12x00 - Gold Dogs, New Tricks

[bunniefuu]

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

¶

As the fleet shuts down...

We got to get out of here.

Where the [bleep] are you?

I don't know. Aah!

Stuck under the rock.

Narrator: ...after one of the
most daunting dredging seasons

On record...

Ken:
definitely rolling the dice.

Man!

You won't even look me
in the eyes!

'Cause you're a [bleep] lunatic!

Narrator: ...they prep for
the harsh winter

Looming on the horizon...

This is ice mining. This is
some brutal stuff right here.

Narrator:
...when temperatures plummet

And the sea is
an endless sheet of ice.

It's scary as [bleep].

Shawn: i'm freezing up. Come on.

Bring him up. Bring him up now.

Get away!

We just lost our entire
winter-mining operation.

...[Font color="#ffff00"] captions by vitac[/font]...
[Font color="#00ffff"]www.vitac.com[/font]

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

¶

Shawn: hey,
what's going on, buddy?

Good seeing you.
Good to see you.

Narrator: with their
massive operation shut down,

The two titans meet before
captain ken kerr departs nome

And shawn pomrenke preps

For his first winter season
in nearly three years.

How'd you do this year?

Pretty bad-a*s, really.

I decided to call that thing
the super myrtle.

Super myrtle?

She's doing really good,
so she got...

I thought it was
the turtle myrtle.

No. That's why we put that name
"super" in front of it.

Narrator: this summer.
Ken's goal was simple...

Ken: oh, yeah! Oh, yeah!

Narrator: ...total and complete
domination...

Now I got to start hauling a*s,

Start running some material.

Narrator: ...with his eyes set
on a nome record

For the biggest haul
in the fleet.

myrtle's the super myrtle.

She's the super-duper myrtle.

The pumps, sluice box ran good.

I mean, everything is just...

It's just a heck of a machine.

It's a gold-getting, big daddy,
monster, super dredge.

It's just something else,
watching that thing dig.

Narrator:
for much of the season,

Ken's 600-ton behemoth...

Whoo-hoo, baby!

Man, that's good-looking gold.

...gobbled up gold
almost as fast

As the bering sea
could reveal it.



[ Laughter ]
thank you very much.

Ken: good job.

Narrator: but it wasn't
all smooth sailing.

Ken: one of the worst things
that could happen

Next to k*lling somebody...
We broke our bottom cable.

Now we've got to
jack the spud up.

Well, here we go.

[ Machinery whirring ]

¶

Not maxed out there.

When one of these cables
breaks on our spuds,

The consequences is dire.

Sitting here
pulling on this spud

With everything
this excavator's got,

Anything could happen now.

We could blow
a big hydraulic line,

Lose all our hydraulic fluid.

The boom would fall down
on the deck.

If we don't pull it right,
we could rip the side

Out of the spud hole
and end up sinking the barge.

I mean, there's just
a lot could happen.

¶

Come on, baby.

There you go. Man: yahoo!

I think she just...
I think she just came free.

¶

Narrator: and later...

Oh, yeah, a big-a*s blow coming.

Narrator: ...mother nature
descended on the myrtle

With a fury.

Man: mayday, mayday.

myrtle irene is


in catastrophic, dire failure.

we need immediate assistance
to get into the harbor.

Shawn: captain ken got greedy
and stayed out way too long.

Now he's having trouble
coming in.

It's not good.
Not safe at all to be out there.

He's got some assistance,
but it's blowing away,

And it doesn't look like
he's making any headway at all.

Oh, it looks like the tug
made it to them.

They got ahold of them.

Gold fever gets the best
of some people,

And they make bad decisions.

They made it.

Thank god everybody
made it in safe.

¶

I'm not happy it happened,
but when you're

In the middle of it,
it's like, "well, just fight.

Fight the fight
and get her done."

Yeah.

It was a hell of a fight, too.

The good part is
it all ended well.

I mean, that could have been
a lot worse.

Yeah.

Yeah, that storm was
very brutal.

It put a hurt on us, seeing
the whole season maybe going by

In a blink of an eye.

It was hard to take.

So, yeah, we're just thankful.

That would have been really bad
to see something bad happen.

Yeah, no, if we sunk
the barge out there,

You're right,
it would be bad for everybody.

