03x11 - The Final Showdown

[bunniefuu]

Emily:
the season is coming to a close.

This is the end, baby, you know?

This is the end.

I'm beat down to the point
where I'm numb.

Strength
is the determining factor

Between success and failure.

May the best man win.

Time to get your a*s kicked,
hank.

You have to keep hunting
and keep fighting your a*s off

To succeed in this place.

Yo, hank, keep digging!

Rock 'n' roll, baby.
Look at all those damn nuggets.

Tony:
honey hole of the year.

[ "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:
the temperature is dropping.

Winter is closing in.

Emily: most of the entire harbor
is frozen.

We're gonna plow our way
through the ice to get out.

It's hour by hour at this point.

Man:
yes, it is a ticking clock

When the cold weather
starts to come this way.

Narrator: miners are scrambling
to get out ahead of the freeze.

Shawn:
big storm's blowing in.

We're not gonna be able
to stay out here much longer.

Narrator:
for nome's two mega-dredges,
the race is on.

I'll be right behind
you guys.

Good luck!

[ Laughs ] little competition
don't hurt anybody.

Narrator: vying for thousands
of dollars in gold...

Hands down, it's gonna be
the christine rose

That ends up winning
the competition.

Narrator: ...and bering sea
bragging rights...

Hank doesn't have a chance
in hell of beating me.

Narrator:
...rookies have one last chance
to silence their skeptics...

Emily: our goal is to clear


And that's what we're
all pushing towards now.

We got to [bleep]
make it happen.

Narrator: ...and the fallen
a shot at redemption.

Heading over to zeke's right
now, so we'll see how things go.

Right on.

I have to face the cold

And do whatever I can do
before the ocean freezes up.

Narrator:
as the season speeds to its end,

A final showdown
is about to begin.

christine rose,
christine rose

This is the au grabber.
you copy?

Go ahead.

good luck to you.

May the best man win.

Yeah, good luck to you, too.
I think you need it.

[ Chuckles ]

c*ck [bleep] huh?

Steve p.:
Shawn and hank are getting
into a digging competition.

He ain't got a cold chance
in hell to beat us.

Narrator:
one week ago, rookie captain
hank schimschat made a bet

With veteran miners
steve and shawn pomrenke.

Steve p.:
Who's gonna get the most gold
in the last days here of mining.

No competition at all.
Hank's gonna lose.

Loser!

Shawn: the stakes are,

Whoever loses has to give
the winner an ounce of gold.

So, it'll be nice to get
an ounce of gold from hank

For doing nothing
except kicking his a*s.

Narrator: while shawn has hauled
in $900,000 worth of gold,

Hank has struggled
to collect $100,000.

Shawn:
I set a goal of 1,000 ounces,

And I just wanted
to prove to dad

That I can run this dredge
without a doubt.

We've been doing 100 ounces
every time we go out.

Hank, you ain't gonna keep up.

Narrator: the big rigs land
on their grounds

And take their positions.

Let's get this competition
rolling here!

Hank: 10-4,
anytime you're ready.

All right.

let's the games begin.

Five, four...

Well, the race is on now.

Rock 'n' roll, baby.

Shawn's been digging
since he was 13 years old.

Hank's gonna owe us
an ounce of gold

By the time this competition's
done and over with.

Well, we've got really good gold
here, cody,

And really good gold
all the way up here.

And so, let's clear
that whole area out.

Sounds good to me.

Narrator:
shawn's plan -- stay put,
and dig familiar ground...

We're doing
a little prospecting.

How's it look?

Narrator:
...while the rookie...

...is still searching
for a honey hole

I want to move
a little more west.

Got to find the gold.

Hank: last fall, I decided I
wanted to build the au grabber,

Got $600,000 invested
in this project.

I'm hoping
that it'll pay for itself.

And we'll move over to the west

And see if we can find
some gold.

Man: time to move.
Time to move.

Just last week, I dug 50 ounces.
Nobody showed me how to do it.

I proved something to myself,

And I want to prove it
to the christine rose.

There's a new kid in town.

Gonna keep hammering away, man.

I'm gonna keep
this excavator moving.

I have a chance.

I got a small chance,
but you know what?

I do have a chance.

Narrator: as the head-to-head
battle rages on,

Down the coast...

Emily:
whoo! There it is.

Narrator:
...captain emily riedel
and her crew

Are fighting
to get the engines running.

Frozen water in our pump,

Frozen water in our umbilical,
in our hot water.

I mean, it's just more signs
the season is closing up.

We're right around


It's amazing.

We want to clear 100 ounces,

And we don't have a lot of time
to do it in.

Oh, my god.
It's like a plague of ice.

At the beginning of this season,

I had a room full of men
telling me that I was useless.

Man: from what I've seen
in zeke's operation,

You're not a miner and you're
not an asset to his operation.

Narrator:
after being tossed aside,

She struck a deal with her
childhood friend for a dredge.

If you were interested
in taking over the edge,

What I would like is for you
to get a down payment

For a buyout from me.

But the deal with zeke soured.

Get me the money!

You can't own property
for free!

I've come
pretty [bleep] close this season

To being a bona fide miner.

I just need to make
that final payment to zeke.

And you can't get
the pump motor started

'Cause there's a bunch of slush
and ice in there.

Narrator: if emily can hit
pay dirt one last time,

The dredge will be paid in full.

[ Engine turns over ]

Yeah! Whoo! That's right!
That's right!

That's what you do.
Nice. Not bad.

