22x09 - Nine Souls on Board

[bunniefuu]

[wind howls]

[Keith speaks]

[Keith sighs]

[man speaks through radio]

Arctic Sea.

The biggest boat in the fleet.

[Keith speaks]

At some point, Bering Sea is
going to win.

[man speaks through radio]

[Sig] It's a mayday.

[Johnathan] It's not good.

[Jake]
There's nine people on board.

See if the Coast Guard can even
get to these guys.

[coast guard speaks]

The weather's gonna be
total [bleep]

[Keith speaks]

...this is a death trap.

-[man #1] Oh, we're adrift!
-[man #2] Roger.

[man speaks through radio]

What the [bleep]?

[coast guard] Careful.
Hold on, hold on.

[coast guard] Hold on!

[coast guard groans]

Let's just hope everybody
comes home safe.

[narrator] January.

Dutch Harbor, Alaska.

[Rick] Kind of alarming.

I've been fishing for 32 years.

And I've never pulled up
to this pot dock with it iced

in like this.

I mean, that's how cold
and how miserable

this winter is gonna be.

[reporter #1] National Weather
Service is out of Alaska.

These are three
of the ten coldest days

in the last decade.


of the winter season.

[reporter #2] Fishing boats are
frozen at the dock,

and at least three people
are still unaccounted for.

The 44-boat Bering Sea Fleet
braces for what the National

Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration forecasts to be

six weeks of freezing
temperatures, ten degrees below

the historic mean.

All the crab being way up
to the far north to

the Russian border.

This year, I think the fleet's
gonna play the ice game.

And with Fish and Game's annual
survey pointing to a mass

exodus of bairdi and opilio
to higher latitudes.

They're already chipping
ice up there on the bow.

And that's what capsizes boats
out here.

Captains touch down,

readying their crews
to steam headlong

into the farthest reaches
of the northern grounds.

We're gonna look
for the opilio up

by the Russian border.

But, uh, it's not just pointing
at a map and saying

that's what you're gonna do,
you've gotta get there.

[groans]

To snatch their portion of
the newly minted

$68 million bounty from
the jaws of the Arctic depths.

[Johnathan]
Way north is gonna have

very cold temperatures
and freezing spray.

Lost a lot of boats from ice.

So, Godspeed.

[Jake] Winter's here, man.

You can feel it in your bones.

I got a quarter million pounds
of opies.

That's worth about
$1.25 million.

Cornelia Marie was built
for opies.

She's got a nice skirt
on the bow, so you can smash in

at six, seven knots.

After taking the helm of
the storied Cornelia Marie

this past fall, made famous by
legendary skipper Phil Harris.

Everybody wants the big time.

They just don't wanna
work for it.

Captain Jake Anderson readies
the 128-foot crabber for

a three-day journey
to Navarin Canyon,

the second largest
in the world,

near the western edge
of the fabled Russian line.

[Jake] Albino.

This is where we're going
all the way here.

[Albinio chuckles softly]

Oh, [bleep].

How far off
the Russian line are we?

-[Jake] Right on that [bleep].
-[bleep] at 'em.

[Jake chuckles]

Close enough to be
submarines beneath us.

We're going 550 miles up
southwest down the line.

[Albinio]
Well, we're all fueled up.

-How many pots?
-Got 109 crab pots on board.

[Jake] You don't think we can
carry more?

Uh-uh.

[pole clanks]

[Jake] Yeah.

All right, break
those chains, boys.

Yeah.

All right.

[Albinio] That's pushing it.

[Jake] This boat's a beast.

Phil designed it that way.

All right, well,
I'm trusting you.

[Jake] With your life.

[Jake chuckles]

Yeah.

Across the docks.

[Keith] Hey, hold it right there
for a second.

Stop!

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

We're not going more
than three high, OK?

-No?
-No.

-[Gary] OK.
-How much shrink wrap you got?

Plenty.

[Keith] All right, get ready to
start wrapping the boat.

-OK.
-Take it off.

-Roger.
-Get it off.

Coming down.

On the Wizard.

This year on the survey,
it showed that there were crab

further north,
but nobody's counting the opies

over there in like five years.

So...

we're starting west
of the island,

and we will probably be
by ourselves.

Turning his back on
the Fish and Game survey,

and unlike Jake, departing with
fewer pots due to fear of

building ice, Captain
Keith Colburn bets $7,000

in fuel on territory


the traditional grounds.