How about you guys?

It was pretty hard watching
you guys out there digging

While I was sitting onshore.

Yeah, early on, I guess
you had a few problems

To get out the water, huh?

Continue to move forward.

Fight on. Keep fighting.

This was, by far, the toughest
season I've ever had.

I almost lost
my whole operation.

We can't use them.
We can't touch them.

All's we can do is look at them.

Sad sight. Sucks.

¶

Narrator:
mr. Gold started off the season

As a dredger without a dredge.

[ Bird calling ]

¶

Shawn: we went into business
with a guy.

He was supposed to
come up with the funds

To finish the mega dredge.

Instead of coming up with the
money to fund the mega dredge,

He was bleeding the company dry
of every dollar he could.

Narrator:
shawn came up with a plan

To get his beloved
christine rose out of hock,

But it wouldn't be easy.

¶

And it wouldn't be cheap.

I've put an offer in
to buy all the assets

Out of the bankruptcy.

We got to come up with $400,000

To get access to my boat.

Narrator: shawn went to w*r
with the only weapon he had...

The inland mine.

I have to keep
this plant running.

I got to keep as much material
going through it as possible

If I want to make the $400,000.

I got all my crews
out at my offshore

And my inland crew
all working on the inland mine.

Everybody's working their asses
off trying to make this money,

Make this happen.

¶

I want to buy my stuff back,

One scoop at a time.

¶

Narrator:
working around the clock...

Shawn: 145.

Woman: 146, big dog.

We got the boats back.

Narrator: ...paid off.

I mean, the cards were
stacked against us this season.

But I put my head down,

Did the work I needed to do
to get it back.

There it is.

¶

And it has the smell.
It smells like money.

Yeah!

Narrator: shawn still faced
a daunting task

To pay off the debt in full.

Shawn:
sometimes, you got to just
look for it a little bit harder.

Ooh!

Oh, I see you already.

There you go.

That's some chunkier
stuff there.

Narrator: and he was
up for the challenge.

¶

Yeah!

[ Crane rattling ]

¶

That's what money sounds like
right there.

¶



¶



Feeling good.

I am ready to rumble
with the bering sea.

Narrator: but...

Shawn: got to do it
sooner or later.

Narrator: shawn's rumble
with his father, steve,

Wouldn't go quite as well.

¶

Nine times out of 10,

You put my dad and myself
in the same room,

There's gonna be a fight.

I mean, you work hard. So do i.

But it doesn't give you
any right to treat me

Or talk to me the way you do.

Look at me in the eye
and let's figure it out.

But you can't even talk to me.

[Bleep]. Mr. [Bleep] big shot.

Mr. Big gold.

Oh. Oh.

But mr. Big shot big gold

That bought all that
[bleep] equipment back there!

[Bleep] you.

What? It didn't?

That ocean didn't pay for
any of that equipment?

It wasn't my half
of [bleep] my money

That paid for all that...
Half that equipment?

You know what? All this gold...

All this [bleep]
piles of gold, steve,

It's not gonna replace your son.

And that's what you're
gonna end up losing.

What, for some pile of gold.

It may be the last season
I ever speak or

Have anything to do with my dad.

And it really sucks to say that,
but it's the truth.



Yeah!

¶

Narrator: the veteran captain
put it behind him.

You got to make everyone count.

Big rock.

Narrator: and as the summer
raced to a close...

[ Tapping ] shawn: 59 1/2.

Nice.

[ Laughs ]

...he won back the coveted crown
of mr. Gold.

Shawn:
now ken's gonna start crying.

Got my boats back,
got a little extra money

In my pocket,
and we kicked ken's a*s.

We made it through this season.
We can make it through anything.

¶

Well, congratulations, buddy.
You beat me again, dang it.

Oh, well, you won last year.

Yeah, I got it
for a while, though.

I brought something for you.

Oh, great. What is it?

Well, I figured this year
you might have more of a tiara.

[ Laughs ]

Oh, shawn, you shouldn't have!

[ Laughs ] oh, you knucklehead.

I mean, I can't believe
you gave me this.

So does that mean
I got the crown this year?

That's the tiara.

That's the crown, buddy.
[ Laughs ]

That sucks. I lost that.
[ Laughs ]

Quit laughing at me.

