♪♪
Bill: it's wintertime in alaska.
This is where they make weather.
I've not seen a start
like this ever.
It just gets colder
and colder and colder.
[ Men shouting ]
♪ Guess we're on our own ♪
Monte: as far as superpowers go,
russia is our arch enemy.
♪ It's such a crazy world ♪
Going king crabbing
didn't work out,
So I've got to make some money.
♪ No matter where you turn ♪
Sig: if we had to fish
way up north,
It could be very problematic.
♪ Death is just a shot away ♪
♪♪
Man: look out!
♪ What can be said ♪
Whoa!
Heads up!
-Oh, my...
-Give him a hand,
Give him a hand,
give him a hand.
Hey, stop,
stop, stop!
[ Groans ]
[Bleep]
-Easy back and right.
-This thing's coming.
-Roger, hold.
-Just pull it in.
-I am!
-♪ What can you do? ♪
[Bleep][ alarm blaring ]
-Is there smoke?
-Turn 'em all off! All of 'em!
Full scally!
We are listing heavy
to starboard.
-We stand up.
-I think we're sinking.
[ Electricity crackling ]
Every day is full of decisions,
every one of 'em can be costly.
Woman: vessel calling mayday,
vessel calling mayday.
Pan-pan. Pan-pan. Pan-pan.
We have new details
on a fishing vessel
That sank in
the gulf of alaska
With seven crew
members on board.
Captions paid for by
discovery communications
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator: dutch harbor, alaska.
Made it.
The king crab,
it was a challenge.
That's for sure.
Narrator: seven weeks after
the american armada
Beat the russian
competition to dock,
Securing over $45 million
in king crab bounty...
Monte: this is probably one
of the coldest starts
That I can remember in years.
A lot of the fleet is still at
home, getting ready to come up.
We decided to come up
a little bit early.
Narrator: ...four boats return
to face the winter season
Before the rest
of the dutch harbor fleet.
Monte: we've got 1.6 million
pounds to catch,
Which is probably twice as much
as just about anybody else.
So it's always good
to get an early start.
-Oh, no!
-After king,
We're going to try
to redeem ourselves.
Where?
I'm going to hit
this thing with all I got.
Narrator: now, the more
lucrative winter fishery
Triggers a race
between global titans.
But this sprint
is not to market.
It's to harvest
the very same biomass,
Winter's fabled snow crab,
the opilio.
King crab reside in the
bering sea's middle latitudes,
While opilio crabs prefer
the deeper,
Colder waters
of the remote far north.
Now with survey data pointing
to the bulk of the biomass
Straddling the russian line,
it's two superpowers...
Monte: the russians are starting
to level the playing field
On snow crab,
and they're harvesting
The sea food that is targeted
in the united states over there.
Narrator: ...two crab fleets...
I just want to get out of town.
If we want to try to beat
the russians at their own game,
We have to do this sooner
than later.
Narrator: ...fighting
for one pile of crab.
Sig: it could make for a very,
very russian winter.
♪♪
♪♪
On the wizard...
♪♪
[ Alarm bell ringing ]
Monte: let's go, let's go!
Let's get some guys
in some suits.
Come on.
Narrator: captain monte colburn
kicks off the winter season
With an abandoned ship drill
at oh-dark-30.
Monte: you hear
the general alarm,
That means we're either
sinking or burning up.
Don't bother
grabbing your wallet.
Narrator: reminding them that
on the bering sea,
A few seconds can mean
the difference between life...
Monte: weak arm first.
Get that hood on.
Narrator: ...or death.
Monte: the first guy done,
start trying to help people.
Good job, chad.
Get in suit, boom.
Okay.
That was just over one minute,
that's pretty strong.
You know, we've got a lot
to catch out here this year.
1.6 million pounds, we haven't
caught that much in a long time.
We're probably going to be
out here quite a bit longer
Than we have been in the past,
And the longer you're out here,
the longer you're at risk.
You get these icing years,
you know,
And then you never know
what's going to happen.
Narrator: normally the wizard's
relief skipper,
Monte starts the winter season
alone at the helm.
Monte: looks like we got
a couple of decent days here,
And then we're going to have
some 35-, 40-knot winds.
Narrator: with the weight
of the opilio fishery
Solely on his shoulders.
Monte: we are competing more
with russian product
Than we have in the past.
But let's just make it
to the a point to be
As safe as possible.
