10x02 - Crash Course

[bunniefuu]

Narrator:
now, on "bering sea gold"...

When I see shawn out there, it
makes me want to rush out there

And try to get as much
gold as I possibly can.

That's why it's the gold rush.

Go, andy, go!
We know where there's gold at.

We are unstoppable.
We are a team.

Kris kelly, he thinks
he's going to get rich off

Of following me around.

The gold at bluff,
that was my discovery.

I just want to take it all
and leave nothing behind.

Oh, what the?

No, no, no.

We got a big operation
going in nome,

But we're burning
nothing but money.

You got to go out there
and prospect

All those leases for us.

I want to be out there
mining for myself,

But I'm doing it
for my brother.

Come on.
I want some freaking gold.

No!
We might hit the rock!

Help! Pull me up!

-Pull him up! Pull him up!
-Hey!

-Wow!
-This is the spot!

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

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

♪♪

Narrator: the summer gold-mining
season is barely underway,

And the fleet is already
feeling the pressure

As bigger competition
and higher stakes

Have birthed extreme
new strategies.

For those with grits, the gold
is there for the taking.

For the willing,
fortune favors the bold.

♪♪

In the small boat harbor...

It's a beautiful morning.
It's flat calm out there.

Narrator: ...nome's first and
only female dredge owner,

Captain emily riedel,
is up before the sun.

Emily: change up the strategy
a little bit.

We're getting
a super early start,

So y'all want to cast us off?

Hopefully we'll be able to stay
on the gold for much,

Much longer today as opposed to
being blown out by the weather.

Narrator: so far this season...

Emily: this is a lot deeper than
we've ever worked for sure.

...emily placed her chips
on the untapped waters

Of claim 14...

It's always good to be on gold.

Narrator:
...and hit promising ground...

I think the current has changed.
Makes me nervous, man.

But he's got to get
out of the water.

Narrator: ...only to have
her day cut short

By ripping currents
and rising seas.

Here comes the sun.
The sun is coming up.

It's time to dive.

Narrator: with a new day,
the captain has a new plan.

Emily:
the biggest barrier to being

A successful gold mining
operation is the weather.

The conditions
that you need in order

To be productive are so precise.

You need good visibility.

You need moderate current.

You need relatively low winds.

Lately, the weather,
it gets crazy in the afternoon,

So if that means
going out out 5:00 a.m.,

That's when we need to go.

We have the benefit of some
really calm water out right now.

It's super beautiful.

Thank you.

Narrator: first into the water,
lead diver daryl galipeau.

Roger dodger.

The eroicais going deeper
than it ever has before

In pursuit of new ground,

So we have to be
constantly vigilant.

♪♪

Our average depth
is about 34, 35 feet,

And we have to keep the dives
to 4 to 5 hours at a time.

Narrator:
diving at these depths puts
the diver at risk of the bends,

A potentially deadly condition
where bubbles of nitrogen gas

Form in the body.

Symptoms include
joint pain, fatigue,

Rashes known as the creeps,

A burning pain in chest
known as the chokes,

And even loss of consciousness.

Emily:
how's the visibility down there?

Daryl: it's probably about


Well, I'll just start
a new hole here.

Emily: while the ground, deeper,
is richer

Because it hasn't been worked,

We're limited to how many hours
we can spend on the ground.

Narrator:
all of which means the eroica
needs to be on good gold fast.

♪♪

♪♪

Hey, daryl.
How you doing?

Daryl: doing good.
I went under the sand here.

Narrator: a lead is a crack in
the hard pan of the ocean floor,

A geologic formation that acts
like riffle in a sluice box,

Aggregating gold

And a promising lead for daryl
to follow

In his quest for big pay dirt.

♪♪

Emily: it's definitely
the right strategy

To wake up
and get after it early.

I'm really glad we did that.

♪♪

Daryl: I've got a little seam
right here.

Oh, [bleep]

Holy mother of hell.

[ Laughs ]
keep going!

♪♪

Whoo!

How do you process hearing that
you're making $6,000 an hour?

That's crazy.

[ Laughs ]

♪♪

Narrator:


♪♪

My maiden voyage on the havilah.
We're going to bluff.