¶

Narrator:
shawn may be laughing now,

But as he takes on
the brutal nome winter...

I'm gonna go get suited up
and head down.

Go ahead. Sounds good.

...and returns to ice mining...

Now it's time to push it
to the limit.

Narrator:
...he won't be laughing anymore.

¶

Come on, mr. Gold!

¶

Head up!

¶

¶

Did I get the hose
stretched out all the way?

Shawn: okay.

¶

¶

lots of gravel coming through.

i'm gonna go ahead and stretch
out the hose in this direction.

i want to see if the gold's
moving in this way.

¶

Hey, that orange part of
the hose is in the water.

You got only about


well...

Hey, shawn.

oh, shh...

[ grunts ]

Hey, shawn, are you
able to hear me?

[ grunts ]

[ coughs ]

oh, [bleep].

raise it up!

coming up.

¶

Hey, joe!

¶

come on!

Narrator: throughout nome,

Summer mining is
in the rearview mirror,

And preparations are underway
for the onslaught of winter.

¶

C'mon, let's get going. No.

This is it.
We're almost out of here.

We just got to push hard
at the end.

You know, when there's salt on
the deck, it's time to go.

Yeah, no [bleep].

It must be a solid sheet
of ice this morning.

Narrator: after a tumultuous
summer campaign,

The kelly clan
is putting their dredge,

the reaper,
away for hibernation.

Winter's here. They're gonna
start pulling the docks soon.

Get our boat, get it over,
get it pulled out.

I've still got...
[ Blows raspberry ]

Still got so much work to do.

We got the whole winter to do.

Basically everything
you see on this boat

That's not wood
is coming off the boat.

In the beginning of the season,
you work hard for free.

At the end of the season,
you work hard for free.

You know, like, it's just
what you have to do.

You don't want to just abandon
your equipment and leave it.

You have to take care
of everything.

Maintenance,
put it away properly,

Or it won't be here
when you get back.

Narrator: captain kris
and his crack crew

Were aiming for 100 ounces
to buy a dredge of their own

And finally join
the mining big leagues.

Honestly, it was
an okay year, you know.

Like, it was
a struggle all year long.

A few things didn't work out
this year, but...

Not a lot, but we kept trying.

We kept changing our plans,
and we just didn't quit.

You know, that's what you have
to do to make it in mining.

I'm shocked we got over


We didn't really have a plan,
like, between you and me.

We did not have
a plan this summer.

My plan was to go around
and get 100 ounces.

That's not a [bleep] plan, dude.

Particular spot that you're
gonna love, okay?

Yeah, captain brad.

Captain brad norman.
Particular spot.

We're gonna get some gold,
you're gonna be happy,

And we're gonna
have a little fun.

Narrator: to try to get the gold
they needed, the kellys

Employed a sophisticated
mining technique...

Brad: I don't want to
disclose anything,

But we're going to
a secret location where

I'm pretty sure we're gonna
get good gold.

Going right by emily's.

Narrator:
...taking someone else's.

She might get mad at us,
but I don't care.

I love my dad.

So, my dad tells me
this whole hustle where

He's got a spot right now,
big gold.

We show up. We start getting
big gold on state land.

No big deal.
I'm like, "that's great.

Big gold.
I could use some big gold."

So we show up there,
and where the hell do we park?

We park like, I don't know,
like 100 or so feet

Away from emily riedel.

I'm like, "holy [bleep]."
You know?

And she's looking right at us,
too, when she pulls up.

I'm like, "[bleep]."

Emily: right now,
you're claim-jumping,

So you're gonna have to move.

Brad: I didn't think
we were, but...

Okay, well, now you know.

I've got a boat out here
by the name of the reaper.

They are claim-jumping.

I know that you're in
the enforcing business,

So if you'd like to do
some enforcing, by all means.

She did call the d.n.r. On us.
She did call.

Emily's a rat, dude...
A snitch rat.

Narrator:
after that scheme fell apart...

You [bleep] me over, I'm gonna
be pretty [bleep] pissed.

Like, I don't know.

I'll drop a [bleep]
load of rock on the boat.

I don't know.

...kris struck a gentlemen's
agreement with the au grabber

And mined the scraps
the massive dredge left behind.

