02x06 - No Snivelin'

[bunniefuu]

[ Indistinct conversations ]

Meisterheim:
the season went to [bleep]
attitude went to [bleep]

I just don't seem to
give a [bleep] right now.

I don't give a [bleep]
about the dredge.

I don't give a [bleep]
about any gold.

It really isn't
one thing in particular

That's going to
throw me over the edge.

It's going to be all of it.

It'll all just compile one day
and it'll just, then I'll crack.

[ Indistinct conversations ]

Cameraman:
don't -- don't touch me.

Man: yeah, scott.
Don't do it!

[ "Gold in these hills" plays ]

♪ Listen up close, now ♪

♪ What I say ♪

♪ I'm a-gonna head out west
one day ♪

♪ I heard about a fortune
to be made ♪

♪ And I'm a-gonna get it,
now, just you wait ♪

♪ 'Cause I heard
that there's gold ♪

♪ In these hills ♪

--Captions by vitac --
www.vitac.com

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

♪ Gold ♪

Narrator:
late july, nome, alaska.

It's pretty freaking dark out.

Narrator: the days
are already getting shorter.

Usually when you lose
that 24 hours of light

That's, you know, the season
is starting to wind down.

We need to make some serious
gold to make up for lost time.

Narrator: half of
the storm-shortened season

Is in the books,
and no one will miss it.

Vernon: right now,
midway through the season,

Definitely feeling pressure.

We haven't even gotten


Narrator:
the clock is ticking

And dredgers are on call


Vernon: now it's what?

Steve r.: 3:30.


So, let's just let him sleep.

And by the time he wakes up,
it'll be daylight.

This season is so short.
It sucks.

Narrator: now it's crunch time
on the bering sea.

Tenhoff: you've got to --

You've got to just
scramble for the gold

While the weather's good.

Narrator: on the wild ranger...

The first chance they get,
some of these other dredges

Will be here on this spot,

So we've got to protect it
as much as we can.

This pay streak
is too good to abandon.

The only way we can keep people
from jumping our spot

Is to sleep on the boat
and stay right on top of it

Until it plays out.

Narrator: after a bumpy night
spent on the dredge,

Captain and crew are ready
to pull gold off the seafloor.

I've got to get in the water.

I'm having anxiety attacks here.

You know,
our season's slipping away

And we've got to take
advantage of days like this.

I mean we only get
just a handful of them.

Vernon: right now,
I've got too many boats.

The fact is...

Narrator: owner vernon adkison

Is 84 ounces short
of his goal this season.

And his armada of six dredges
is a money pit.

Vernon: the only way
we're gonna get whole again

Is to get the gold flowing.

[ Engine turns over ]

Is that too hot?

Okay.

And now we've got to hammer it
while we can

And just keep on hammering it

Until we get
some gold in the box.

If we could stay out here
for a couple of days

It would suit
the hell out of me.

So, how's the visibility
down there, daryl?

Galipeau: it's good.

Okay, good show.

Oh, yeah. Look at that.

Here's a nugget.

I like it
when it's a family affair.

Hopefully that nugget's
got some brothers and sisters.

Steve r.: 200 Feet.
It should be 500.

Getting closer than i like.

It's a big ocean out there.

Let them go find
their own damn spot.

Vernon: a couple
of the other dredges

Have been sniffing around
our spot.

The word is out

That we're getting
pretty good gold here.

Galipeau: see the pieces there,
coming off?

See them dancing?

Oh, yeah.
Look at that.

Daryl's happy.

He's going,
"oh, yeah, baby. Yeah."

I'm looking for
the mother lode here.

Okay, here we go.

See the gold coming out of it?

Pieces all along here.

Nice.

There's 40, 50 pieces there.

Steve, we've actually got
gold all the way from the top

And then there's gold
in all these layers.

[ Engine shuts off ]

Ah, come on, you [bleep]

[Bleep] oh.

Vernon:
i, I didn't understand that.

This is
a really floppy suction hose.

It's like it accordions up
when you put suction on it.

It keeps plugging,
plugging, plugging.

Vernon: damn it.

We're not getting
any suction.

When you take the suction off,
it closes up.

And it -- it seems like
it's getting worse.

It's gotten to the point now
where it's just not functioning.