Narrator: with major
new competition this year,

Captain shawn pomrenke
is on a mission

To start construction
of his $6 million megadredge

By the end of the season.

He's already spent $3 million
on the largest dredge

On the bering sea,

But needs $1.5 million more
just to begin fabricating parts.

To obtain his goal, he's added
a new tool to his fleet.

Shawn: havilahis just
a big houseboat on the ocean.

And the custom-built


Is a key part of his plan...

Shawn: we got living quarters
on there, and, I mean,

The plan is
to keep changing out shifts

To keep fresh divers
on the boat.

Narrator: ...to dominate
the bluff 24 hours a day...

Shawn:
we'll be able to sit on our spot

And keep all
the other [bleep] away.

Narrator: ...and claim what
he believes is his.

♪♪

Shawn: son of a b*tch.

♪♪

Kris kelly, he thinks
he's going to get rich off

Of following me around.

The gold at bluff,
that was my discovery.

I just want to take it all
and leave nothing behind.

Narrator: last week...

Shawn:
that's the sound of money, baby.

Christine roseis
a gold-getting machine.

Narrator: ...shawn set up
the first prong of his plan

To build the megadredge...


Nice job.

...putting the christine rose
on a prime swath

Of virgin ground.

Are you kidding me?

But he was hit
with a wake-up call...

Oh, you son of a b*tch.

...courtesy of captain ken kerr
and the 600-ton myrtle irene.

Shawn: they're a lot further
along than I am,

But my dredge I'm building
is a totally different beast.

Right about here.

Narrator: now, it's time for
mr. Gold to fortify

The second prong in his plan
to build the megadredge...

Time to get suited up
and go dive,

And we're going
to get some gold.

Narrator: ...get back on his
hot spot at bluff from winter

And make it pay.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

How does it feel
to be back on the bottom?

Feels pretty damn good.

♪♪

Let's go.

We got
a lot of work to do.

♪♪

What's the ground look like
down there, sandy or cobble?

Good, good.
That's what we need.

This is the kind of gold
that will pay for
the megadredge.

George!
You got to prospect for us.

Shawn, look out, buddy.
We're coming to nome.

-Holy [bleep]
-what's up?

Narrator: 80 miles east
of nome at the bluff...

We've got another
person out here. It's shawn.

b*stard.

Well, that's kind of
where we're going to go.

This sucks.

Narrator:
captain kris and kelly united

Are determined
to turn the corner

On their mining careers...

I want to do okay this summer,
you know, 20 or 30 ounces,

Make my wage a safe way.

No.

I've been training myself
for 5 years.

I've been going through
the hardships.

I'm a damn miner now.

Narrator:
...and shift their status...

I should get between 500
and 1,000 ounces for the year.

Narrator: ...from subsistence
miners to gold kingpins.

Kris: we're going to keep
going forward.

Nothing is going to stop us.

These are little,
itty-bitty problems in the road

To richness.

Come on. Let's get out there
and make some money.

Narrator: this season...

There's no one else
mining here but us.

Look. It's empty.

...leaning on the lessons
of the past...

New motors, new everything.
I just tested the air system.

...the irish set course
for success...

Kris: we could live
right next to the gold.

Narrator: ...setting up camp
at the bluff...

Here we go.

...building an all-new
amphibious dredge...

Kris:
and we're floating!

...that allows them
to launch from the beach...

...and getting back
on their honey hole

From the winter season.
-Got gold!

It's coming out
of a couple different layers.

Okay.
We're on course.

Narrator:
with the groundwork laid...

We've got a taste of what it is
to be successful,

And we know what it is,

And we're not going
to let go of that.

It's the way this is going to be

For the rest of my life
as a miner.

Narrator: ...now it's just
a matter of staying the course.

Right about here.

Right here?

Right here.

-You're diving first?
-Yep.

Kris: you just want to get
on my spot, huh?

I'll probably walk away
from yours and go find

Something better.

If there's gold in the area,
andy will get it.

Go, andy, go!

♪♪

♪♪

I've got good visibility.

-What do you have?
-I've got good visibility.

Good visibility is a great way
to start the day.

We've got awesome weather.
We know where the gold is at.

We are unstoppable.
We are a team.