Kris: [ laughs ]
I knew I'd find it!

this is gonna pay off.
I'm already seeing gold.

And the deal paid off
right from the get-go.

yeah, baby!

But...

visibility down here
is terrible.

i'm basically gonna have to
fall into this hole.

...it wasn't all champagne
and nuggets.

That's what I'm afraid of.
He's gonna get crushed.

He shouldn't even be
working today.

You can't even see
what the hell he's doing.

¶

What's the matter?

pull me up!

Pull him up!
Pull him up! Pull him up!

¶

hang on.

I can't get him!

He's stuck... He's stuck
under the rock.

come on.

I can't [bleep] move him.

Don't pull anymore.
You're pulling his mask off.

Narrator:
and it was up to a nearby diver

To help the fighting kellys
stay in the fight.

Hey, he's at you.
He's there now.

he's there.
He's right next to you.

Hang on.
He's right there next to you.

i can't move my arms!

don't try and fight it, now.
Just hold still.

Be calm. You'll be all right.

i feel him.

okay, okay, good.

¶

I got my kid back.
That's all I care about, really.

You want to know know the truth,
that's all I wanted.

I don't want to lose my son,

Either one of my sons,
out here doing this.

¶

Narrator: ultimately, the family
gain the ounces they needed

To get the boat of their dreams.

What a piece of [bleep].

But it was more like
a nightmare.

It really is kind of
a piece of [bleep].

I mean, look at
the [bleep] picture

And then look at the boat.

Look at the picture,
and then look at the boat.

That's the picture.

There's the boat.

Yes, it's titanic junior,
after it got sunk.

¶

We're gonna have to buy
a new pump engine.

I would love a new
air compressor

Because that saves my life.

Look at the sluice box,
how it's pulling apart, andy.

Yeah, it's lifting right up.
[Bleep] joke, dude.

Plus, it's breaking.

Looks like we're gonna
have to get a new sluice box.

This season got us
our 100 ounces.

You know, this boat's
done real well for us.

I don't know what
the future is gonna hold.

Mining's unpredictable.

We're never gonna get rich
with this boat.

That's for damn sure.

Narrator: that's why,
when the kellys hit the ice,

The captain will have a
brand-new scheme up his sleeve.

I've got a plan so good
and so epic

And pennies on the dollar,
you know, and I love that,

Let me tell you.

The summer plan,
the bering explorer...

That was a disaster.

We sunk a bunch of money
into that deal.

But there's no way we're gonna
be able to finish it.

Right now, my dad and brother
are really pissed at me.

But that was plan a.
I have a plan b.

¶

I'm glad you guys are here.

You guys ready
to make some gold?

Andy: what the [bleep]
are we doing here?

We said we would never
come back for ice.

This is another step

In the ladder to getting
rich and famous.

Wait until you guys see
what I have planned this year.

You guys are gonna be
blown away.

Come on. Come on, let's go.

Right now, my plan b
is getting a boat.

Not that other one...
A different boat.

This one's awesome. Trust me.

¶

Are you guys ready for
the next step in your life?

Looks like a [bleep] boat.

Don't get too excited at once.

This boat right now is
the answer. It's the future.

Hey, dad.

It's equipped for
long-range operations.

It has a galley. It's got bunks.

You can live for like
two weeks at a time.

It looks brand-new
in here, dude.

I can rent
this boat this summer.

It's only gonna cost me


All we need is


That's nothing.

Kris: I can just feel the gold!

That's what I'm
telling you, huh, dad?

¶

Oh, this is real nice.

Yeah, I'll be honest with you,

I didn't really want to
come up here for ice season.

Ice mining sucks.
I'm not trying to candy-coat.

Now we see what we're
working towards.

You see the price at the end.

Yeah, yeah.

Now we just got to get the gold
and make this all come together.

¶

¶

Emily: okay, so,
what do you recommend

For winterizing these things
'cause I actually...

I've never done anything.

Man: I think vegetable oil

'Cause vegetable oil
is not gonna hurt anyone.

Uh-huh.

Narrator: after a successful
summer campaign,

Captain emily riedel
and lead diver daryl galipeau

Prepare to put
their dredge, the eroica,

To bed until next spring.