We've got about combined


So it's race for the crab,
every man for himself.

Across the harbor.

[Sig] What time was
this plane supposed to land?

[deckhand speaks]

I thought it was supposed to be
around now.

On the Northwestern.

[Sig] This season is a little
bigger for us right now

because Mandy did manage
to rally some quota.

Problem is, she wanted
to stay home with the kids,

and I understand that.

So she got a replacement,
but I don't know this person.

On the hook for an additional


opilio crab quota, totaling
a staggering $1 million.

I'm a little paranoid
because we're a very

tight-knit family here.

Captain Sig Hansen gets

an unexpected addition
to his crew.

I have never done opies before,
and getting to learn opies

from Sig is the master
class of crab fishing.

I get to work with one of
the best of the best.

Hailing from Kodiak...

Hell yeah, some crabs!
Whoo!

...and daughter to the late
captain, Gary Nielsen,

Sophia, or Bob,
enters her eighth year

in the school of hard knocks.

Oh, [bleep].

-[[deckhand] Go!
-[Sig] Whoo!

With tenures on the Saga...

I'm incredibly nervous,
and I'm scared.

...the Seabrooke...

Fake it till you make it.

That's what Greg taught me.

[deckhand] Yeah, that's
what we're looking for.

...and the Aleutian Lady.

[Rick] Nice work, Bob.

[exhales heavily]

[deckhand] Whoo!

Now, Bob readies herself
for her first winter

on the Bering Sea.

I think he'll push me, put me
in situations that I probably

feel uncomfortable,
and that's gonna be good.

[Sig] OK.

[Bob] Hi, Sig.

I'm Bob.
Nice to meet you.

-Sorry, I'm very nervous.
-Are you?

-I am.
-Can you tell me why?

[Bob] I know that you've been
doing it a long time.

You've been in the game
for a long time.

-Not at all.
-Huh?

[Bob] You don't look
a day over a hundred.

[Sig] So I do need extra help.

And I'm hoping you can bring
that to the table.

It is winter.

It gets real

fast.

I don't know what to fear
more, you or the ice.

-[Sig] Fear the ice.
-OK.

Yeah.

You got any questions?
Just say something.

All right.
Thank you so much.

-OK.
-I appreciate it.

[Sig]
I do trust Mandy's judgment.

But I mean, she's gonna have
to prove herself, bottom line.

[deckhand #1] Go!
Draw the line!

[Johnathan] Up north by Russia.

-I don't wanna go up there.
-[deckhand #2] Hop on.

One of the coldest winters
in years.

[deckhand #1] Move it, boys!

So I'm gonna start south
of the fleet.

-[deckhand #2] Ready to go.
-Yep?

OK, we're going fishing.

-Let's go.
-[deckhand #1] Let's go!

[crew chants]

[Johnathan]
Getting ready for the ice.

[deckhand #3] Oh, yeah.

All right, guys, we can go
ahead and throw lines here.

[deckhand #1] All right!

-Whoo!
-[Keith] We're going west.

We're gonna have two
or three inches of ice

on this gear.
I'm just gonna slow way down.

Just trying to keep this boat
from making any more ice.

[deckhand #1]
Hurry, hurry, hurry!

Fellas ready?

[deckhand #2] Yeah!
Whoo!

[Jake speaks]

You have to do things you have
to do in order to make money

and go home.

The crab pots are b*ll*ts.

In a firefight, you don't ask
for less ammunition,

you ask for more ammunition.
-[deckhand #1] Go, go, go!

Go!

[deckhand #2]
Whenever you're ready.

My bunk is in the forepeak.
I'm living in the pantry, yeah.

Livin' la vida loca right now.

Well, we're heading out
for opie trip.

I'm gonna head up north
to the Russian line.

That's my plan anyway.

It's already very cold,
twenty-five-plus foot seas.

There's some big
weather ahead of us.

Hopefully we can get through
this without any issues.

[deckhand #1]
We're out of here.

[deckhand #2]
Let's go, let's go.

[deckhand #3]
Fish boat, baby, fish boat.

[deckhand #4] Let's go!

-[Jake] Let's go fishing, baby.
-[deckhand #1] Whoo!


of Dutch Harbor.

Over the 62-mile-wide submarine
trench, Navarin Canyon.

[deckhand #1] Going over.

[deckhand #2] Whoo!

Aboard the Cornelia Marie.

So I got these pots,


the border, 10 miles
from the Russian line.

[deckhand #1] Over!