With the equipment
finally working,

Diver tony mann takes the plunge
into the 39-degree water.

[ Air tank hissing ]

Tony:
whoa, it's chilly!

Emily: all right. Let me know
how that suction is.

suction's good.

how's the visibility?

four feet?

yeah, but bottom's rocky.

looks good. I'm working.

Yeah, we need to be
in a good spot.

I mean [bleep] this could be,

Like, our last [bleep] run
for it.

It's absolutely true --

What does not k*ll you
makes you stronger.

Narrator:
back at belmont beach...

Glen:
so, this is the last run.

This is the final push.

We need to get as much gold
as possible

Before it freezes up solid.

Narrator: after recovering
his one-of-a-kind

Submersible dredge from
the bottom of the bering sea,

Captain glen lebaron preps
for its first run of the season.

Glen: found the dragon,
and I need a business partner.

I feel like zeke and I
are a good team,

And we both need gold real bad.

I'm really excited
to get out there with him again.

Hey, glen.

What up, zeke?

Narrator:
glen has coaxed zeke tenhoff
back to gold mining

After six months of isolation.

Zeke: me and glen have
this weird bond

That is really heavy
and really profound.

I was part
of one of the most, like,

Trying times in zeke's life...

The loss of his dear friend.

I was there when john died.

I was the one
that made the 911 call.

Zeke was struggling,
and he just, you know,

Resorted to drinking,
as people commonly do.

And zeke had a mental collapse.

"As I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death,

I shall fear no evil,
for thou art with me!"

[ Laughs ]

[ Engine turns over ]

Come on.

Zeke believed in me
when no one else would,

And right now, zeke needs
someone to believe in him.

I mean...

Anything helps
at this point.

Any amount of bottom time
will make me happy.

Well, we get this thing working,
we'll get some gold, man.

Yeah.

We're gonna throw in
an anchor

And get ready
to drop the dragon.

All right.
There she goes.

Yeah. Feels good to get
the dragon back in the water.

[ Engine turns over ]

And the weather's
supposed to pick up tonight

And get pretty nasty.

I think it's gonna be, like,

The first winter storm,
and I think this is it.

yeah, I can hear you.

all right.

[ Air tank hissing ]

Zeke:
well, I'm finally back.

i'm finally back underwater.

yeah, I've pretty much
made enemies with everyone,

and I can't find a tender.

but at least
i've still got you, glen.

i've got to figure out
where I am.

you know, I'm just trying
to navigate around here

just kind of by feeling.

yeah, I understand.

it's just gonna
take me a while.

all right.

i'm still just kind of trying
to explore the area a little.

this is our comeback,
man. It's rally time.

Narrator: once once of the most
driven divers in the fleet,

Zeke's skills are rusty.

What do you see? You on sand?
Do you see any cobble?

uh, yeah,
i'm getting cobble.

Awesome.

yeah, do you think you could
turn up my hot water a little?

Yep.

give me
a progress report.

how close are we
to doing some dredging?

i'm on the nozzle,

and I'm doing
a little poking around,

a little prospecting around.

i haven't really seen anything
yet that gets me very excited,

but I know there's got to be
something in the area

'cause the cobble looks good
and there's a clay layer.

I think
within the next 10 minutes,

You're gonna find
some really awesome gold.

yeah, I mean --

yeah, I'm seeing some gold
here and there.

yeah, this is -- everything
is going really well.

i think we're, like,
in line to make a comeback,

and I mean, I desperately need
to make a comeback.

and I think that, like,

all our pins
are pretty much lined up

and we just need knock them
the [bleep] down.

We are definitely fighting
together until the end, man.

Narrator: in nome harbor...

...there's a new dredge
on the grounds,

A chop-shop special
baptized the reaper.

This is our last chance
to make some money

Before we're [bleep]
for the rest of the year.

This is the end, baby, you know?
This is the end.

Narrator:
after making a pride-swallowing
$5,000 working for steve riedel,

Kris and andy kelly
are striking out on their own.

Andy wants to work hard, sure,
as long I hold him by the hand

And make sure everything's
taken care of, right, a.?

You want your a*s kicked
now or later?

That's right, a.

Well, none of those pieces
on that actually belongs to us.

They're all acquired
from steve riedel.

Hey, you got to get everything
for free.

That's the way to be a miner.

Kris:
well, don't let it die.

I can swim faster
than this thing.

Is that as fast
as it goes?

I'm afraid to go fast,
man. This isn't safe.

Narrator:
when you get your parts
with a five-finger discount,

They don't come with a warranty.

Kris: I need you to get down
there and make me some money.

You're my bottom b*tch,
my top earner.

My brother knows twice as much
about boats as I do,

And he's a better diver.

But do you want to know, like,
I'm a hustler.

My approach to being a captain

Is trying to get andy
to do my work for me.

Drop the anchor.
Come on, captain.

There's captain steve!

Hey!

Yeah!

Come see this!
Come on out!

He doesn't know [bleep]
about mining.

He doesn't really even care
about gold.

A lot of times, I ask myself,

"What the [bleep] is he doing
in nome?"

Hey!

Hey!

[ Chuckles ]

[Bleep] steve.

[ Laughs ]

Narrator: after an exchange
of pleasantries...

[ Laughs ]

I wish I were anywhere mining.

[ Engine turns over ]

Narrator:
...it's time to get to work.

Kris: get down there
and make some money.

Don't come up until we see
that thing full of gold.

Good job.
Pep talk's over.

