10x05 - Storm Surge

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: ...that accelerated
the mega dredge timeline.

This thing is gonna
make a ton of gold.

Narrator: now...

Shawn: it's a good day
to go get some gold

And find it.

Narrator:
...shawn needs to continue

Sucking up pay dirt
to satiate the massive

Construction budget.

Joe: what you thinking?

I mean, that's all made
up all through here,

But I did think
I've seen some nice

Pay coming out this side.

So hopefully we'll
be able to get

Back on the pay streak here.

Hell yeah.

Narrator: and the man
to follow the pay streak,

To pack the box with gold,
is veteran miner,

Big joe fullwood.

Joe fullwood
is very valuable

And is an asset to
the whole operation.

Hope there's a boatload
of gold down there.

There's very few
good gold miners

That could actually follow it
and stay on top of it.

He's one of them.

Shawn:
it's all on you now.

♪♪

Joe: all righty.

Got some gold waiting
to get sucked up.

You guys want to idle me up?

Idled up.

All righty.

She's wrapping.

I'm gonna go poke
around a little bit.

How's it looking?

Super promising looking
down here.

You know we're running along
the edge of this clay.

I'm just waiting for it to turn
into a stream channel.

Narrator:
dense clay deposits

Are a sign that the diver may be

On an underwater stream channel,

Which in turn
indicates the presence

Of an ancient river bed,
a formation

Known to form thick
gold deposits.

Joe: come on, come on.

Look at this.

Oh, yeah!

That's why I looked at that.

That's what we're looking
for, right [bleep] there.

That's a good sign.

Booyah!

Good job, joe!

We're just on it.

We're on it
like white on rice

On a paper plate
and a cup of milk

In a snowstorm.

We're gonna k*ll it.

[ Laughing ]

Ken: we're stuck right now.

Hell, travis,
we gotta hurry up,

Or we're gonna be a bad streak.

Holy [bleep]

Or we're gonna be a bad streak.

[ Thunder rumbling ]

Narrator: 90 miles east of nome,
at the bluff...

Kris: come on, andy.
Let's go to work today.

Narrator: ...with an arctic
squall looming,

Captain kris kelly
is on a mission

To make the day
pay before it hits

And further his season goal
to shift the family status

From subsistence miners
to nome gold kingpins.

Kris: I only got a couple
hours of sleep last night

'Cause there was a bear
hanging outside my tent.

Narrator:
he set a 1,000-ounce mark

For kelly united.

So far, the family's
banked 32 ounces

Toward their lofty goal.

Kris: today's a mining day,
so we'll see how things go.

Narrator:
for the irish...

Kris: no one else
mining here but us.

We beat shawn.

...after setting up
camp at the bluff...

Lot of boats
out there, huh?

Time to break the dampers.

...it's been
an all-out battle

To establish their spot...

[Bleep] you!

Right now it's a race.

There's a lot of people.

So I need to be out
here all the time.

Narrator: ...to cement their
place on the grounds.

That's two pounds
of gold.

That's two
hungry man dinners.

Now...

Kris: dad's gone
to town to get gas.

So this is it.

I hope dad gets here
quick today

Because we don't
have enough fuel

To mine the whole day.

With family patriarch
brad kelly

On a fuel run to nome...

I got about --
about five gallons.

The tanks are full,
and we're gonna just go

Make the best of it.

...the captain's plan is
to get back on their honey hole

And burn whatever fuel remains
to hold their spot

Until brad returns.

Be back tomorrow.

Kris: he won't be
back tomorrow,

He'll be back today.

[ Laughs ] okay.

Narrator:
or the impending weather

Forces them off the water.

Let's go.

Anybody that fights
a w*r, any general will

Tell you the biggest
plan is your supply line.

If dad doesn't come
back with fuel,

We're pretty much done.

Come on.

Now that we're on big gold,

Little details are coming back

To bite me in the a*s right now.

Oh, yeah, we made it.

Hoo, hoo, hoo.

♪♪

Right here.

Throw.

Let's turn every drop of
fuel we have into gold.

And I'm sure dad will just come
rolling over the side over there

And he's gonna drop us off gas.