[Jake] Been a long wait.

Bold strategy,
taking out 20 more pots

than the team had planned for.
But...

I know they can handle it.

-[deckhand #2] Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!
-[deckhand #3] Yeah, baby!

[Jake] Look at that.

Right on the other side of
the line, it's got the contours

that are just perfect
for fishing.

[deckhand #1] Going over.

[Jake] Deeper...

in that colder water.

I'm more curious than anything.

Hey, Albinio.

Yeah?

We got enough to add
two shots per pot?

[Albinio] We can make it happen.

[Jake]
I think I can use the tide
to throw the pots over the line.

I wanna see what happens.

[Albinio]
Time to do some work, right?

Banking the tide will keep
his buoys in U.S.

fishing waters, Jake spies
an opportunity to set 20

well-placed pots over the line

onto the Russian
seafloor below.

[Jake]
We'll go towards the line,

and then we'll turn,
spit out the pot.

The pot and the buoys will go
drift over here,

and then the pot
will still be over there,

but the buoys will
be on our side.

Well, technically,
we'll be 100% legal.

I'm gonna turn around here,
and then I'll get to the line.

You guys dump the pot.

[deckhand #1 & man #2] Roger.

[Jake speaks]

[deckhand #1] Roger.

[Jake] Oh, there's the line.

I'm gonna make a huge,
hard, starboard turn.

-[deckhand #1] Roger.
-[deckhand #2] Yeah, baby!

All right, here we go.

[Albinio] Going over.

[crew yells and cheers]

[deckhand #3] Let's go to w*r.

All right, see you later.
Bombs away.

Whoa.

Hang on, here comes the big one.
It's gonna roll.

[deckhand #1] Roger that.

Oh, whoa!

[Jake] Watch around.

Ooh, [bleep].

Oh, [bleep].

That wanted
a piece of meat right there.

OK, go ahead.

[deckhand #1] Over.

[deckhand #2 speaks]

[deckhand #1] Oh, yeah!

Sent from America with love.


up the Russian line.

Are all these boats across
the line over there?

Kapitan Kon -- Kolesnikov.
"Kolesenikov."

-Kolens --
-Kolesnikov, yeah.

Kapita -- it's Kapitan.

-Is it Kapitan?
-Kapitan with a K.

-It's Captain with a K.
-Kapitan.

-Kapitan Kolesnikov.
-Oh, you're right, Kapitan.

Aboard the Northwestern.

[Sig] These guys are...

I mean, there's a bunch of them
out there.

They got this place slammed,

but I don't know
what they're setting on.

I mean, I don't trust
these charts.

I wanna know exactly how deep
those guys are.

Is it even accurate
on their side?

[Sig] You know, we can go look.

[Bob] I hope you know
what you're doing.

Looking to glean fishing
depths from the Russian fleet,

Captain Sig Hansen and skipper
in training Bob Nielsen

approach the outer edge
of the U.S.

exclusive economic zone,
a maritime boundary where

American fishermen can legally
set their pots.

You're not supposed to fish
over there.

Doesn't mean we can't go
over there.

Steaming into Russia's domain,
where counterparts may enforce

their own version of crime
and punishment upon captains

who don't keep
their gear stowed.

-Karl, is that pot in the rack?
-[Karl] Yeah.

[Sig] I just put the shots
back in it, secure it.

We're gonna go over the line
to Russia.

[Karl] Roger.

[Sig speaks]

Crossing the line right now.

Here's the first boat
right up ahead of us.

Just go west of him
a little bit.

[Bob] What's the depth?
What are you reading?

It was 80.
Ha!

Now, here's another one
right in front of us.

We're just gonna weave
through 'em.

Oh, there's a pot.
It's 80 fathoms.

See this bogie over here at
your nine o'clock?

He's big.
He's over 300 feet.

That's like a military
boat or something.

Where's he going?

-[Sig] He's coming right at me.
-He's headed for us right now?

[Sig] Yes.

We gotta get her
turned around right now.

[Bob] Better floor it!

I'm going to the wood.
Nine.

That's ten.

That's all I got,
eleven knots, Bob.

He's still coming.

This guy is really coming on.

On the Northwestern,

in the Russian exclusive
economic zone.

He's still coming,
he's a half a mile behind me.

Looks like he's gaining on us.

That's it.
That's all I got.

How much farther
till we're back?

[Sig] I got one mile.

He's hungry, man.
The guy is still coming.

I think he just wants
to know who I am.