I just five ounces to get
the [bleep] out of here.

Like, I need to leave nome.

Yeah, we really need to fill
this box up today, andy.

This is
one of our last dives.

I'm depending on you.

Andy:
yeah, I noticed. Thank you.

[Bleep] man, I hate
that this depends on you.

Narrator:
seven miles west...

Hey, is there any gold
in that [bleep]

It's loaded, ain't it?

That's the [bleep] man,
we're looking for.

Gets my blood pumping!

Narrator: after a morning
of prospecting...

...captain hank schimschat

Is ready
to take down the pomrenkes.

Looks like hank's moving closer
and closer to us.

Wonder how he's finding
his gold.

Oh, I don't know --
follow shawn.

Narrator:
captain shawn pomrenke watches
his competitor move in on him.

I knew desperation would kick in
sooner or later

And that he'd start getting
closer and closer.

He's going down.

[ Whistles ]

[ Chuckles ]

Last play, here we go!

[ Launcher fires ]

[ Projectile thuds ]

[Bleep] sh**ting at us!

They're [bleep] sh**ting at us.

Narrator: the pomrenkes
send hank a warning...

Our ground.
Stay away from our ground!

Narrator:
...get off our gold.

Come on.
Nail him this time.

I'll get him.
I'll get him.

Fore!

Fore!

[ Launcher fires,
projectile thuds ]

I'll go get my [bleep] g*n.
[Bleep]

[ Laughs ]

Into the barrel.

This is my potato g*n
that I built

For keeping guys that want to
dredge to me too close --

Give them a little idea
that you get close to me,

You're gonna get a potato pie
in your face.

Shawn don't want to get into
cowboys and indians with me.

You know, that's for damn sure.

[ Launcher fires ]
fore!

I don't have a weapon,
so it's kind of one-sided.

It's gonna go over 20 feet.

[ Chuckles ]

Get out of here!

Narrator:
the potato offensive succeeds,

And hank backs off
their honey hole.

Like, I don't need this.
I'm gonna go dig.

Back to work!

Narrator:
off the coast of nome...

[ Radio static ]

Emily:
how's it going, tones?

Tony: uh, the visibility is like
six inches of front of me.

A looming winter storm

Is already stirring up
the ocean floor.

you hitting some good ground
down there, bro?

i just want to pay off
the final payment to zeke

for the dredge.

you know,
once I can do that,

Then there's nobody
in this industry

That can tell me
that I'm not a gold miner.

If diver tony mann can find
another 30 ounces of gold,

Captain emily riedel will be
the proud owner of the eroica.

Emily:
how much overburden?

Tony: looks like pretty low
overburden --

clay,
probably a foot down.

[ Air tank hissing ]

uh,
i've pretty much just found

the [bleep] honey hole
of the year.

whoo! Suck it up!

it's about time, son.
whoo!

put them in my glove.

come on, triple digits.
triple digits!

100 ounces, here we come!

sweet.

Yeah, that's
what I like to hear.

stay on that gold.
that's awesome.

Tony:
well, I'll dredge until

it's impossible
to dredge anymore.

whoo!

[ groans ]

Narrator:
tony struggles to follow
his newfound pay streak

Through a thickening cloud
of murky water.

[bleep] it's getting
pretty [bleep]

How bad is it?

You can't see your hand
in front of your face?

nope.

uh, it's pretty gnarly.

Yeah.
No, no, no. Copy that.

I mean, anything less than
three feet is incredibly close.

i can barely see
the nozzle.

Emily: he's [bleep] operating a


So it's dangerous,
extremely dangerous, to dive.

I'm bringing him up.
It's a matter of safety.

You're operating
a piece of heavy equipment

With tremendous power
down there,

And it can k*ll you
if you let it.

[ panting ]

[ Air tank hissing ]

damn it!
i can't see the bottom.

Dude, if the visibility's
that bad, then come up.

[ sighs ]

He says he's coming up.
Can't see [bleep]

Tony: it sucked.

Like, started out with like
two feet of visibility.

Then, it went
to like six inches.

And so, I had to come up

'Cause when you're dealing
with a 10-inch,

It's not nothing
you want to dredge with

When you can't see
what you're dredging.

Basically, anything
more than three feet, good,

Anything less than three feet,
not good.

And y'all,
I've been dredging in,

You know,
three feet or less for a while.

It's a bit of a risk to take.

But if it's a risk
that you want to take,

Then you're living
your own life, so that's cool.

I say we try and work it.

I agree.

Narrator: with their
captain's dredge on the line,

The crew refuses to surrender.

Emily:
my crew quit mid-season.

My new crew, my guys now,
they went through

A lot of suffering and failure
on vernon's boat,

Didn't really believe
in themselves.

Rip that bering sea
a new [bleep]

Oh, yeah.
I'll violate it pretty good.

Doesn't matter if you're a chick
[chuckles] or a dude.

It's just a matter of how to be
the most strong, resilient,

Tenacious b*stard
you've ever been in your life.

All right. Here we go.

Torpedo!

100 ounces, baby.

Narrator:
while emily and the crew fight
through one last dive...

Eight miles west...

Shawn: the race is on.

Time to get your a*s kicked,
hank.

Narrator: ...the christine rose
and the au grabber

Are still going rounds...

We're in the gold, baby!
Whoo-hoo-hoo!

Narrator: ...competing for gold
and bragging rights

On the bering sea.

There ain't no doubt in my mind
I got hank beat.

He just doesn't have
the experience.