Okay.

We're not getting
any production here...

Steve r.: Diver up.

...so everything's
come to a standstill.

Boy, I hate to vacate
this spot.

Well, I don't want
to leave it, either.

Let's get
the hell out of here.

We might as well
face the facts.

Vernon: we're gonna shut down,
go into town,

Get another hose,
fix the problem,

And come back out here.

And hopefully nobody will
jump our spot while we're gone.

Hmm. Hmm. Hmm.

Narrator:
while vernon pulls anchor,

His rival, scott meisterheim,
hasn't left dock.

Meisterheim:
so, we did a clean out.

Today I'm going to get it sold

And give the guys their cut

And pay off
some people I owe money to.

Narrator:
three days ago...

[Bleep] [bleep]

Well, they can
cry all they want

As long as you make
your payment then, right?

Oh [bleep]

Narrator: under pressure
from his investors...

...scott hit pay dirt.

Meisterheim: oh, man.

I'd like somebody to
tell me I don't know what
the [bleep] I'm doing.

Narrator: now he's got to have
at least $9,000 worth of gold

To satisfy his investors.

Meisterheim: when you've got to
sell it to survive,

You've just got to deal.

You just deal with it.

I'm broke.

$250,000 In debt

And I ain't made
a [bleep] dime this season.

But last time out,
I got gold in my box,

So I have a lot of confidence
at this point.

And I'll be successful,

And I'll be way more successful
than any of these guys here.

I'm not getting anything
out of this gold sale today,

Except a [bleep] headache.

I don't think
todd's in a good mood.

I wasn't out on that trip.

That's the day
when scott decided to

[Bleep] be a d*uche bag again
and take off with somebody else.

Dan:
what a pretty sight, huh?

Meisterheim: yeah, we'll use
this restraining order

That steve riedel put on me.

[Bleep] done.

And after I'm done with it, I'm
going to wipe my a*s with it.

So it has made a use.

It has become useful.

That's badass.

It's awesome.

It's a beautiful thing.

Let's go weigh this [bleep]

Hopefully I can
pay these [bleep] off

And, eventually,
things will come around.

They seem to be
on a good path right now.

Hopefully,
we can keep it that way.

I was just wondering about
something.

Narrator: a half mile from shore
on the christine rose...

Me and the great bering sea
do not get along.

But we're going to hang in here
no matter what I think.

Let's get this show on the road.

Narrator:
five weeks into the season,

The largest operation in nome

Is nowhere close
to their goal of 800 ounces.

Steve: we're only
one-tenth of the way there

And half of the season is gone.

That don't add up.

It never ends.

It's a treasure hunt every day.

You don't know if you're
going to lose your butt

Or be a millionaire,
you know, right?

This season, the stress level
has gone sky high.

I'm just like
one cigarette after another

For crying out loud.

I'm sure
shawn wishes he was here.

But he's not here.

Narrator: back in nome...

I had
a run-in with the law.

...steve's son
and business partner, shawn,

Is facing problems of his own.

I got a dui.

I got behind the wheel
of the truck after drinking,

Which was really stupid.

Now I get to go tell the kids

That their dad
gets to go to jail.

Narrator: now shawn
gets ready for sentencing.

Dylan: well, I guess
my dad's got to go to court.

We're still not sure
how long he's going to be gone.

Shawn: I got my hearing.

We'll figure out
how many days of jail time

And how long a probation I got.

There's 90 days
left in the season.

Worst case scenario -- I get 45
and that's half the season.

That would cr*pple us.

It's scary that my dad
might have to go to jail.

Hey.

Dad's getting ready
to go to court.

No.

No!

You don't want
dad to go to jail?

No.

Neither does dad.

I'm going to get ready now,
okay?

No, you can't go to jail
because it's scary.

Yeah, it is scary.

I don't want
dad to go to jail.

Woo-hoo.

I'm going to spin.

Shawn: I'm not
looking forward to today.

It's not fun
going in front of a judge.

Whoo-hoo.

Whoo.

See you later.

Bye, dad.

Bye, dad.

Emily: love you.
Love you, too, em.

Dylan: love you, dad.

Love you.
See you guys.

Boy: bye!

This is pretty scary today.

The hardest part's gonna be
finding out how long

I've got to spend away
from my kids and my family.