I got my AIS off.

OK, I'm at the border here.

He just turned.
He just slowed down.

Oh, my God.

[Bob] Promise me
we'll never do that again.

I promise.
But it was worth it.

I mean, I was right.

Every one of those
Russian boats had pots.

That's like 80 fathoms
and less, so we can own that,

and I bet you
there's crab there.

All right, guys,
we're on the other side.

[Sig speaks]

Oh!

Let her go!

[crew yelling in distance]

[crew cheers]

Well, hopefully our trip
to Russia pays off.

[man speaks through radio]

It's a mayday.

[Jake] What the [bleep]?

Arctic Sea.
There's nine people on board.

[man speaks through radio]

That's the biggest boat
in the fleet.

It looks like they're somewhere

on the north side
of St. George.

[Keith] That boat's
in serious trouble right now.

Let's say a little prayer
for the boys on the boat.

Let's say a prayer for
those boys in the helicopter.

Just days after
the fleet launch.

[coast guard speaks]

The United States Coast Guard

responds to winter's
first mayday.

[coast guard speaks]

Activating the search
and rescue crew of a land-based

MH 60 Jayhawk for the flight
to the 134-foot Arctic Sea

just north of St. George
Island's rocky shoreline.

I just can't believe
what I'm hearing right now.

I'm picturing nine guys

up against the side
of the wheelhouse,

staring at a wall of rocks,
taking on water.

You know what?
[exhales]

We haven't set the gear yet.

[Keith speaks]

Clock is ticking
big time right now.



[Jake] You don't wanna be out
here without steering.

This is screwed up bad.
And they're in a bad spot.

Along the Russian line.

[Jake] Too far west.

Too far west and too far north.

I couldn't even get
to these guys.

Aboard the Cornelia Marie.

Just waiting for the tide
to switch, guys.

[Jake and deckhand speak]

After using the current
to carry 20 pots

onto Russian grounds,
Jake prepares for the tide

to turn and push his buoys
back into American waters.

[Albinio speaks]

It is, isn't it?

You can see the bags just
sh**ting across the bow

right there.

It's over the line.

Starboard side.
I can pick it up.

All right, it's go time.

[Albinio] Whoo-hoo!

Spent a lot of fuel
getting this far up.

Better hope it pays off.

Here we go.

[deckhand #1] Pots coming up.

On the Russian line.

Better hope it pays off.

[deckhand #1] Pots coming up.

[indistinct] [bleep]

Finally.
[bleep] yeah, that's

what we need.

Holy, [bleep]

[Albinio speaks]

[Jake] Yeah.

Thank you, Mother Russia.

If this stays consistent,
then we can get

something done here.



There's a lot of activity up
to the north here, so we did

kinda sneak across the line
to take a peek.

We got our information,
but we used that to kind of set

our gear in the same depth,
similar area on this side.

That was not
on my 2026 bingo card.

[Sig] Yeah.

OK, string goes
north and south.

-Is that a one bagger?
-Yeah, it looks like it.

There's a one bagger.

[Clark] OK, Roger.

Sometimes they chafe off at
the knot, you know,

right on the end of the bag.

[Bob] Most of the trailer line
is still there.

[deckhand groans]

Was it frayed?
Did somebody run it over?

It looks that way.

[Sig]
Somebody went through here.

All right, first pot
coming up.

I'll see if the Russian line
pays off.

-[deckhand #1] Whoo!
-[bleep], oh, yeah.

-There it is.
-Hell, yeah.

[deckhand #1] Yeah, baby!

-We're in 'em.
-[deckhand #2] Nice
and clean opies.

-One-nine-one!
-[Bob] Damn, that's pretty good.

Is that one just a diver, too?

Where's the trailer bag?

OK, it's a one-bagger.
That's two of them.

Somebody's [bleep] with us.

[Bob] You think they crossed
over here [bleep] with our gear?

[Sig] Doesn't make sense to me.

-[deckhand #1] Whoo.
-[deckhand #2] Yeah!

Looking good.

[crew cheers]

-[deckhand #1] Two-oh-eight.
-[Sig] Two-oh-eight.

It's getting better
kind of the closer

we go over there, huh?
-That way.

Close to the Russian
border here.

-[deckhand #1] Whoo!
-[deckhand #2] Yeah!

[crew cheers]

It's pretty obvious to me
that the trend is to the north.

[crew continues cheering]

[Sig] 245.

Need to get some gear
in there, man.

