Wizard.

When Kevin is not crab fishing on the Wizard, he can be found working as a salmon fishermen and commercial diver, and kicking back with his family. Kevin lives with his wife and son in the great state of Alaska

Kevin Strafford

Born February 4, 1973 in Pago Pago, America Samoa

Captain Keith describes his strongest deckhand, Freddy Maugatai, as a ‘lightning bolt” who brings a positive and palpable energy to the deck of the F/V Wizard. He joined the crew in the fall of 2011. Freddy’s Samoan fishing traditions, which often include the consumption of raw fish organs, combined with his incredible passion for fishing and a genuine care for his fellow crewmates make Freddy an invaluable and welcome addition to the Wizard crew.

Freddy is a veteran deckhand with over 18 years of fishing experience. His career was started with Keith's

longtime fishing friend and partner Tim Mahnke. Prior to that, Freddy didn't know where Alaska was or even

what he was fishing until his first pot broke the water and he realized it was crab.

In the off season, Freddy lives with his girlfriend in San Diego, California.