♪♪

♪♪

I'm right
where you left off.

Do you see the 2 inches
of overburden?

Yeah.
I'm actually in that [bleep]

I'm tearing through it,
and I'm not seeing anything.

Well, that probably isn't
the spot I was exactly in.

Hey, kris, just be quiet.
I know what I'm doing.

Do what you like.

I'm down here because
I find the good gold,

So I'm just going
to keep working it

And see what I find, jay.

♪♪

♪♪

I see a lot of rock.
I moved them out of the way.

Okay.
Tell me what you see down there.

I'll see little puddles
here and there.

And do you think you're on
over an ounce an hour right now?

I don't know.
I'm just sucking it up.

Come on, buddy.
Tell me what you see.

How much do you see?

I see a lot.
There's puddles all over.

Yeah.

I'm happy with this,
so there you go.

If I'm happy,
you should be happy.

If you're happy,
I amhappy.

I'm happy
that you're happy.

The ocean is flat as hell.
We're going to be here all day.

That's fine.
I got a lot of snacks.

Me, too.

Hey!
This is the spot right here!

Bam, baby.

I told you this summer
is going to be great.

♪♪

Narrator: 80 miles west...

Ken: somebody has got
to make some money.

Narrator:
...on the outskirts of nome...

It's early, early in the season.
We'll see.

If you make 10,000 ounces,
you're going to give old

Pomrenke a run for his money.

...captain ken kerr and
business partner dave young...

Just think
if you get out there

And get 3,000 or 4,000
with the myrtle,too.

...are making moves to dominate
gold mining in nome.

Get this going,
it's going to be something.

We've got a big operation
going in nome.

So far this season...

We need an airbag
up here somewhere. Let's go.

Step one...

Float, baby, float.

...launch the 600-ton
myrtle irene.

The biggest rig in nome,
right here.

You've got a lot more
to go to pay for it.

I know.

Step two is to get
the beast on pay dirt.

We don't want to
waste fuel or anything.

We want to know exactly
where to go dig.

But before the beast can feast,

Gold-rich ground
must be found.

It's going to be tight.

We've got some
good guys, though.

...and with the myrtle
costing upwards

Of 10 grand a day to run,

Ken and dave need a dedicated
prospector to sniff it out.

Yeah.
We got to make some money.

That barge takes so much time to
move from one spot to the next,

We're burning nothing but money,

So if you can have
a little operation

Doing the prospecting for you,

If he goes in there
and finds the spots

And he gpses them,

Economic standpoint,
it makes sense.

George: what's up?

Narrator: and there's only one
gold-getting hound dog

For the job...
-George, what's up?

...dave's little bro,
george young.

We're going mining.
That's what's happening today.

Narrator: last summer, george
came to nome with a dream...

Out there, I'm going
to get me some of that.

...and went 50 grand in the hole
to big brother dave

For a dredge
and a shot at glory.

Yeah, baby. I am a miner!
[ Laughs ]

George, you got to go out there
and prospect

All those leases for us
so we don't screw around.

I'm here to do whatever
you need me to do.

I mean,
I know that this...


Than my 5-ounce, 2-ounce,


Clean outs are.

George:
I'm in nome to be diving.

I want to pay my brother
back the 50 grand

I'm going topay my brother
back the money I owe him.

I mean, every day
that I'm not on the water,

It's costing me money, but...

Think about it.
That's a lot of gold.

...if I'm asked by my brother
to do a job...

Right on.

...and he's the one
I owe the money to,

He wouldn't ask me to do that

If he didn't think it was more
important than the 50 ounces.

You know, family is number one.

Dave: george, he'll be
prospecting for the myrtle irene

This year to jump around
and see what spots had gold

And tell us where to go dig.

Shawn, look out, buddy.
We're coming to nome.

We're going to k*ll it.

Pull us, daryl!
We might hit the rock!

[ Gasps ]

[ Laughter ]

Narrator: 80 miles east
of nome, at the bluff...

Kris:
I'm seeing huge gold in the box.

Narrator: ...kelly united
is in hot pursuit

Of their glorious dream...

-We're on okay gold.
-...to become gold kingpins.