Narrator: responsible for
catching a 400,000-pound
Piece of the wizard's
1.6 million pound quota
Before the competition,
american or russian,
Grab it for themselves.
Monte:
we need to get the crab to town.
If the russians don't have
any crab on the beach
When we bring our crab
to the beach,
That can only be
a positive thing.
Narrator: down the docks...
Go up, yeah,
go up on it a little bit.
-Swinging it over.
-Watch out.
Narrator: ...returning after
a four year hiatus,
Captain scott campbell jr.'S
triumphant red crab season
Was overshadowed by steep losses
on the golden king crab routes.
How many pots
we got on?
-200.
-Make sure you check that winch.
But unwilling to let
his dream fade,
The veteran skipper
puts all his chips on alaska.
Let's get ready
go and throw lines,
Get out of here.
The lady alaska,that is.
The seabrookeholds 100,
120 pots.
This thing holds 300 pots.
Seabrookepacks about
300,000 pounds caught,
This packs 700,000
pounds caught.
It's a whole different animal.
Narrator: junior squeezed
his king profits
And his life savings
to secure the title
To the 138-foot vessel
that last fished a decade ago.
Scott: we put
brand-new hatches on.
We did a bunch of tank work,
Bunch of work
in the engine room.
You know, we put
our brand new launching on.
I mean, we've just
done everything.
I mean, it's just been
20 hour days, 7 days a week.
We're half a million dollars
in debt,
And I've got to make some money,
I got to catch some cod.
Narrator: but the ladywon't
bloody her bow
In the fight
for opilio crab just yet.
Her maiden voyage will be
on the booming cod grounds.
Scott: it's a derby fishery,
so it's a race for fish.
You got this much quota,
and you got this many boats
Coming in after that quota.
And once that quota is caught,
we're done.
All this new equipment's
really neat,
But the reality is,
is I still got to pay for it.
I got to go out and produce.
We just got to get out
and start making some money.
Narrator: 130 miles south
from russian waters
On the opilio grounds...
Sig: oh, yeah! Frozen!
Narrator: ...aboard
the northwestern.
Sig: mandy isn't here.
This is the holiday season,
So if we get lucky, we can get
her on board for the next trip.
But she would have been very
advantageous to us right now.
Narrator: after a season
with his daughter...
We have to go up
to that russian boarder,
Try to get something to happen.
Our strategy this year
is to come up early,
Get out on the grounds
before everybody else.
Narrator: ... Captain sig hansen
leads the american charge
Towards the russian line,
Alone, but the first
to plant his opilio flag
In the winter w*r.
Sig: we're going to throw up
the first string.
This is to the south, the flats,
I'd rather take
the flats any day.
Up north, you're fishing
closer to that ice edge.
You know,
you're risking your pots.
And then the distance.
It changes the game
if something should happen.
There's just more risk.
So I think I want to just see
if there's some
Where we've had crab
historically and then move up.
Sig: sig's plan -- start on
the southern outskirts
Of the northern grounds
And only venture towards
the icier conditions
Of the russian line
as a last resort.
Sig: you guys ready?yep.
Alright, men,
Stay safe,
set 'em when you're ready.
Opilio!
Opilio!
Whoo!
Here we go.
[ Cheering ]
Because of the icing,
safety issues.
You know, we have a small amount
of gear on this boat,
And that's okay.
We will be more mobile.
We want to cover
about 50, 60 miles.
See what we can see,
see where there's life,
And then find crab.
And that's what we got
to try here right now.
Can't wait to turn around
start hauling 'em.
♪♪
Hold on a second.
Huh?
It's kind of concerning.
What?
Wow.
♪♪
Narrator:
across the bering sea...
...new year's eve,
the united states coast guard
Alerts the fleet.
Sig: there's reports that the
scandies rosehas gone down
And that it's missing.
I don't know if they
were in their suits,
I don't know if they're on board
or made it in the water.
We just don't know.
Woman: vessel calling mayday,
vessel calling mayday.
The fishing vessel
scandies rose
Issues a distress call.
The ship and her crew
of seven are sinking.
Woman: 401256215.
Gary's been up there
for ever and a day.
I've known him for as long
as I can remember.
Narrator: at the helm,
bering sea legend,
Captain gary cobban.
Sig: right now it sounds like
the coast guard's on the way.
Thank god for that.
Narrator: 605 miles northeast
from dutch harbor
At the u.s. Coast guard
base kodiak...