No, I don't.

Be a little optimistic.

Every gallon of gas,
an ounce of gold.

Come on, let's jump into action.

If you're gonna dream,
dream big,

Or don't dream at all.

And 1,000 ounces
is possible this summer,

I know it.

Too tight?

Yeah, good day,
make us some money.

♪♪

Check, check.

How's it going
down there?

[ Andy speaks indistinctly ]

You seeing gold?

The ground
looks pretty good.

I'm just trying to
clear a hole right here,

Just give me a minute, jay.

♪♪

Now we're off our spot.

-Found it.
-Oh, never mind.

Some more gold.

All right, that's what
I'm [bleep] talking about.

Woo-hoo!

This is actually
pretty easy to suck up.

Wow, andy moves ground,

Way more ground
than I do.

That's [bleep] awesome.

Hey, good job.

We just gotta make
it work today.

We only have like
five or six hours

Of gas probably.

Hopefully dad turns up.

Yeah, we'll see.

Okay, well,
just keep working.

[ Thunder rumbles ]

Narrator: 90 miles west,
just outside nome harbor...

Emily: whoo!

Ocean's got some energy
to it today, huh?

Like no wind, but a swell.

Narrator:
...captain emily riedel

Is punching in for another shift

On the deep waters
of claim 14.

Nome's first stand-only
female dredge owner

Is in hot pursuit
of a 500-ounce season.

And she needs 436.3 more
to make her mark.

Last week...

Emily!

Narrator:
...emily doubled down,

Initiating
around-the-clock operation.

This is healthy and rich.

Narrator:
and discovered ground

That could make her
season goal a reality.

Sounds like we found
a special spot.

Pull the ropes up
a little bit.

Narrator:
now the captain is aiming

To bank one more full shift
before the storm hits.

We got just a good
look at material then?

We're in good gold
still, we're doing good.

-Right on.
-I'm really happy.

Sounds good.

Narrator: the next man up
is emily's ace,

eroica lead diver,
daryl galipeau.

Daryl: comm check.

Yep, comm's good.

♪♪

♪♪

Coming down
on the nozzle.

10-4.

Chase: we're trying
to take advantage

Of this weather window,

Even though
it's a little bit windy out.

I have a crew of people that
need to make money on my boat,

And if that's not happening,

Anyone could walk
away at any time.

We need to be on the best gold,
stay on the best gold,

And try to make
as much money as we can

Before we're kicked
off the water.

Hey, how you doing
down there, daryl?

See where bob's working?

Daryl: yep.

We are where
we want to be.

Awesome.

If we're
in the same stuff,

I think
we're making money.

Oh, I guarantee you we are.

[ Laughs ]

We've only begun.

Only begun.

[ Laughing ]

Hallelujah!

Andy:
you should see all the gold

That I'm getting down here, man.

There's gold pumping
on top of the mat.

This is as good as it gets.

[ Whooping ]

This is as good as it gets.

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

Kris:
how's the gold looking?

Andy:
gold's looking really good.

I'm on puddle after puddle.

Narrator: ...reaper lead diver,
andy kelly,

Is four and a half hours
into his shift.

The ground's
looking good, jay.

That's what
I want to hear.

Hey, you've been on
gold the whole dive.

I know.

Narrator: and with an arctic
storm descending,

He's stacking up gold
in the box.

I hope dad comes.

Every gallon of gas
right now is

An ounce of gold,

So we need as much gas
as we can get.

There's just one problem.

The kelly brothers
are running on fumes.

Kris:
right now cash flow is huge,

And we're getting a lot of gold,

But now we're down
to three gallons,

And no brad in sight.

If he doesn't come back
with gas right now,

And I'm forced to go in,

Everybody's gonna
jump on my spot.

Are you seeing the best
gold you've ever seen?

Andy: oh, yeah, easily.

Oh, yeah.

Woo-hoo!

Holy cow, jay,

This wall's getting
better and better, dude.

Look at all
the gold right there,

And I just took out maybe
a quarter inch of material.

Awesome!

[ Laughing ]

It's opening up
more and more, dude,

As I suck through it.

