Captain Greg Chorebanian is a solid fisherman. But that’s not why the Discovery Channel cast him on Wicked Tuna.
Discovery Channel had its pick of fishermen when it created its long-running reality show Wicked Tuna. So to make the cut, each captain had to bring a special flair to the screen.
Many of the stars who have come and gone throughout the series nine-year run have been colorful characters. They’re the standard loveable, but sometimes rough, personalities who drink, smoke, argue, and swear like sailors (pun intended).
Captain Greg Chorebanian, who has manned The Christina on and off since season two, isn’t quite like the other captains. He’s a calm, clean-talking fisherman who doesn’t enjoy drinking or smoking. And aside from his ability to catch massive tuna, Chorebanian was cast because the producers liked the sound of his voice.
“People ask me a lot, why did I get on the show, and in the beginning, I thought it was because of my fishing abilities,” Chorebanian told New England’s The Daily News in 2018. “The producer told me he liked my accent. That’s why I’m on the show.”
The Crew of ‘Wicked Tuna’ Boat ‘The Christina’ Once Rescued a Pilot After His Plane Went Down
In 2012, the crew members of The Christiana were hailed as heroes after they pulled a pilot out of the Atlantic Ocean.
It all happened after The Christiana’s spotter pilot Pat Bulger’s plane started having trouble as he was headed home one evening. When he was a few miles away from shore, his plane started going down, and he radioed the Coast Guard for help. Luckily, he was still close to The Christiana. And when he sent the SOS, Greg Chorebanian caught the pilot’s coordinates.
However, because the pilot was in a panic, Chorebanian misheard a few of the numbers. And he ended up missing Bulger by a few miles. So he had to cruise the area in hopes of finding the pilot’s wreckage.
“Until we knew the pilot was OK, there was a lot of stress on the boat,” Chorebanian told The Wicked Local. “The boat owners, Kevin and Scott, and myself were really, really stressed out.”
Thanks to Bulger’s detailed flight plan, the Coast Guard and The Christiana managed to find him. “This is a classic case of why pilots file a flight plan in case something goes wrong,” said Lt. J.G. Mike Barker. “He logged a plan, and the vessel he was fishing with knew where to look so they could find him.”
Once Chorebanian was in the general vicinity of the pilot, the Coast Guard guided his crew to the downed plane, and the captain pulled him aboard.
“We gave him a big hug,” Chorebanian remembered. “The relief on this boat— it was like a million pounds had been taken off our shoulders.”