I just did a couple last
finishing touches before we pull

The boat out of the water

It's the end of the season.
Weather's not improving.

It's gonna start
freezing up here,

So just taking care of some
final touches

Before we go home for the year.

Narrator: the veteran captain
was after 300 ounces to afford

A second dredge and expand
her fleet for the future.

Emily: you know what?

We accomplished our goal
as gold miners this season.

We worked when we could.

Anytime there was time
to get out and go gold mining,

We were out on the water.

We did our jobs.
We did what we came here to do.

¶

Narrator: intent on having her
best season to date...

...emily and daryl
hit the ground running.

Emily:
i think we're making money.

This is daryl's fourth season
back on my boat,

So I can really read the mood.

When daryl's, like, grumpy about
the gold he's seeing, he's like,

"What?" [ Laughs ] you know?

"Yeah. Everything's fine."

If he gets, like,
really enthusiastic,

It's always, like, amazing.

If he's on, like, ounce-plus,
he'll be all like,

"Oh, holy..."

sounds like the gold gods are
working in our favor, for once.

Whoo!



Narrator: the time on the box
kept paying off.

Emily: 15.

Whoo!
Now we're cooking with gas.







Not bad for a day's work.

Narrator: emily not only aimed
to expand her operation...

We're gonna be trying
to do some mining today

But also showing my dad
the ropes.

Oh, can't see a thing.

Narrator: she expanded her team
by bringing in father, steve,

As a backup captain.

I'm pretty much un-tradeable,

But emily's gonna
give it a shot,

So there might be gold for me.

Emily: can you lower
this fellow down? Like this.

And then we'll go ahead
and lower his foot valve.

Foot valve's my favorite.

You heard of
air throttle control?

Air throttle? No.

The r.p.m. Gauges don't work.

They work.

Are you starting it
the right way?

Yes!

[ Clicking ]

There it is.

A lot to remember.
I'm pretty overwhelmed.

Dad! Don't start the engine
with the motor idled up.

I don't know why you do that,
but don't do that.

¶

Oops.

Why? What?

Did you open that valve?

Don't open that valve.

It's not fair to describe him.
You just have to meet my dad.

He's such a singular,
weird character.

We're gonna have the most
efficient day ever.

I got some ideas about
what's going on.

We'll make this...
We'll make him rock and roll.

Narrator: and soon came the
debut of eroica captain steve

And all the madness
that entails.

I got it under control.
I got it under control.

No ideas about
the water temperature.

Keep it above 100, at least.

I've been watching these
russian videos,

Russian videos on efficiency
and temperature.

We got to get in the water.

My dad is very a.d.d.
And easily distracted

And sometimes gets distracted
by the wrong things.

Narrator: dad's turn
at the helm turned, well...

Oh, boy.

Ok, well, we're gonna
bump your vision

For you up just a little bit.

Daryl: all right.

I know a way to get him at least


By dropping the temperature
about 15 degrees, of his water.

Lowering it down slowly.

Pretty soon, he's all excited,
and he's working really hard

And very efficient
and freezing his a*s off.

The water's fine, you know.
How's the gold production?

Steve: your temperature's
doing real well.

Take that shivering and
that cold and focus with it

And turn it into
gold production.

Oh, man, best day ever!

Okay.

¶ Happy day,
we're having a happy day ¶

¶ We're having a happy day ¶

Production up!

Cold down! Whoo-hoo!

Are you okay?

Hoo-hoo-hoo!

Whoo-hoo!

[ Cellphone rings ]

Hey, hey, emmy! Hey.

Things are going really well.

I know the temperature
down and down and down on him.

It's hovering right below 80°.

And, you know, he's
shivering and everything...

Yeah, well, yeah,
just let me finish.

What?

We're having the best day ever.

Narrator: in the end...

You are gonna miss me.

...steve was sent packing.

You don't know what you had
till it's gone.

Emily: come on.
Mama's got to buy a new dredge.

Back behind the wheel,

Emily pushed hard
to the bitter end,

Even in the face
of an impending storm.

¶

Emily: yeah! Whoo!

that's what I love to hear.

Frickin' a. Thank god, right?

[ static ] daryl: yeah.

Narrator: and she finished
summer on her highest note yet.