His advantage is time spent
on this water.

That's his advantage.

When you tell me,

"Oh, you really think you can
beat me, huh"

I mean, to me, that's,
like, that's pretty c*ck.

That [bleep] doesn't know
what the hell he's doing.

I ain't worried about him.
I've been watching him.

He's been digging
right next to us,

And he moves
a little bit of dirt here,

A little bit of dirt there.

But he ain't no competition.
That's for sure.

Jason: you got to get
more than an ounce an hour

To keep up
with the christine rose --

More than an ounce an hour.

We just got done with a cut.

We're gonna see how we're doing,
make sure we're in the gold.

Nice, coarse-looking gold.

I don't know
if he's on it like we are.

Jason:
yeah, I just got to keep an eye

On all the material
that runs through the box.

We don't waste any time.

Hank: we're trying to find
the mother lode

So we can win the competition.

Jason: test pan "a."

Yo, hank!

Keep digging!

Hank: oh, god,
that's full of gold.

Yeah,
we're on a good patch, man.

We are on a good patch.

Narrator: fueled by the promise
of victory,

Hank pulls up bucket
after bucket after bucket

Of gold-rich pay dirt.

It isn't everywhere,
but it's here.

[ Laughs ]

Yeah, baby!
[ Laughs ]

It makes me feel
like the competition,

You know,
I have a fighting chance.

[ Chuckles ]

Uh-oh, uh-oh!

Narrator:
on the au grabber...

Hank:
[ laughs ] yeah, baby!

[ Laughs ]

It makes me feel
like the competition,

You know,
I have a fighting chance.

[ Chuckles ]

Uh-oh, uh-oh!

We got a [bleep] hose broke.

Okay.
Well, we're [bleep] done.

Shut that off.
Damn it.

Narrator:
a broken hydraulic hose cripples

Captain hank schimschat's
backhoe.

Shawn:
oh, that don't look good.

Something's spraying
from hank's backhoe.

Looks like
hank broke something again.

He can get fiddle[bleep]
all he wants around out there.

We're in a competition.

I don't want to
just kick his a*s.

I want to bury him.

Narrator:
hank's loss is shawn's gain

Damn it, damn it, damn it.
She blew, okay.

This is where she blew.

It sounded
like shotgun when it went off.

Damn it.
I mean, we got to go in now.

Damn it!

Narrator:
with his excavator dead in the
water, hank has two problems.

He can't dredge...

There's no way
we're gonna get that spud up.

...and he can't lift
his 10,000-pound anchoring spud.

Hank: I just need to see if
shawn will come over and
pick my spud up for me.

That's what I really need to do.

Hey, shawn, it's hank over here
on the grabber. you copy?

Shawn: yeah, go ahead, hank.
I got you.

hey, shawn. Yeah, hey,
i blew a hose on the hull.

I'm gonna have to go back
to town,

But I don't have no fittings
to cap it off

to pull my spud.

Do you think you could take time
to do me a favor?

maybe you could come over,
pick my spud up for me?

Yeah, 10-4.

i can do that.

Yeah, 10-4, man. Thanks.
Appreciate that.

All right. Good luck.
Bye.

I didn't want to ask him.

Of course I didn't want to
ask him, but I did.

Competition's over for me.

I guess we could come back,
but like I said,

This front's gonna be here
in a couple, three hours.

Looks like the wind's
starting to -- you know,

We're starting to get
a little wind anyway.

So, it ain't rough by any means,
but I have no choice.

I got to shut her down.

Shawn: yeah.

Hank's --
if we don't go help him out,

He'll be stranded out here

And this big storm
will destroy his dredge.

Even though
we're against each other,

I ain't that big
of a d*uche bag.

I ain't gonna let him
lose his dredge.

Now I got to pick up
all my gear,

Shut down everything,
go pull hank's spud up,

And then come back and try
to get some more mining in.

I guess we're gonna go rescue
hank -- hank the [bleep] talker.

Talks a bunch of [bleep]
now he needs saving.

Shawn: [ chuckles ]

Hank: I surrender!

Thanks, man. Appreciate it.

Yeah. No problem.

Hey.
Who's the better operator now?

[Bleep] you are.

[ Laughs ]

Maybe try to go
all the way.

[ Chuckles ]

Good!

Okay, man.
See you guys. Thanks.

All right.

I was kind of surprised.

I asked him, "well, so who's
the better operator now?"

And he admitted I was,
so sweet victory.

I think this victory
is even gonna be sweeter

After I clean out the gold.

Narrator:
seven miles down the coast...

The wind is picking up.

Tonight, we're supposed to have


Narrator:
if kris and andy kelly have any
hope of saving their season,

They have to strike gold now.

So, we need to kit it hard

And then get
the [bleep] out of here.

Well, about [bleep] time!

[ Radio static ]

Well, I really perk up
when we start to make money.

I really do.
That's why I'm here.

We're definitely gonna make it
through together,

And we're gonna make
a lot of money doing it.

On a daily basis, we yell
and scream at each other,

But that's how we roll,
you know?

That's the way our
dysfunctional family functions.

[ Air tank hissing ]

Andy: kris, I'm kind of getting
pulled backwards here

[bleep] pull.

Narrator: on the reaper...

Kris:
what's the matter?

Andy:
the boat is pulling me!

Narrator: building swells
are moving the boat

And dragging the tethered diver
across the ocean floor.

do you think
you could turn the boat

back over the top of me

so I can finish
with that hole?

yeah, okay.
i'm gonna try.