Chucks all over the place.

You'll see the bucket,
you'll smile.

You should see all the gold
that I'm getting down here, man.

♪♪

Kris: that's it,
we're out of fuel.

[Bleep] dad.

The supply line
is gonna end us.

Kris:
so, you have to come up,

Or we're not
getting out of here.

Andy: oh, you [bleep] me?

We need to save some fuel
to grind back into shore.

Yeah, I'm on my way.

Oh, this sucks.

Narrator: out of gas, the boys

Are forced to abandoned
their sweet spot,

And the day is done.

It shouldn't be that hard to get
supplies to the bluffs.

You know, it shouldn't
be that hard.

Andy: what a booyanee.

Let's go.

Let's concentrate
on the positive.

The positive is we're
on a lot of gold.

[ Thunder rumbles ]

Narrator:
80 miles west,

On claim 14...

Emily: what's it looking
like, daryl?

Are you still in the
same sort of bottom?

Oh, yeah.
It's here.

I'm seeing gold.

Narrator: emily's ace diver,
daryl galipeau,

Is three and a half
hours into his dive.

This is just as good as it gets.

Tell me more, daryl.
[ Laughs ]

[ Laughs ]

There's gold
all through here.

You see there?

There it goes.

I'll tell you what, we're
gonna have a cleanup this time.

Yeah!

Narrator:
and with gold flowing...

[ Whooping ]

...captain emily is moved
by the spirit.

[ Emily whooping ]

You know, she's trying real
hard, and I [ laughs ]

I give some credit
for that, right?

An a for effort.

[ Country music playing ]

Emily: whoa, whoa, whoa whoa,
whoa, h*, h*, h*.

Narrator: but...

Damn it really did
come up out here.

...the gold gods
aren't picking up

What emily's putting down.

We're like
[bleep] moving.

In fact...

The current is
really bad right now.

...they seem determined
to drive her off the water.

Hey, daryl?

We got some wind
picking up out

Of the east up here.

Daryl: uh-huh.

That's why I'm kind of
jamming it down here.

I'm dragging.

It's a little challenging.

Daryl's getting tossed
around down there.

Yeah, I don't think
there's anything

I can do up here
to help out.

♪♪

I think we better
bail out of here.

What do you think,
daryl?

Can't let a little trouble...

There's a lot of
ground left here,

But I don't think I
can take this stuff.

So, let's definitely
do that.

Copy that.

I'm gonna call it.

It's a good time
to leave.

Emily:
you have to choose your battles.

If you push it too hard,

You're not only going
to not make money,

But you're going to
hurt your diver as well.

And it's just not
worth it in the end.

You have to choose
what's worth fighting for

And when it's time to go in.

It's rough as hell up here.

Emily: weather really
[bleep] pisses me off.

[Bleep] you, bering sea.
[Bleep] damn it.

Big ol' swell's coming now.

We gotta get out of here.

We're sinking
by the minute.

That's all you got?

Our boat's coming apart.

Narrator: in nome harbor...

Ken: well, we're gonna go out
and rescue the myrtle.

We blew the breaker
on her main generator.

We can't spud up, so we're
stuck right now out there.

Narrator:
for captain ken kerr,

A day that was
supposed to be spent

Packing gold into the sluice

Of his bering sea beast,
the myrtle irene,

Has been cut short by
a busted generator.

Had to come in and
get some parts.

Now we're back out
trying to get them --

Hopefully get
everything running.

Narrator: and with his
$6 million dredge

Dead in the water,

And in the cross hairs
of the approaching storm...

Ken:
pretty good swell out here.

Narrator: ...it's turned
into a rescue mission.

See the ridge is on the horizon.

Pretty dire to
get them spuds up.

Then it's déjà vu.

The first time we pulled it out,

We got into a storm
and we just pushed

The limit to a point

Where it was no return
you might say.

The barge come up
on a wave, boom,

It broke one of our
big cables, it snapped.

So now our barge is stuck.

Can't get the spud
up out of the water.

We had to abandon ship.

Otherwise it could have
get somebody k*lled.

They had to ride out
that storm all night.

It destroyed the barge
pretty good.