All right, man! Congrats!

North of 300.

[ Laughs ]

Whoo! All right.

Yeah, this sexy pile of gold
makes it all worth it.

I set a goal at the beginning
of the season

To purchase a second dredge

And went through a lot of hell
to get there.

But we're walking away
with enough gold

To acquire a second dredge.

There's lots of gold out there
that nobody can get because,

One, they don't have
the vessel for it.

They don't have the resources,

Knowledge to get
to the long-forgotten gold.

You know, we've got to adapt
and expand our horizons

And go for those
far-reaching places.

I'm happy we did
as well as we did.

We were quite miraculous
in our ability

To make as much gold as possible

Under the situation,
under the circumstances.

But I wanted to bilge
the pontoon out

One more time before we anch it.

Narrator: this summer,

Claim 14 helped
make emily's dreams come true.

Right now, we're


Narrator: but will her home turf
be as reliable in the winter?

And then 14 is right over there.

Fire it up. Let's roll.

[ Engine revs ]

¶

I took a big leap forward
to expand my operation,

But ice really has to work out
for me because if it doesn't,

The whole plan might collapse.

I need to find some
flat, healthy ice on 14

And get to work.

¶

[ Engine stops ]

Oh, [bleep].

There's your crack.

¶

This is crazy.

This will be the next big piece.

Yeah.

That's gonna break off
any second.

That's all the way through
that pressure ridge, too.

Yeah, it goes all
the way up through

Like how many feet
of hard, packed ice.

¶

Well, it just seems like
right now

We're just south of this
huge crack that's opening up.

One good north wind,
even this flat section of ice

Is gonna... You know,
it's gonna be gone.

It's gonna turn
into another lead.

¶

All of this flat area,

All of this potential 14,
it's gone.

This crack's here.
It's about to break off.

It's gonna go at any second.

¶

Emily: well, this is
the situation as I see it.

This 14 is currently open water.

So this section of
the bering sea

That we're in right now,
we can't mine.

I mean, 14... Done.
No mining here.

Got to find somewhere else.

¶

¶

I don't know. How do you
feel the season went?

Or what do you think about
the way the season went?

Not as expected.

Narrator: the adkison family...

Skipper vernon
and daughter elaine

Assess the gold ship
wild ranger's

First full season
on the bering sea.

As frustrating as the start
of the season was,

I feel like I can happily
walk away and say,

You know,
we we gave it a good shot.

The veteran captain
and the crew were looking

For enough ounces
to pay off the new vessel

And end the summer in the black.

I mean, we all
stepped our game up.

We've worked out all the kinks
and went hard into production,

And even with the late start,
you know, we we pulled it off.

And, you know,
we're still walking away

With money in our pockets,
and I'm quite pleased.

Yeah.

Vernon: oh, yeah.
It's looking damn good.

Vernon's crew
got off to a hot start.

yeah, got the gold in.

We're in production.

on the gold.

This is better than netflix.

This is goldflix.

¶

[ Loud clacking ]

¶

Vernon: strange noise.

Oh, we lost the pulley.

We've got a pulley that drives
the air compressor,

And it went in the water.

Narrator: and it soon appeared

A new diving superstar
had joined the team.

Vernon: go for it.
Go for it, man.

All right, yeah, jump on in.

Vernon: we'll let him take a dip
and see if he can find it.

Chances of that happening
is slim to none,

But we'll give him
a few minutes, and we'll see.

See how he likes
this bering sea water.

Look, uh...

If you get swept away,
try to make it for the beach.

Diver: okay.

And we'll pick you up.
All right.

Elaine: bad things can happen.

I mean, this is insane.
I've never...

¶

Vernon: really, truly, I think
it's an exercise in futility.

Pulley's about like this
in this big ocean.

We are wasting
so much time and money.

This is beyond frustrating.

[ Sighs ]

¶

Let's call it.

We got to pull up
and go to town.

Hey!

All right!

Yeah! Whoo!

[ Laughs ] all right!

You might just have yourself

A future in the
gold-mining business.

If you can find that damn thing
on the bottom of the bering sea,

You can probably find gold, too.

You found that thing,
so I tell you what,

You get the first dive today.

All right.

All right, idle up!

¶

I like him.

oh, yeah!