It sucks.

I just hope the judge
takes it easy on me.

Narrator: in nome, alaska...

I got ten days in jail.

Narrator:
...shawn pomrenke returns from
sentencing for a dui.

Right in the middle
of the season,

So I feel like I've let my kids,
dad, and the team down.

I got a week before
I've got to go turn myself in.

Narrator: one mile from shore...

Is the 42-foot edge.

It feels really good
to be back on the water

And putting in time
on this dredge.

Narrator: four weeks ago...

Tenhoff: the government's
just shut me down over...

Some stupid paper work
and [bleep]

Narrator: ...permit issues
grounded the edge.

Now the rig is once again
sea legal,

But at mid-season,
captain zeke tenhoff

Is 180 ounces off
the pace he set for himself.

Well, last year,
my benchmark was like 40 ounces.

Now it's ten times that.

Now my benchmark is like
half a million dollars,

And I'm not close to it yet.

The season needs to go
a lot better.

We've got to be putting 12 hours
on the box every day at least.

Tenhoff: yeah, what?

What do you need?

Oh, yeah.

Narrator: to work
the more powerful dredge,

Zeke has his strongest diver
on board --

His friend john bunce.

Tenhoff:
john is like a power tool.

He's really
the only person I know

That can do the job
that I need done.

And the job is to get underwater
and move a lot of material.

Because the only time
I don't feel

The crushing weight of impending
failure is when I'm on the boat.

Did you say
"commencing mining operations"?

Bunce: yeah.
Affirmative.

Yeah.
All right. Cool.

Cheap date.

Let's get some gold.
All right.

[ Coughing ] ahh.

What was that?

Are you okay?

[ Coughing ]

Okay, come up.

What?

Are you on your way up?

Emily: are you okay?

Yeah.

My chest hurts,

And I have
a headache real bad,

And I'm nauseous.

[Bleep]

Narrator: the wind shifted,

Driving exhaust
into john's air intake,

A dredging hazard that can lead
to carbon-monoxide poisoning.

I noticed
some exhaust coming in.

You know I could smell it
and got nauseous,

So I -- I had to come up.

And I was getting dizzy
and [bleep], so...

That can k*ll you,
you know if you don't -

If you don't figure it out
and take care of it.

Narrator:
in the center of nome...

Man: come on in, guys.

Thanks.

Narrator: ...scott meisterheim
is looking to turn his last haul

Into a 9,000-dollar payment
on his dredge.

Meisterheim:
I got a lot riding on this.

I've got a lot of money

That's got to be paid back
to a lot of people still.

So, the faster
I could start making some money

The better off I'll be.

Narrator: not only
is the gold's value

Less than
half the dredge payment,

There's nothing extra
to sustain scott's operation.

Meisterheim:
you know, with all the screwing
around I've done all season,

I haven't got --
I ain't made no money.

I didn't come here for a little
bit, I came here for a lot.

Man: here you go.
All right, buddy.

You guys have a good one.

At this point in the game,
I regret coming here

Because of the amount of money
I haven't made.

I don't know
why I keep doing it.

I'll [bleep] feed your a*s.

You're acting
like steve riedel.

Maybe we should [bleep]
hold hands.

Ooh.
You all right?

[Bleep] off me.

Stay the [bleep] away from me.

Narrator:
on the outskirts of nome...

Yeah, join
the what the [bleep] club.

That's what I've been
saying to myself all morning.

Narrator:
...a faulty suction hose

Forced owner vernon adkison
to abandon his honey hole.

Vernon:
I'm hemorrhaging money here.

Things didn't go
the way I planned them.

We're out of the water
because of technical problems.

And I do not want anybody else
on that spot,

But there's nothing
I can do about it.

Narrator: now vernon's hot spot
is ripe for plundering.

I don't want
anybody in my hole, you know.

Down at the dock...

We're going to go r*pe
the ranger hole.

Narrator:
...vernon's daughter elaine
and diver flint collins

Prep one of vernon's dredges,
the bering booty, for action.

We didn't tell him
we were going in his hole.

He'll figure it out,

But there's not really
anything he can do about it.

You can't mark a spot,
so...tough [bleep]

In a roundabout way,

The money's going to wind up
back in his pocket.