I don't even know how to start
that piece of [bleep] engine.

that's fine.
there's nothing I can do.

Yeah, I know I suck.

oh, yeah. Thanks, man.

it's getting really rough
up here.

do you want to keep dredging?
i don't know.

if you can drive the
boat back over to me,
we're good to go.

well [bleep] man, just look
somewhere else and suck it up.

we need to get
five more ounces,

Or we're gonna be able
to get out of here

And go back to hawaii.

Yeah, but we really need
five more ounces

Before we can call it
a season.

[ Air tank hissing ]

ah.

hey, yeah, I can't even get
into the spot anymore, man.

It's getting too rough for him
down there.

it's sucks, man.
we need more gold!

We didn't get
any gold today.

We got barely even, like,
two hours on the bottom.

yeah, well, there's nothing
i can do about that, man.

we didn't even get enough gold
for the season.

it sucks.

[ Gulls cry ]

Narrator:
a season-ending ice storm

Is gathering strength.

Holy moly.

Look at this.

Yeah, she's blowing pretty
good -- pretty big waves.

Narrator:
captain hank schimschat watches
the building swells

From the safety of the shore,

But out on the grounds,

Captain shawn pomrenke
is still grinding it out.

Storm's gonna be big.

It's calling for high surf,


Yeah, it's time to go.

I'm putting gold
in the sluice box still,

And I don't want to leave.

I want to just keep putting more
in there.

But it's gonna get nasty
out here real quick,

And we got a long ride home.

Got a lot of gold in the box,

So we're gonna go ahead
and get pointed towards town,

Get the hell out of here.

yeah, mr. Gold
is requesting a drive --

motor fire up, please.

I want to get this gold
home safe.

Shawn:
it's not a little storm.

It's a big one coming in
right now.

[ Engine turns over ]

I'm glad we stuck it out
till we did.

We got a lot of gold in that
last couple hours of digging.

The could have been
the difference

Between winning or losing
this competition.

Narrator: with every miner
headed for shore,

The last ones on the grounds

Are glen lebaron
and zeke tenhoff.

hey, listen,
it got really rough quick, man.

how's the battle
going down there, zeke?

Zeke: hey,
it's looking really good.

i'm seeing really good color.

i'm having a real hard time
with staying warm enough.

okay. I got the hot water
coming to you again.

For eight hours,
zeke tenhoff has been diving

In 39-degree water
because he's on the gold.

i don't know if it's like
an ounce a hour, but I mean,

we're definitely
making money out here.

it's definitely worth it
to be out here,

even if it's this late
in the season.

[ Air tank hissing ]

sweet baby, look at that.
oh!

oh, my god.

[ chuckles ]

[ chuckles ]

dude, that is
what I wanted to hear.

that's the moment
i've been waiting for.

[ chuckles ]

like a weight off my chest.

dude,
it's a whole bunch of it.

it's all sparkly and shiny.

[ chuckles ] nice.

it looks like money.

yeah, I'm really glad
you're down there, dude.

i know you live for this
just like I do.

well, I can't really imagine
myself doing anything else.

believe it or not,

i still think I'm gonna get
filthy rich doing this.

[ chuckles ]

Glen: for the first time
in a long time,

Zeke seems
really excited about mining,

And it just really feels good
to be a part of that.

It's nice to see zeke
come out of the darkness

And into the light.

hey, you want to turn up
my hot water a little?

i'm just a little cold.

okay. Yeah. Give it a minute.
it should heat up.

i'm having a real hard time
with staying warm enough.

yeah, it's starting
to whitecap up here.

it's picking up.

there's a real cold
southern wind coming in.

all right. I'm coming up.

this has been a good day.

i was definitely in the gold
for most of my dive.

Narrator:
with the storm hitting,

Zeke and glen have precious
little time to get to shore.

i'm glad I turned it around

and got back in the water,
glen.

this is it for summer 2013.

Glen: yeah, the wind
is blowing incredibly hard.

Everything's a cluster[bleep]
right now.

Lines are tangled, we're gonna
have to float the dredge up,

And we've got a serious fight
ahead of us.

okay. Are you coming up
right now?

i'm trying to, man.

i'm having trouble
climbing this thing.

okay.

i'm right up. I'm under
the surface right now.

all right. I saw your line.

damn it.
[ grunts ]

[ grunts ]

[Bleep]

Glen: all right.
I got to come through this way.

I know what I'm doing.
I know what I'm doing.

Narrator:
glen deploys airbags

To float his submersible dredge
to the surface.

No, no, no, no.
You can't yet.

As soon as it floats up,
I need you to go out there

With a bundle of rope --
wrap it around.

The dragon and the gold

Are being dragged off
by the surging currents.

Okay, I got way too cold
when I was down there.

Now I'm up here,
and it's really [bleep] cold.

We got to do some crazy [bleep]
here to get the dredge.

Narrator: fighting hypothermia
and building swells,

Zeke jumps back
into the near-freezing water

To save the gold.

Glen: this is crazy.

Zeke: glen,
this is as long as it goes!

Oh [bleep]

Narrator: on the miss nomer...

Zeke: glen,
this as long as it goes!

Glen: oh [bleep]

Narrator: the surging currents
have pushed the dredge

Beyond the reach
of the winch line.

Glen: um...

[ grunts ]

hold on. Hold on.

Zeke lunges forward,
closing the gap.

i think you might get it.
dude, you're the man.

i almost got it.

you got it!
whoo!

all right, man,
get back here.