Everything is going great,
and now that we're on big gold,

I don't see us, you know,
running into any problems.

You see
how chunky that is?

Sucking up
puddles of those.

There better be gold
when I get down there.

There is.

Narrator:
and with the precious metal
stacking up in the sluice...

Start the engine.

...it's time for the captain
to take a shift.

If you run out of hose
going that way,

Start coming towards us.

Get your a*s going.

Kris: okay.
I'm going to work.

♪♪

Trying to get
my ears to clear.

♪♪

Ground floor.
Okay.

It's time to make a hole.

♪♪

♪♪

Andy:
how's it going, jay?

Well, gold is just
falling out of everywhere.

Oh, hell yeah.

Hopefully, I come
across a puddle.

You'll see it.
It's there.

Just keep sucking
all that up.

Hold on.
I see a corridor.

Holy [bleep]

What's up?

This is [bleep] an ounce.

♪♪

I just found over an ounce.

An ounce piece?

An ounce piece all
by itself!

I think I might drown.

It's holding me
to the bottom of the ocean.

It's so big.

The k-dog
comes through again.

Whoo-hoo!

[ Laughs ]

That's gold, son.

Bring me my gold.

I can't hear you.

The new kellys, right here.

All right, jay.
Good job.

Bring it up.

I told you it was there.
You got to open your one eye.

Thank you, lord.

Now he'll look
a little harder, huh?

Yep.

♪♪

Good job, jj.

Kris:
right now, confidence is high.

Cash flow is huge.

Now that I kicked it up to such
a degree of awesomeness,

All we have to do
is stay on course

With what we're doing right now.

Wow!

♪♪

Narrator: 86 miles west
in nome harbor...

Man: I brought
peanut butter and jelly.

George:
that's what I got.

I brought
forks, knives, spoons.

Forks and knives
for peanut butter and jelly?

Well, you need knives.

...george young is on the water

For the first time
this season...

Damn, that thing is big.

...searching out
gold-rich ground

For his brother's dredge,
the myrtle irene.

It's a massive
gold-getting machine,

A multi-million dollar
piece of equipment.

One of arctic sea mining visas
is just right over here.

Let's see what
we can find on it.

But if they aren't getting
at least 30 ounces

In a 24-hour shift,
they're not making any money,

So I got to find a spot
that has consistent gold.

♪♪

All right.
Throw anchor!

Narrator: heading down...

We'll see
what it looks like.

...veteran miner
chris "turtle" thornton...

George:
go ahead, turtle.

♪♪

♪♪

There should be
gold right here.

♪♪

I'm not finding any gold
at the moment, so...

George: 10-4.

Come on.
I want to hear freaking gold.

You know, I want to be out there
mining for myself.

You know, I don't want to be
just doing test holes.

Got to move.

I want to be doing a test hole,
finding gold,

And just start tearing it up,

But I'm doing it
for my brother.

My brother is important to me.

Well...

I'm just going to try
to stay on it.

Right on, buddy.
Go get it.

There's still some
real fine gold in here.

Fantastic.

That's the spot.

Narrator:


♪♪

Yeah, it got kind of gnarly out,
and we're kind of going with it.

We're kind of with it, now.

Narrator: ...with afternoon
currents picking up

And lead diver daryl galipeau

Nearing the 5-hour dive limit
on his first shift...

Emily: I think we should
just leave, honestly.

That's a bummer.

I'd hoped we'd get
two solid dives in today.

So why don't you come up?

...captain emily riedel...

-Okay.
-...calls the day.

Emily:
we're making money, but in the
meantime, my boat is getting,

You know, ripped apart
by these weather cycles,

By these swells
that are coming in.

At least we were on good gold.

♪♪

[ Engine sputters ]

[ Whirring ]

What happened?

Is it running?

Crank it again.

[ Whirring ]

Yeah, every time I put a load
on it, it shuts down.

I mean, it makes me nervous
losing one of my onboard motors

Right here, right before
we hit the jetty.

♪♪

Is it running right now?

No.
Now it's not.

Narrator:
the eroicahas lost power and
is adrift in building seas...

Get the skiff.

...dangerously close
to the harbor jetty.

Let's rig a rope
so I can pull.

No!
We might hit the rocks!