He might get a little butt hurt.
I don't know.

I don't really care.

[ Engine turns over ]

Narrator: a mile out
in the public mining area...

There's got to be
still gold there

Because they were pissed off
because they came back in.

Elaine: their mistake
was running their mouth about,

You know, how much gold
is in this spot.

Narrator:
...elaine approaches her dad's
not-so-secret honey hole.

When I go to work,
I'm not really thinking about

My dad and the money
in his account, you know.

I'm thinking
about my bank account.

Elaine:
there it is right there.

What a bunch of idiots, man.

I can't believe
they marked the spot.

Collins: drop it.

I can't wait to see what happens

When vern finds out
that we're taking all his gold.

You going to go
get some gold?

Narrator: back on shore,
the crew of the wild ranger

Finishes installing
the new hose.

About done.
What do you think?

That's it.
We got our new hose on it.

Narrator:
while out on the water,

Vernon's worst fears
are being realized.

I kind of feel bad for my dad.

His [bleep] boat's
parked at the dock,

And we're out here
sucking up all his gold.

I copy.

I just want to get on some gold.

Part of me wants
to mess with my dad,

But it really is
all in good fun.

Narrator:
in the center of nome...

Meisterheim:
I can't think about working.

This is money to help me cope.

Narrator:
after selling his gold

For less than half
what he needed,

Scott meisterheim
has enough money to drink,

But not enough to dredge.

I'll do whatever the [bleep]
I want with my money.

It's my [bleep] money.

Narrator:
back at the dock...

Allen: well, again, our faithful
leader is nowhere to be found.

Maybe it's better off
that he's not here.

All he does
is create more madness.

Uh, i, yeah.

Allen: I'm feeling betrayed.

I've known scott
a long time, man.

I keep just thinking
that something's going to break,

So I keep working on the boat

And keep showing up every day

And it's not happening.

I've been bending over backwards
for him for [bleep]

Dan: we're doing the best we can
to work with what we've got.

And it's hard to make progress
when scott's always gone.

Scott, he's traveling
down a path

I don't think that
he even wants to go down,

But he's already headed
in that direction.

And there's no going back.

Meisterheim: well, my problems
are still in front of me.

$250,000 In debt.

I have a [bleep] crew.

A bunch of ignorant asses.

Equipment breaking down
all the time.

It just hasn't made for
a successful season at all.

I don't have any gold on me
right now.

I don't have any gold
in my pocket.

I don't have any gold
in the bank.

I don't have any gold anywhere.

The gold I've got
I've sold already

Just to survive
this [bleep] hole.

The season went to [bleep]
attitude went to [bleep]

I just don't seem to give
a [bleep] right now.

I don't give a [bleep]
about the dredge.

I don't give a [bleep]
about any gold.

I don't, I don't know.

My drive, my ambition
is just gone at this point.

Narrator:
seven miles up the coast...

I think the forecast lied.

And I wasn't expecting
the wind to blow this direction.

Yeah, it got kind of [bleep]
kind of fast.

Emily: the clark would have been
capsized by now.

Narrator: captain zeke tenhoff
has been dredging

Beneath the 42-foot edge
for the past five hours.

Yeah, sure, I'll take over.

I wish the visibility was better

For my first time
back in the water.

My first two dives of the season
were pretty traumatic.

Uh! I'm so [bleep]

Emily?

This is way too much,
but I'm going to keep on going.

I'm just ready
to put it behind me

And get comfortable
in the water again.

I feel incredibly guilty
for not -- for not diving.

And I hate putting the
responsibility on zeke and john.

Yeah, it -- it's --
it's absolutely torturous.

The only thing
I can really do

Is, is try to
start diving again.

I'm a little bit nervous.

Testing. Testing.

Testing. Testing.
Can you hear me?

Yeah.

That felt good.

Tenhoff: I've got to get used to
emily diving.

It's just every time
she's gone down this summer

It's been like
some near-death experience.

Oh, I can't see [bleep]

This sucks.
I can't see like [bleep]

Hey, are you okay?
I'm fine. I'm fine.

[ Breathing heavily ]

I don't know.

She breathes
all crazy underwater.

It stresses me out.
You don't breathe like that.

I have
all these like flashbacks.