[ Air tank hissing ]

You're starting to what?

Spin?
Zeke: I'm cold.

Okay. Just chill. Just chill
there, dude. I got it.

Whoa.

That was a really cold situation
just now.

I'm getting mush-brain
kind of -- a cold situation.

Yeah, I mean,
that was [bleep] hairy.

I was really worried
for a little bit.

I usually don't get
too worried.

I wanted you on the surface,

And I really didn't give
a [bleep] about the dragon

Until you got up here.

Okay.

All right.

I'm just about ready
to start winching that in.

Zeke:
I'm -- I'm exhibiting, uh, uh,

Symptoms of hypothermia
in my brain.

I'm getting highly confused, and
I think everything is hilarious.

Hypothermia's like a little
reward before you [bleep] die.

[ Chuckles ]

Glen: [ grunts ] nice.

Narrator: with the dragon
and the gold finally onboard,

It's time to go home.

[ Engine turns over ]

You know, what the last run
of the season turned into

Is a serious little dose
of adventure,

Which actually is like
the best part of gold dredging,

Really,
is the adventure part of it.

And, like, I mean,
it makes you feel alive as hell.

Glen:
in so many ways,

I can tell that zeke's doing
a lot better right now.

Zeke went through lot,
and he's coming around again.

And it feels
really good to be there

And see that transition and see,
you know, the brighter side.

Dude, it's so [bleep] awesome
working with you again, man.

All right, man. Yeah. Yeah,
we overcame some peril there.

That was [bleep] hairy there
for a second.

I thought my brain was gonna
shut off from hypothermia.

Yeah,
that was badass, dude.

I don't know
of anyone else in nome

Who would have dealt with that
as well as you did.

I can't wait until
this stupid ocean is frozen!

Yeah, it's a brutal end
to a brutal season.

Adios, 2013.

Narrator: the next morning,

The first winter storm
has come and gone,

Leaving ice in the harbor...

Vernon: not good.

...and freezing temperatures.

[Bleep] cold.
[ Exhales sharply ]

Dredging is over.

Now some captains are looking
to secure their future...

The gold in the sluice box
is the determining factor

Between success and failure.

Any money that I'll make
from this

Will go right back
into paying the dredge off.

Narrator: ...while others
are ready to settle a bet.

Hank:
got some pretty good gold.

There's definitely some gold
nuggets here --

Nice, little nuggets.

I think we kicked his a*s.
[ Chuckles ]

It's hard being this good, but
it come natural for mr. Gold.

Narrator: after successfully
making it back on the gold,

Zeke is ready for a payday.

I'm just headed over
to meet glen at kenny's,

Where we're gonna sell
some of that gold that we got.

Hopefully, it'll be
about an ounce in my pocket.

That's what I'm hoping for.

Oh, hey, guys.

Kenny, how's it going?
How are you?

Good. You?
Long time no see.

Glen:
yeah, it's been a while.

What's going on?

Well, we got a little bit
of gold here.

I see.
Well, sounds good.



Looks like gold to me.
Yeah.

Narrator: five ounces of gold
is worth $6,500.

Hot off the press.

Zeke: I want one of these
machines that prints checks.

[ Chuckles ]

Narrator: this payout will bring
glen's total to 17 ounces

And give zeke his first taste
of gold for the season.

You often hear people say that
everything happens for a reason.

Glen probably saved my life,

At least saved the trajectory
of my life.

I think that glen and I
are gonna be working together

For years.

I can't see any reason
why we wouldn't.

Narrator:
over at belmont beach...

Andy: yeah, this was
a stressful season.

When I first came here,
I had a full head of hair.

Narrator:
the kellys cook up their first
bounty from the reaper.

There you go.

That's good.
Just weigh it up.

Yeah, it's over two ounces.
Right on.

Narrator: two ounces of gold
is worth 2,600 bucks.

Over two ounces,
so that's over two grand

For four hours of work,
you know?

Get back out there.
What the hell?

Let's go.

[ Chuckles ]

Narrator: the reward for finally
striking out on their own --

A glimmer of hope
for the future.

For the short, little time
that we worked on the reaper,

We did really good.

It's definitely
that adrenaline high, a rush.

So, we're gonna come back
this winter with a [bleep] plan,

Work as a family,
and make some money.

Narrator: across the harbor,
on the christine rose.

Shawn: well,
we got the box cleaned out.

Get the last couple carpets
out of here, rinse it,

Head out to the cleanup shack,

See how we did
on this competition.

Narrator:
the dig-off between

The christine rose
and the au grabber is over.

Now it's time to see who won.

I think hank
might have did all right,

But I'm pretty sure
we kicked his a*s, hands down.

Oh, yeah.
Well, you got to figure that.

Well, hank's gonna learn
that it takes time

To really figure it out
out there.

Narrator:
back at the pomrenke compound...

Yeah! Buckets of gold,
buckets of gold.

Narrator:
...to keep it honest,

Shawn and his father
will clean their gold...

[ Grunts ] we got a lot of gold
in there, buddy.

...and stand witness
as hank and deckhand jason higa

Process theirs.

Hank: hey, guys!

Shawn:
how's it going, hank?

Are we ready
to get this cleanup going?

Let's get her going.

I'm ready.
We got some gold here.

Here comes the noise.

[ Machine whirring ]

Narrator:
first up, the rookie.

Hank: I have nothing to prove
to the christine rose,

But I am competitive

And I think that I can do
probably just as good

In getting the gold
that they can get.