Millions of dollars in damage.

Took us longer than we thought

To get it repaired
for this last season.

Look at these clouds.

Big ol' swells coming now.

We gotta get out of here.

We gotta get these spuds up.

-Alright, let's get her going.
-I'm not taking no chances now.

Ken: hell, travis,
we gotta hurry up

Or we're gonna be, uh,
bad straights.

We need to be
under way in one hour.

Our main generators got
a burned-up breaker.

A little 175-amp breaker.

Narrator: to get the myrtle
off the grounds...

Ken: went and robbed another
one of these breakers out

Of another one
of our generators.

Narrator: ...ken stripped
a replacement breaker

Out of a generator on land...

[ Ken laughs ]

...and hopes it will be
enough to restore power.

Check, looks good.

A little dirty,
but it should run.

Fire in the hole.

[ Engine starts ]

Alright!
She's ready to go!

Yep!
Ups go!

♪♪

Narrator:
with the fix in place...

...it's time to get the myrtle
into the safety of the harbor.

Alright, boys, good job on
getting these spuds up

And getting that generator
going, getting out of here.

It could have been a disaster,
almost was a disaster,

We're going to have
some growing pains

To get this thing up and running
right and get it dialed in.

I've got my work cut out.

It's going to make
the money, I mean,

We're going to make it work.

The season's getting
short right now.

Before long it's going
to start freezing up.

We've just got to things back
in order and get back out.

Soon as everything clears up.

♪♪

Narrator: 80 miles east...

Oh, holy [bleep]

...on the havala...

One angry
bering sea right here.

Where are these
[bleep] coming from?

Some big waves.

Wasn't supposed
to get this bad.

In the face of the storm,
captain shawn pomrenke

Is pushing his
operation to the limit.

Everybody took off
and went back to town.

I'm debating whether I
should ride it out

Or run to town with
the rest of them.

Weather's coming in quick.

Oh, man, it's going great!

Probably 20, 30, 40, 50
ounces in the box.

Are we going to pull
our sluice or not?

I'm thinking
mr. Gold style,

We're just going
to ride it out.

Hell yeah.

Big nuggets, big nuggets.

It is high risk.

But desperate times
take desperate measures.

And if I don't produce the gold,
then I have no mega dredge.

Narrator:
and without the mega dredge,

Mr. Gold won't be able
to counter ken kerr

And the myrtle irene.

We're going
to figure out

What the havala
can handle.

We're going to get that
nugget patch out of here

Before we go.

Narrator: so, no nuggets
will be left behind.

The havala is so big that it can
ride out more weather

Than all those little dredges.

Is this all you got!

Aah!

More pretty rich
stuff right here.

It's just pouring in.
Just pouring in.

Well, we got some
rough weather here,

But we chose
to ride it out.

It seems to be paying,
so...

There's that big one,
there's the big one.

Oh [bleep]

Is that our box?

Check the box!
Check the box!

-How's it looking?
-Hold on, hold on.

Our boat's coming apart.

Narrator: and now...

[ Piano playing ]

I'm an incredibly massive
classical music nerd.

Beethoven is one of the
greatest composers to ever live.

He wrote a symphony designed
to illustrate working through

Adversity called the eroica.

And that's why I named
my boat the eroica.

I have my degree in
vocal performance.

[ Operatic singing ]

I like to engage in my snobby
classical music tendencies

In new york that I don't
get to engage in in nome.

[ Musical flourish ]

However, um,

The first album I
ever bought might have

Possibly been spice
girls when I was 13.

They're [bleep] great,

So I'm not even going
to apologize for that.

[ Laughs ]

So I'm not even going
to apologize for that.

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

Well, we got some
rough weather here,

But we chose to ride it out,
seems to be paying, so...

There's that big one,
there's the big one!

...seeking to ride out
the storm,

Mr. Gold,
captain shawn pomrenke,

Oh [bleep]
is that our box?

Check the box!

Check the box!

...may have bitten off more
than the havala can chew.

Hold on, hold on!
Our boat's coming apart.

Not a [bleep]

Alright,
I'm gonna head on up.

Narrator:
the side-mounted sluice box...