Gotta head them off at
the pass, so to speak.

I just wish I had more gear,
you know, because the amount

I brought up isn't
gonna cover it.



on the southern opilio grounds.

[deckhand #1] Coming over.

Let's get a count.

Bairdi.
Nope.

Sixteen are not good enough.

So I'm stacking.

-Womp, womp, womp.
-[phone rings]

Aboard the Time Bandit.

[phone continues ringing]

Hey, Sig.

[Sig speaks]

It's not good, man.

Hopefully they can
get 'em all off.

[Sig] Yeah.
Well...

[Johnathan] I'm just stopped.

Just gotta dial in
on the bigger crab

and pull out deeper, I think.

How you doing, buddy?

[Sig] No, we found life.

But it's obvious to me
they're just marching north.

They're heading right
for the line.

What are you thinking?

So, uh, I don't know.

I mean, if you've got gear
that needs a little help,

I would bring it this way.

I feel like I'm all alone.
I'm outnumbered.

[Bob] Come on, John.
It'll be fun.

America!

I'm gonna defend America.

[Johnathan & Sig laugh]

All right, Mr. Norway.

Mr. Norwegian.

Twice the gear,
twice the crab.

And all those American crabs
stay in American boats

on the American side.

Count me in.

Count me in for 100 pots,
and I'm heading your way.

All right, pal.

[Johnathan through phone]
OK, [indistinct]

He's Putin 'em on the boat.
Get it?

-Putin?
-Oh.

On the northern side
of St. George Island.

[coast guard speaks]

[Johnathan] It's not good, man.

Say a prayer for these guys.

Wow.



the U.S. Coast Guard prepares
to extract nine souls

from the 134-foot Arctic Sea

as 12-foot breakers pin
her hull against

the jagged coastline.

Waves are crashing
on top of that boat.

What are you gonna do?
This is unreal.

[coast guard speaks]

[Keith speaks]

Freezing spray,
northerly weather, huge waves

just smashing the boat.

[Jake] Come on, guys.

Get 'em.

[coast guard speaks]

They're doing it.

They're making it happen
right now.

[coast guard speaks]

They got one.
Got one guy.

[coast guard speaks]

I hope they can get everybody
off of there safely.

[coast guard speaks]

On the northern side
of St. George Island.

They're sending
another basket down.

I hope they can get everybody
off there safely.

[coast guard speaks]

They got the third guy now.

[coast guard speaks]

There's eight.

[coast guard speaks]

Ooh.

Bang!
Nine guys in the helo.

[coast guard speaks]

[Sig] Thank you, Coast Guard.

Thank you.

We got 'em all.

Every last one.

That's scary just thinking
about it.

All right, pot coming up.

[Albinio groans]

[Jake] Right now I gotta
get a handle on this.

Just focus on fishing.

[deckhand #1] There we go.

-[crew] Yeah!
-[deckhand #1] [bleep] yeah.

That's what we need.

Nice.

[deckhand yells]

[deckhand #2] Awesome!

[Jake]
It's hot fishing right now.

It's working too good.

It's a bold strategy
taking up 20 more pots.

It's the right call, though.

Thank God.

These crab are
defecting to Russia.

Wanna stop 'em?

So, we're heading north.

Full metal jacket.

He's bringing gear along
with him, huh?

Get the crab on board now

before they go over the border,
which they will.

Going to Russia, guys.

Stack 'em up and go
into Russia.

Yeah, brother!
We're going to Russia!

[crew cheers]

We'll see him here in a minute.

Is that him right there?
It is.

Wow.

It looks like

the Arctic Sea is officially
no longer in this fishery.

Tip your cap to
the Coast Guard.

Nine people.

Against that cliff
on those rocks.

I don't know how
they got 'em off.

I gotta go pay my respects.

Oh, [bleep].

Head up to the bow.

All right, guys.

Hats off.

Respect for the Arctic Sea.

[Johnathan] It's a lesson to
everybody on the fleet,

everybody that's --

that's out here fishing.

You know, even the nicest,
best boat on the fleet,

you can lose that boat
just like that.

[Jake] I can't imagine what

those nine people are
feeling right now.

[Sig] That was
a living nightmare, I'm sure.

Hats off to the Coast Guard.
I mean, what do you say?

Thank you.
That's it.

[Keith] Bering Sea gives,
Bering Sea takes.

Let's get back to work.

Good night.
Farewell.

Rest in peace.

[boat honks]