Uh-oh.
Looks pretty damn good, hank.

It's looks like hank
did pretty damn good.

He might have found
that lucky hole.

It's gonna be close.

Hank's all done.

Now it's time
to run our material.

It's close, man.

Last scoop right there.

Let's see who won
this [bleep] competition.

Fire it up!

Narrator: they cook the gold
to eliminate the water weight.

Magnetite maybe?

Fire it up!

Here.

Narrator:
now it's time to separate
the men from the boys.

First up, the reigning champs --
the pomrenkes.


[ Laughter ]

That's pretty damn good.

Hank: pretty impressive.

Narrator: 78.45 ounces
is a $102,000 score.

I think I'm gonna
kick his a*s!

Narrator: at the pomrenke
cleanout shack...


[ Laughter ]

That's pretty damn good.

Hank: pretty impressive.

Narrator: to win
the battle of the big rigs,

Hank needs to beat
shawn's 78.45 ounces.

Yeah, I found some good gold, I
stayed with it, I stayed on it.

It's close, man.

Narrator: the rookie's biggest
cleanout so far -- 48.8 ounces.

Jason: 89.10.

Hank: I think I won!

Shawn: son of a b*tch.

[ Chuckles ]
[bleep]

Narrator: hank's 89 ounces
nets him $116,000...

Shawn...
You did it, you son of a b*tch.

...you know, I -- I tried.

Narrator: ...and brings
hank's season total to $222,000.

You found the lucky hole.

I did.

Honey hole.
Beginner's luck.

You know, I don't like
to rub it in too much,

But I was definitely satisfied
because he was a little c*ck.

Now I believe
that you only got 77.45

'Cause you owe me
an ounce of gold out of that.

Ah! Got to rub it in!

I'd like you to weigh that out.

He won.
Give kudos to him.

He's got -- I mean, he did good,

But is he gonna beat me for
the end-of-the-season count?

Hell no.

Hank: [ chuckles ]
we beat the best.

That was our worst cleanup.
Every [bleep] dog has its day.

I ain't gonna let it happen
again, though.

Steve.
Next year.

Next year.

Hank:
I beat the christine rose

In a competition
my first year of mining,

And they told me
I couldn't do it.

[ Laughs ]

You got it, buddy.

We got beat this week, but we
didn't get beat for the season.

Narrator:
while hank savors his victory...

Hank: I didn't think I was gonna
beat them, but you know what?

Well, we beat them
fair and square.

...another captain
is drowning in defeat.

Vernon: I'm beat down
to the point where I'm numb.

I've spent, once again,
a ton of money

And made very damn little.

Narrator: after his first year
of mining...

Vernon: I've got six rigs,
and it's a lot.

Narrator:
...captain vernon adkison
expanded into a fleet.

Hey!
I need some cooperation here!

Emily: we're getting ready
to move! Chill!

Narrator:
it ruined him financially.

Well, I mean,
don't take it personally.

Vernon:
I'm taking it personally.

And the pressure
made him hard to work for.

The operation
that we put together,

I was expecting you guys to
stick with me through the end.

Vernon:
the last three years,

I've most likely spent
close to $1 million,

Give or take $100,000
or $200,000.

You know, there comes a time

When you just got to
cut your losses.

This thing right here,
it's done.

Narrator:
over on west beach...

So far,
nothing looking promising.

I feel like I'm on the same
level as a [bleep] tourist,

Coming down here and play
on the [bleep] beach

To make a few dollars.

Narrator: scott meisterheim is
mining for a plane ticket home.

Scott: I'm getting
a little desperate actually.

Can't say getting no gold
this season

Would be a failure
unlike any other season

Because the seasons haven't
really panned out for me.

You know money I've spent
and haven't [bleep] made?

Narrator:
over the past three years...

Get the [bleep] out!

Get the [bleep] out!

...scott has failed as captain
of the wild ranger...

...as the owner of
the anchor management...

Let the fun begin.

...and as a deckhand
on the au grabber.

You're not being a team player.
Bull[bleep]

Scott: but now I'm feeling
like I'm at the bottom

Of a really tall ladder

And the bottom 10 steps
are broken.

So, now I got to figure out how
to fix them so I can climb up,

Climb out of this [bleep] hole
I'm in.

It's pathetic.

[ Sighs ]

Narrator:
for nome's angriest dredger,
life is a beach.

Scott: someday, I got to learn
how to okay well with others.

Narrator: in steve's world...

Hey, hey, hey.
Been looking for this thing.

Narrator: with his dredge repoed
and his crew long gone,

Steve riedel is packing it in.

Steve: got a couple bags
of trash to take to the dump.

I accomplished many of my goals
this summer.

I became a better captain...

Come on! You want to
[bleep] me up? Come on.

Steve, calm down.

Yeah, let's do it.
Jump on my boat and hit me!

...i operated a crew, and I also
got out on the ocean...

This is too much weather
for this little, tiny boat.

We're going down.

Turn it! Turn it!

...a dredge owner.

So, I did
quite a number of things,

But there's one --
the most important one --

That I did not accomplish.

And that is getting
a lot of gold.

I didn't do
the "getting the gold" part.

That's a big missing part
of my summer.

There's no shame in that.

There's no shame
in being a beginner.

Shame is being lazy.

Shame is being a fool and not
learning from your experiences,

And I hope
I've been none of that.

Narrator:
over at the dock...

Emily:
looking pretty damn decent
down here, I'm not gonna lie.