Shawn: shut it off!

We lose the screen?

Narrator: ...has torn free
of its moorings.

And if they lose the sluice,

The bluff takes back
every ounce of gold

They've sucked up
over the past week.

Shawn: the weather at bluff
is different.

I mean, you get used to
all these years in nome

And how the weather acts
and what you can mine in

And what you can't.

The bluff, it's a whole
new learning experience.

So, it's not easy.

You don't want to put
a bunch of gold in the box

Just to put it
back to the bottom.

So, we're shutting down.

We gotta get repositioned
so we ain't sideways in it.

The box is getting
hammered here.

Hey!

Narrator:
to make matters worse...

Watch that ophere. it's gonna
want to swing around!

...driving winds have
ripped shawn's support vessel,

The ophere, off its anchor

And set it on
a crash course with the havala.

-Are we slipping anchor?
-Yeah.

Joe: I've got
to get on the ophere.

You want me
to go board it?

Better get
on the ophere.

We're not in a good
situation here right now.

♪♪

Look at joe!

He's a [bleep] animal!

♪♪

Nice, nice!

Bam! Got it!

That's how he is!

We do what it takes.

Oh, we got this.
We're good.

Narrator:
after one close call too many...

The plan's changed,
we're gonna go home.

Live to mine another day.

...shawn calls mercy
to the bering sea.

Could have been
horrible, you know,

Could have caused
a lot of damage.

But we got lucky and it didn't.
So...

If mother nature would
have let us stay out there

A little longer, we would
have done a lot better.

But, uh, you take
what you can get.

♪♪

We're making it home
with the gold.

Narrator: 200 yards away...

Kris:
we had a great day today.

We ran out of gas and that's
what caused us to stop.

Hopefully, dad shows
up with the fuel

'Cause if he doesn't show up
with the fuel, we're done.

No, if he don't show
up with the fuel,

Then we ain't going nowhere.
-Yeah, yeah.

Shazam! Yeah, I'm on gold,
I'm on gold.

You know, and I'm not stupid.

Now it's a race
to get back on it.

We just need to
get up and running.

Let's just have
a great day tomorrow

And hopefully dad comes
with the fuel.

And I know we're going
to get another 10 ounces.

Yeah.

Yeah, that's all we
need to concentrate on,

10 Ounces a day.

Grind it out.
-Yep.

[ Wind blowing ]

Narrator: 80 miles west...

...at captain emily reidel's
cleanup shack...

Emily: alright, weigh time.

Bob: alrighty,
let's see what we got.

Narrator: ...with the back half
of the season in view,

Captain emily needs a big
weigh-out to bring her

500-Ounce summer
gold into focus.

Here we go, keep coming.

32...35...42...

44...45...
Whoa!

Alright, 45.39, gentlemen.

Lets just call it 45.4.

We're doing good.

That's awesome, guys.

Narrator: 45.4 ounces pockets
emily close to 60 grand,

Her biggest cleanup
of the season...

45 Ounces
per about 40 hours.

So, we're over an ounce
an hour still.

Emily: yeah, 45 ounces
per 40 hours.

...vaulting her total
to 109 ounces,

Worth over $140,000.

Even though our
numbers are superb

And we haven't dipped
below an ounce an hour,

I'm still a long way away
from my season goal.

Now it just kind
of comes down

To how many hours
we can get down there.

I can like that.

Thanks, daryl!

We still have it!

[ Thunder rumbling ]

Narrator:
midway through the season,

Captain emily joins
the century club.

For the rest of the fleet,
as the storm blows through,

They live to fight another day.

Kris: you know, it's been
a long, hard struggle

To get to this point.

Let's do it!
Let's go!

Boom! 1,000 Bucks!

Boom!

Shawn's a [bleep]

Stuff happens when
you're out there.

I mean, you just keep working.

Emily: he's in danger
of getting burned

By boiling water pouring
through his dive suit.

There it is. The best
I've seen this year.

We might have
100 ounces in a day.

Emily: eh-hey!

Daryl: I'm [bleep]
aaaah!

Karma's a b*tch and it
always works in our favor.

♪♪