-Help! Pull me up.
-Pull him up!

Hurry. Pull him up.
-No, no, no.

Kris: we got gold here.
We got gold there.

Who's the best
gold miner here?

Shut the [bleep] up.

Narrator:
at the mouth of nome harbor...

I mean, it makes me nervous
losing one of my onboard motors

Right here, right before
we get to the jetty.

Is it running right now?

No.
Now it's not.

...captain emily riedel's
dredge, the eroica,

Has lost power.

Get the skiff!

And building seas
are threatening to smash her

Into the harbor jetty.

Let's rig a rope
so I can pull.

No!
We might hit the rocks!

If we could tow ourselves out,
the skiff is running.

-I'm just...
-Going to be okay.

...trying to get the boat away
from the rocks.

Emily:
chase, come get this.

Tie it off
to this cleat here.

Keep going!

Pull us, daryl!

Emily: [ gasps ]

I don't [bleep]
want to put a vest on.

Don't [bleep] ask me again.
-[Bleep] you, dude.

Everybody is out here
trying to help you,emily.

♪♪

♪♪

We have help coming.

Hey!

Do you think you guys could
pull it in at the same time?

Man #2: we need a rope
on the front.

Man #3: okay.

We can get back to the bow
and use this line.

It's going to be
a lot stronger.

Yeah.
You guys okay?

♪♪

All right. We're good.

♪♪

Narrator: with two boats
plying double the power...

Emily: the worst is over.
We're not on the [bleep] rocks.

Narrator: ...the eroicaeases
past the jetty wall

And into the safety
of the harbor.

♪♪

Emily: this is definitely
the worst situation

I've ever been in
with my boat before.

I mean, in terms of my people,
the people working on my boat,

I felt like they could have
gotten out of danger in time.

I wasn't worried about that.

The biggest casualty
would've been the boat,

All of my investment, all of
the gold that we've made.

I've never been so terrified
for my boat before.

I've worked endlessly, gone
through hell, to have that boat.

I would've gone down
with the ship.

It's the only reason
why I'm here, really.

It's the only reason why I'm
able to mine and make money,

Is that boat,
and I almost lost it.

♪♪

Must have a lot of gold
in sluice box.

♪♪

Narrator: 80 miles east
at the bluff...

Kris: I found at least


...after 8 hours on the water,

The fighting irish
are heading for shore...

Brad:
shawn pissed me off.

...but not without a little
lingering dredge envy

On the way in.

It's just, you know,
it's just not fair.

When I saw the havilah,okay,
now that was jealously.

Shawn should be camping down
the beach from me,

You know, living in a tent
like we are.

It's not fair that
he's got a [bleep] motor home

That floats, and you know they
got a shower and a refrigerator.

Brad:
we're going for it.

Who's going to jump out
and hold us?

But then, when I sit down
and think about all the gas

He's wasting
and all the extra overhead,

That boat is stupid.

Okay. Pop that open.
Let's see.

Look all in here,
in this [bleep] corner.

We've got gold here.

We've got gold
all the way up here.

We've got gold there.

Actually,
life is pretty good.

I get to keep my gold, not give
it away to other people.

Huh?
Who's the best gold miner here?

Shut the [bleep] up.

♪♪

Narrator: 200 yards offshore...

What kind of material
are you working down there?

Shawn:
big boulders right now.

...captain shawn pomrenke
is 10 hours

Into his first dive
of the season,

And spurred by the launch
of ken kerr's bering sea beast,

The myrtle irene...

With not having funding
for the megadredge,

We'd better make every
dredge out here count.

...he's showing
no signs of stopping.

I'm looking for
those big nuggets.

How many ounces you think you're
going to pull off this dive?

What are you hoping for?

Oh, my dive ain't over yet,
so it's hard to say.

Every time
you go out mining,

You're hoping to find
the mother lode.

I don't know.
The vis is kind of coming down.

It's getting kind
of harder to see.

What --

Hey, captain?

Yep?

Did you sit on the hose?

Say again?

I can't breathe.

Is he stepping
on the hose?

Oh, what the [bleep]

Hey. Pull me up.

Pull him up!

Hurry!
Pull him up!

Hey!
Pull him up.