I'm just trying to get
my bearings a little bit.

Are you okay?
I'm fine. I'm fine.

She's got to be able to dive,

So she's just got to
keep taking stabs at it.

It stresses me
the [bleep] out, though.

I don't like it.

Narrator: on the edge...

Emily:
I can't [bleep] see [bleep]

Tenhoff:
yeah, I know. It sucks.

Narrator: ...emily riedel
is making a comeback dive

In rough seas.

Just try to get your bearings
and get an idea,

Because I think that we're
probably going to have to dredge

In these kind of conditions
eventually.

You know, it's like, just so
many things I have to consider.

It stresses me out, you know.

Like all these
different [bleep] systems.

And, like, all
this [bleep] going on.

And then, like, emily
being a dangerous diver.

It's just, like --
I'm getting over tired.

Emily: all right. All right.
I'm [bleep] for air.

I'm coming up. Sorry.
Sorry, guys.

I don't know
what's wrong with me.

I don't know.

[ Crying ]
I don't, I don't understand.

I don't understand.
What's changed?

I just can't
function down there.

I can't focus. I just...

The entire time
I just feel so vulnerable.

This is like freaking her out
or something, so...

All right.

I don't know
what's going on.

And I just [bleep] hate it.

I just,
I used to be fine down there.

It was -- it was -- it was easy.

It's always been easy.

When I'm down there,
I just feel like, I just --

I just feel constant panic.

If, if that's the case,
then that's it.

I mean, I have no business
being out here.

Like, being a woman
isn't a good enough excuse.

I don't know.

It's just --
emily's just tripping, dude.

[ Chuckles ]

She's having a head trip.
She needs to get over it.

Yeah, I don't understand
emily's panic. I don't.

That's -- that's for her
to work out.

We've got to get some gold.

And if she's not confident
and if she's panicking,

Then she doesn't have
anything to do up here.

Narrator:
heading out of the harbor --
the 27-foot wild ranger.

I think
nobody had jumped the spot,

So we should be in good shape.

The word is out.

Oh, the word is out?
Yeah.

You can't keep a secret about
hardly anything around here.

Narrator:
rigged with a new hose,

Captain vernon adkison
returns to his honey hole

Unaware that his daughter just
made a substantial withdrawal.

Galipeau:
that does not look right.

Is that the right bottle?

That looks different.

That's our bottle.

Okay.

"Thanks for the great spot.

"You've been had.

"Next time
do it the old-fashioned way.

"Use a gps.

"We'll be thinking of you

While we're
sipping margaritas in hawaii."

[ Laughter ]

Steve r.: Signed?

"We'll send a postcard.

X's and o's.
bering booty."

[ Laughing ] my --

Well, they got better,
not better things

To do with their time
than leave us notes.

[ Laughs ]

Come and raid our spot
then leaving us a note.

[ Laughing ]

Well, it sounds like
I raised that girl right.

[ Chuckles ]

All right.

Well, at least it was them,
not somebody else.

...a lot better
when they were small.

And then
they got to be teenagers

And they were both
a big pain the a*s, big time.

She got me on this one.

That's good. That's good.

And, so, now it seems like

She's finally starting to get
her head screwed on right.

She's in the game.

She's getting
her head in the game.

What a fine daughter I raised.

Narrator:
on the nome shoreline...

Hey.

...shawn pomrenke has news

He'd rather deliver in person.

I...

All right.

Yeah, okay. Sounds good.

Hey, cody...

Moen: yeah, ten four.

Don't leave me out here
too long, man.

It sucks.

I've got to go to jail
for ten days.

It's time away from my kids

And it's time away
from the business.

Making mistakes is part of life

And admitting to your mistakes
makes you a better person.

But, with dad, it's -- if you
make a mistake, he stays on you

And makes you feel
like you're dumb

And won't let you forget it.

It sucks having to tell him
that he's got...

That he ain't gonna
have me around

And he's got to find
somebody else to go mine with.

Narrator:
one mile from shore...

Narrator:
...on the wild ranger...

Galipeau:
pretty persistent wave here.

We've got white caps, you know.

We've got cap, it's capping.

Narrator: ...the hope
of dredging at day's end

Is looking like a long shot.

It's not laying down.

It's not laying down like we
were hoping it was going to do.