The season has been a lot kinder
to steve's daughter emily.

Emily: I'm gonna go ahead
and clean out the sluice box,

And this is the final cleanup.

We need to be at 100 ounces
for this last cleanup.

Otherwise, I'm gonna feel
like a massive [bleep] failure.

Narrator: if she can't make her
final payment to zeke tenhoff,

The first-time captain
will lose her dredge.

I'm gonna be a [bleep]
boat owner and a captain,

And this is who I am now.

And I think
I will do myself a favor

By keeping zeke tenhoff
out of my life forever.

Color, color, color.
That looks real nice.

Narrator: at the cleanup shack,
the crew gets to panning.

If we hit 100 ounces, I'll be
incredibly proud of my team.

Cook her up.

Emily: cook her up.

Finally, we're cooking
the final product down

To see what our season
was made of.

Narrator:
to own her dredge free and
clear, emily needs 30 ounces.

Final cleanup.

I'm so nervous.

I kind of
want to throw up.

Come on, 30 ounces.

Oh [bleep]

Oh, no! [ Laughs ]

[ Laughs ]

Narrator:
at the eroica cleanup shack...

Emily:
it's like a golden omelet here.

I'm so nervous.

Final cleanup.

Narrator: captain emily riedel
needs 30 ounces of gold

To pay off her dredge.

I kind of want to throw up.

Come on, 30 ounces.

Oh [bleep]

Oh, no! [ Laughs ]



That's our best yet.

It puts us over 100,
I know that.

At 24, 6 -- 109.

Narrator:
for the rookie skipper,

The season total
is a $142,000 triumph.

Whoo!

I've more success
with gold mining this season

Than all of the years
I've been up here put together.

People up here have seen me
as like a silly, little girl

Trying to do this mining thing

With no skills,
no abilities whatsoever,

And I proved them wrong.
[ Chuckles ]

I think I proved a lot of people
wrong this season.




At least.

That's not
an unfeasible goal.



Whoo!

Narrator: back at the pomrenke
cleanout shack...

Another round of gold
is being processed.

Whoo! Look at that pan!
Hell yeah!

Leftover porous gold,

We save all this
till the end of the year.

Looks like it's a good time
to clean it up.

Those don't look too bad.

Looks good.
Let's finish it off here.

Leftover finds here.

Narrator:
pomrenke scraps are better
than most miners' weekly haul.

Shawn: I mean, hank's been
talking [bleep] all summer long,

But the competition
that really matters

Is the gold count
at the end of the season.

Here we go.

Ooh, I was shy.

Shawn: 68.

Narrator: this little bonus
runs up their season total

To 850 ounces...

That ain't so bad.

...worth $1,100,000.

Didn't hit our 1,000-ounce mark,
damn it, but we were close.

Narrator: in her first season
as a captain,

Emily riedel made it
into the big leagues.

Hank schimschat proved
he's serious competition,

And shawn pomrenke
has his biggest summer yet.

Dad wants to talk,
so I'm gonna go chat with dad

And see what he's got to say.

Narrator: for the pomrenkes,
it's been a season of strife.

Shawn, he ain't gonna be
taking no company over.

I'm beginning not to believe
a word he says anymore.

Mom is talking [bleep]

Don't finish a thing,
and I don't do [bleep]

I'm tired of people
talking [bleep] about me

To other people!

Because you give us
so much ammunition!

Sell my half
of this [bleep] company,

And you can do it
by yourself!

Steve p.:
Pretty good season this year.

Damn near hit our goal.

Damn near but not quite.

It's all kind of pretty crazy,
you know.

I'm going through
these monthly bills, you know,

And they're tremendous.

Every damn month, you know?

So, our guys got to stay
on top of your ball game here

To keep up with this figure
here, you know?

But I though you deserved

A little pat on the back there,
son.

It's always nice
to be appreciated.

You're performing better,

So that's why
you're being appreciated.

Wasn't too bad of a season.

It's been a good year,
and you're buckling down.

That's a great thing to see,
shawn, I mean...

Keep up the good work.

Thank you.

And I love you.

Love you too, dad.

And I'm proud of you.

Thanks.

[ Slow acoustic guitar music
plays ]

♪ Today I'm crazy ♪

♪ I have been for so long ♪

♪ One day,
I'm gonna figure this out ♪

♪ But for now ♪

Emily: I paid off my boat
legitimately and fairly

And with my own gold.

♪ Can't you see the dark cloud,
baby? ♪

♪ But soon it will be gone ♪

Farewell, 2013. It's over.

Another great season
in the books.

We're gonna pull this b*tch out.

Good luck, boys.
Yeah.

Shawn: as long as we're
not working for steve riedel,

Everything's
gonna be good.

♪ I've not been sleepin' ♪

♪ And I've not been wakin' up ♪

♪ It might be night or day ♪

That's a wrap.

♪ I've had enough ♪

All right. Hold on.

♪ And I'm looking
kind of rough ♪

♪ Ohh ♪

♪ You'll next return ♪

♪ Where we won't feel
this burn ♪

♪ I hope we finally learn ♪

♪ That we're just crazy ♪

Emily: in the end, it's,

"Are you tough enough to live
in this world up here?

"Are you tough enough to live
and sustain this environment?

"Are you the kind of person

"Who cannot be defeated
by failure

"Or the sheer loneliness
that comes over you?

"Are you the kind of person
who can bypass all of that

And still hunt endlessly
for gold?"

♪ Crazy ♪

♪ Crazy ♪