-What's going on?
-No, no.

All right.
Here we go.

First cleanup
of the year, guys.

Oh, here we go.

Narrator:
and now, "bering sea booty"
with kris kelly.

Kris: the most random thing I've
ever found in the bering sea?

A sword!
We found --

Andy found a sword
that was halfway in a rock,

And it was, like, an old
pirate sword or something.

It was pretty amazing.

Any time you're underneath the
water, it's like a garage sale.

You'll go down there,
and you'll find dive gloves.

You'll find dive weight belts.
You'll find anchors.

You'll find ladders.
You'll find --

You can almost pick up
enough tools to build a dredge.

♪♪

Narrator: 80 miles east
of nome at the bluff...

Shawn: I can't breathe.
Is he stepping on the hose?

Oh, what the [bleep]

Help.
Pull me up.

Pull him up.

Pull him up.
Hurry. Pull him up.

Hey!

Narrator: out of air and
struggling to surface...

What's going on?

...shawn pomrenke is
fighting for his life.

No, no.

Come on. Come on.
Pull him in.

Pull!

Oh, [bleep]

Shawn!

♪♪

Shawn:
well, that kind of sucked.

How come you had me
pull you up?

Loss of air.

Oh.

Line got kinked.

The belt was all twisted up with
people turning one direction.

That's just crazy.

When things go wrong,
you sure hope the guy up top

Is not sleeping.

Little joe was up there.

He jumped on it and helped
get me to the top quick, so,

You know, I didn't drown,
and it all ended up working out.

It is what it is.

Tomorrow is another day,
another dive.


The hell out of here.

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: back in town...

Emily: first cleanup
of the season.

It's going to be interesting
to see what this yields.

I mean, this is definitely
deeper than the boat

Has ever gone, in completely
different territory.

Like, all the good, shallow
stuff has been worked,

So deeper might
be where it's at.

Narrator: after staking her
season on the untouched

Deep waters of claim 14,

Nome's first and only
female dredge owner,

Captain emily riedel,

Is cleaning her first
pay dirt of the season.

Emily: in order for all of us to
be making money this season,

We need to be on
an ounce-plus an hour.

Narrator: and with operating
costs topping $1,300 a day,

Emily needs the payout
to be at least $10,000.

So depending on what
this is, I mean,

I think this could really put us
in the kind of direction

We're going to
want to go this season.

If not, her season may be over
just as it's getting started.

Kind of sticking
in the stick deep, so...

All right.
Here we go.

First cleanup
of the year, guys.

We have 1 ounce
officially, 1, 2.

We're over 3 ounces.

We're all making
money tonight, 6.

Oh, here we go.

Climbing towards 10, y'all.


I think my guess is going
to be the closest.


Almost 13, guys.

Over the last day,
that was all right.

Put it up.


Is worth over $14,000.

Emily: 12.8 ounces
after 10 hours of mining

Is a good start
for the season.

So I think
we're on the right track.

We're on good ground.

Narrator: more than enough
to meet costs, bank a rare,

Early-season profit, and confirm
emily's strategy

To mine deeper depths...

This is good.
This is good for the crew.

This is good for me.

These kind of numbers,
they're not high,

But they definitely indicate
we're on the right track.

Narrator:
...and most importantly,

Validate the belief
in herself as a captain.

Emily: we made the right
call to go deep.

This is looking pretty good.

Narrator: as the summer season
gains steam,

Captain emily joins
the gold count, but look out.

The myrtle ireneis about
to enter the fray.

Whoo-hoo! All right.
You guys about ready?

I'm going to show
the competition

That they're not
competition at all.

Security, security, myrtle irene
departing outer harbor, nome.

Andy:
a lot of boats out there.

I don't want to fight everybody
that comes to the bluff.

Shawn:
when I first started, miners
had respect for each other,

And now it's just become
a complete [bleep] show.

-Hey!
-This is my spot!

Now you're going to claim it,
and I can't come over here?

Dig, dig, dig.
Dig, dig, dig, dig.

Whoo-hoo!

He's a little piece of [bleep]
who can't find gold on his own.

Starting to get
white caps out here.

Get your a*s up here.

Emily: aah!

♪♪