Vernon: the boat is
riding up and down.

It's a bit too stiff right now.

We'll wait for it to lay down.

If we leave this spot,

Then somebody else
will come in and steal it.

The only way you're going to
stop them is just to stay here.

That's what we intend to do.

It's frustrating sitting it out
waiting for weather to break,

But I have to be on the gold.

So we've got to hit it hard
from here on out

Or otherwise
the season is a bust.

Narrator:


The wild ranger crew beds down
on top of their honey hole.

Inland, at the pomrenke
clean-up shack...

Hey, dad.
Well, I got ten days.

Well, maybe you'll learn
your lesson now.

Yeah, I definitely
learned my lesson.

Well, so long as
you learned your lesson.

That's what counts.

Yeah.

Don't be doing
stupid stuff anymore.

[ Laughs ]

He's supposed to be
my business partner.

Well, pretty hard to do business
when you're in jail.

I think shawn thinks
he's further along

In the fact that he can
take the business over,

But, you know, right now

I'm thinking he's on
the teeter-tottering point.

Narrator: as daylight fades,

Seven miles up the coast...

Thanks, guys.

All right. Be safe.
You can call us.

...captain zeke tenhoff prepares
to overnight on the edge.

Tenhoff: john and emily
are going home for the night

To get a few hours of sleep.

And I'm just gonna
stay out here on the dredge,

Leave the dredge anchored up
on the gold with the gear down.

And so in the morning
they can just buzz out here

At 6:00 or 7:00 in the morning
and we can get right to work

Without having to deal
with breaking down tonight

And then setting back up
tomorrow morning.

We're still a long way off

From meeting
our benchmarks for the season,

So we just want to do
everything we can do

To get just a few more
extra hours.

Narrator:
on the christine rose...

We're going to be able
to dig through the night here.

...deckhand cody moen

Is about to burn
the midnight oil yet again.

We'll get 12, 15 hours
out here.

You know that could be

$20, $30,000
In our pocket, so...

Every little bit of gold
we'll take right now.

We're in a tight spot.

This year's been tough
on the whole fleet.

The whole fleet of dredgers
have -- it's just been horrible.

I mean, at least
with the christine rose

We can go out and dig in
rough water and dig in low vis,

But it's not just
how big and bad your dredge is.

It's, you know, your work ethic
and how hard you go at it,

Finding the gold and --
and staying on it.

Narrator:
at breakers bar in nome,

Scott meisterheim
continues his eight-hour binge.

Meisterheim: it's just been one
thing after another this season.

Every day it hurts more and more
that we're not making any money.

I don't know what it is.

I don't know
what the [bleep] problem is.

You want me to try
to blame myself or something?

'Cause I ain't going to do it.

It really isn't
one thing in particular

That's going to
throw me over the edge.

It's going to be all of it.

It'll all just compile one day
and it'll just, then I'll crack.

I've got investors breathing
down my neck for their money

And I don't know
what else to do.

It just seems nice
to just go drink it away.

The only problem is
the [bleep] glass is empty.

That's the only problem I have.

Nothing triggers me to drink.

I can start drinking at noon.

I can start drinking
at five, two a.m.

I don't care.

There's no triggers.

I just like it.

Maybe it takes me
to that happy place in my head.

I don't know.

[ Indistinct conversations ]

Do I think it's a problem
because I like to drink?

It's not a problem to me.

It's a problem to other people,
I guess.

Cameraman: don't --

Don't touch me.

Man: yeah, scott.
Don't do it!

Tell me what's going on.

[ Sighs ]

I don't know.

Scott had
a lot to drink tonight.

[Bleep] [bleep]

[Bleep] [bleep] [bleep]

Narrator:
while scott meisterheim

Found little
but the bottom of his glass,

The rest of the fleet scored big
on the bering sea.

Galipeau: what a beautiful day
for a storm.

Tenhoff: help!

John!

Oh, god!

This [bleep] boat
and scott meisterheim --

This is as hard
as I've ever been [bleep]

Hey!
I need some cooperation here!

Elaine: just hold on.

Shawn:
the gold don't care about sleep.

Neither do i.

Tenhoff: [ voice breaking ]
he wanted so badly to atone

That he was --
he was willing to die to do it.