Vernon:
make regular contact with me.

All right, so, here goes.
Throw the stern anchor.

Narrator: but eventually, the
twinkle came off the new star.

Vernon: did he throw it yet?

[ beeps ]

All right.
I need some communication.

I mean, what's happening
with the radio?

Dropped it where?

Pack your [bleep]
and get off the boat.

I'm just not...
I can't have that.

I mean, some people are just
[bleep] accident-prone.

Some people can't get their
[bleep] together,

And you seem to be one of them,
so I'm done with you.

So when we get back, just get
your [bleep] off the boat.

Yeah. Yeah.

Right. Exactly.

Narrator: and vernon played
a familiar tune...

¶

...as everything around him
started to fall apart.

That's a good way
to blow an engine,

Overheating the damn thing.

all right.

It's been a day of snafus.

Okay? That's putting it mildly.

It would be great to get
a full day of mining in

'Cause right now,
nobody's made any money.

Yeah, nobody's made any money.

I'm gonna jump in there
and see if I can't contribute.

Not gonna think about
all the germs.

Narrator: but the gold ship
got back on course...

Elaine: easy peasy.

...thanks to the efforts
of daughter elaine.

The main thing is no matter
what happens down there,

Do not clamp.

Okay?

¶

You're looking good.
Your breathing sounds good.

Elaine: holy [bleep].

Hey, I'm just gonna hang out
for a minute and kind of

Start moving some material.

Well, you're making money.
You might not want to come up.

[ laughs ] oh, yeah.

She'll be a diving gorilla
here before long.

¶

Oh, hell yeah,
there's tons of gold under here.

Oh, man. Yeah,
that box is looking good.

[Bleep]. Man, look at all that.

That's big enough to make
a nose ring out of.

All right. Good job, elaine.

¶

Cut all the drama and whatnot.

I mean, yeah,
I appreciate you coming.

You were a big help.

I can see where you'll be even
more of a help in the future.

I think elaine could
captain a dredge.

I know damn well she can.

I mean, she's already way better

Than a lot of other people
I see out there.

When it comes time
to pass it on,

When I get ready to
relinquish the helm,

I'll probably
turn it over to elaine.

We're kind of glad
that you came back, kiddo.

Well, thanks, dad.

That might be the nicest thing
you've said to me all season.

Hey, we got to
shake, rattle, and roll.

We've got to get things
rolling here.

I will say that
I'm glad you came up,

And I'm proud of
what you've done.

I'm excited about next season.

It'll be good.
It's gonna be good.

I am, too. I think...

All this work we've put into it
will pay off big time.

Well, I appreciate that.
Thanks, dad.

All right. You done good.

Narrator: summer was no
walk in the park for vernon.

And this winter...

It's the first job
of the season.

...things don't get any easier
for the veteran skipper.

Gary: coming down. Coming down.

So, gary, how are you
looking down there?

oh, boy.

the ceiling's
really low right here.

how low is it?

there's hardly any room
to move at all.

we've got 3 foot of clearance.

Okay, just let me understand.
You're standing up?

And then you've got a couple
of feet above your head?

no. I'm on my hands and knees.

and if I sit up on my knees,
my head is hitting the ice.

¶

it's a little sketchy, guys.

got no clearance down here.

very little.

i mean, it's right on top of me.

i'm getting kind of
claustrophobic.

take it easy.

[ breathing rapidly ]

gary, get your breathing
under control.

I don't like this scenario.

[ Chanting "reaper" ]

You guys can chant it
[bleep] all week.

The chip in this box
is made from

The hottest chili pepper
on the planet,

The carolina reaper.

We have got
a one-chip challenge.

One chip is all you got to eat.

[ Laughter ] stick it in there.

Woman: that's causing you pains.

Man: holy [bleep].

Oh, wow.

Man #2: wow, that stinks.

[ Indistinct chatter ]

[ Laughs ]

Wait for it.

Wait for it.
- Could be a creeper reaper.

Could be, could be.

A subject can expect
short-term loss of speech

Followed by extreme profanity.

I don't give a [bleep].
[ Laughs ]

You rocked that, dude.

I am perspiring.

[ Woman laughs ]

[ Burps ] you want hot,
you eat my mama's salsa.

[ Laughs ]

Now, that'll [bleep]
your world up.

¶

Narrator: summer mining is now
just a memory.

¶

As winter covers nome in snow...

¶

It turns the bering sea
into a sheet of ice.

¶

But for the truly dedicated,
the quest for gold never stops.

Heading to the office,
dropping off paperwork

So I can finalize this deal.

Narrator: shawn pomrenke is
looking to the future,

Already on the trail

Of the biggest deal
of his mining career.

I have worked out a deal with
the lease owner of the tomcod

To purchase the tomcod.

[ Dog barks ]

That's right, kona.

Since I've started mining
in the bering sea



I've always mined on this claim.

We've dug on it with
the christine rose for years.

There's a lot of ground left
and a lot of gold.

So I had the opportunity,
and I jumped on it.

Now I just got to come up with
enough gold to pay for it all.

It's a tall order to do
in the winter.

the tomcod's
one of the first leases

I've ever started working on.

I've spent almost
my whole career on it.

Owning the tomcod means I own
all the gold that's on it.

It's a huge deal for me
and my family.

Paperwork, paperwork.

Now we got...

Drill logs and drill holes.

Treasure maps.

The treasure maps say
there's gold here.

There's gold there.
There's gold there.

They took a 4-inch pipe,
drove it into the ground,

And they pulled the sample out
every 3 feet,

Panned it all, and weighed
the amount of milligrams

Of gold per that 4-inch pipe.

It's the standard for measuring
the amount of gold in an area.

So this ice season, we can
go off with the drill logs,

Go out to the ground,

And double-check their...
What they already tested.

And we can prove
what they tested

And find out if
it's true or not.

Now that I'm buying the tomcod,

I have access
to all the drill logs.

It's a game-changer.

Drill logs should tell you

Exactly where the gold is at
if they're accurate.

I haven't even started,
and I'm already stressing.

the tomcod's worth
about $80 million.

And now I'm that close.

That close to owning it all.

¶

I've just got to
come up with $400,000.

This tomcod deal
is very complicated,

But I need to
come up with $400,000

Before the end of the season
to seal this deal.

Without that,
I don't have anything.

So it's time to get out
and go mining.

I'm not leaving this up to
anybody else.

I'm going to do the diving.

Let's go make some gold.

Winter mining is tough.

The ice is thin.

The water temperature is
a lot warmer than in years past.

Even though it's
negative 10° up here now,

The ocean water is a lot warmer,

Making the ice real soft,
unstable.

We could potentially lose
all of our ice-mining here.

There's a lot of little things
to pay attention to in ice

That can either
make it or break it.

There's very few people
that succeed up here

In nome gold mining.

A lot of them fail because
they think it's easy...

[ Dog barks ]

...and working
in the arctic is easy

And this is easy
and that's easy.

Right, kona.

They just don't
have a clue, do they?

[ Howls ]

[ Drill whirring ]

Hello, and welcome
to the kellys' operation.

And this is our dream.

Some people's nightmares,
but come on down.

Narrator: now...

[ Drill whirring ]

For the fleet,
it's full steam ahead...

Diving's like riding a bike.

Once you got it,
you don't ever lose it.

Yeah! Time to get in the water.

Narrator:
...as they go under the ice.

3, 2, 1.

i've got...

3 foot of clearance between
the bottom and the ice.

it's a little sketchy, guys.

You're the new owner
of this lease,

And we need a place to mine.

Deal? Yeah?



Yeah, this is ice mining. This
is some brutal stuff right here.

i recommend you get the hell
out of that water.

People can freeze up in a hurry

When they're wet and
it's minus 20°.

Diver: oh, I can't see a thing.

It's scary as [bleep].

i got 1 foot of visibility.

Feeling my age, that's for sure.

Daryl: i don't think I'm
getting the hot water

Emily: come up now.

yeah!

X marked the spot.

all right, first nugget!
Now I'm feeling good!

gold dance, gold dance!

gold dance!

Man, you have no idea
what you're going into.

raise it up!

coming up. Come on!

Shut up! Stupid!

Very bad for business.

These conditions are not ideal.

Watch out, kris! Get away!

We just lost our entire
winter-mining operation.

[Bleep]!

[Bleep].