...a search and rescue team
points their mh-60 jayhawk
Into a 52-knot head wind,
Toward the scandies rose
last known position.
170 Miles away,
east of sutwik island.
Woman: vessel calling mayday,
in position 5329 north,
15711 West.
Scott: there's always a chance
in the next hour or two
That they might be able
to find the guys.
You know, the coast guard's
got to search through the night,
They'll probably search
through tomorrow.
You know, but if they don't
find them in a couple of hours,
I mean, the odds of them
surviving are not good.
♪♪
Monte: [ exhales deeply ]
I just -- I can't hardly believe
That this is how
we start our new year.
He was just --
I saw gary just -- I mean,
he was like the last person
I talked to in dutch
before we flew home.
He was excited.
He's got family stuff, too.
You know, everyone's
always excited to go home
For the holidays.
Let's just hope that we
can bring everybody home.
♪♪
Narrator: 115 miles northeast
on the cod grounds...
Bill: the boat loss thing,
it's always tough to do,
Especially when
you know everybody.
Narrator: ...aboard
the summer bay...
You got to wonder,
was there some catastrophe,
Or is the obvious?
It is cold, it is windy.
They did have a full stack.
Alright.
Heavenly father, I would
like to ask you to
First and foremost bless
the entire fleet
That will be fishing out
this season.
Narrator: with the search for
the scandiesunderway,
Captain wild bill wichrowski
waits to tell his crew the news.
I ask that you
keep us all safe,
I ask that you keep us
all visualizing on our brothers.
They're going to go up
and knock the ice off the rails
And all the machinery
and just take some of the weight
Out of the bow.
You know, it's all
weighted down with ice.
Narrator: not wanting to
distract them from
The crucial task of removing
20,000 pounds
Of the building ice
before its weight
Risks capsizing the vessel.
When the seas get mighty,
because we know that they will,
I ask that you keep
our ship steady
And that you bring us
all back safe.
Thank you, god,
for everything you've provided
For all these
opportunities, amen.
All: amen.
-Thanks, bro.
-Thank you.
-Alright. Let's go.
-Let's get it.
Whoo! Damn!
Bill: breaking ice is
harder than fishing.
It really is.
But there was no way
we could start this
Without getting the ice off.
Narrator: as the crew readies
the summer bay
For her first pots...
Bill: my king crab sucked.
We should make some pretty
damned good money this time.
I need it.
Narrator: ...bill banks on
the booming cod fishery
To find firm financial footing
all before going toe-to-toe
With his russian adversaries
for opilio in the north.
Bill: we're out here,
we got what seems to be
A great running boat.
We got our gear ready to go,
price is good.
We're going to try to redeem
ourselves and make some dough.
Kenny: this is hundreds
and thousands of pounds of ice
We're beating off the bow.
Yeah, we don't like to do it
but if we don't do it,
The boat could roll over
and we'll all die.
So I'd rather beat ice
than die any day of the week.
♪♪
♪♪
[ Splash ]
Oh, my god.
Kenny just took one
swing and frisbeed
The mallet off the side.
[ Splash ]
That's what this is for.
We haven't even
gotten out of the box yet,
And we've thrown money
over the side.
This ice is about
4 inches thick right now,
Which isn't fun to beat,
but better take care of it now
Before we just turn
into a big ice cube
And we can't break it off.
Narrator:
with the cod derby open,
The summer bay
is ready to rumble.
Okay, you guys.
If the deck's all clear,
she can start rolling.
[Bleep] yeah, bill.
-Okay, going over.
-Send it, baby.
♪♪
Narrator: 60 miles northeast...
On the lady alaska.
Scott: weather came down
for us here a little bit.
Should be able to get
this gear off safely.
But just trying to get
my head straight right now
Because this time of year,
Big boats, you know,
can go down.
We just had the scandies rose
go down.
That's a boat of this size.
Narrator: with the tragic news
of the scandies rose
Still hanging in the air,
captain scott campbell jr.
Idles up to his chosen
cod grounds,
Ready to put his new boat
through its paces.
♪♪
♪♪
[ Beeping ]
But before he can
set a single pot...
Scott: I'm going to have to run
down and see what's going on
In the engine room there.
Narrator: ...a sensor
indicates a problem.
♪♪
Whoa! [Bleep]
[Bleep]
Narrator: on the lady alaska...
[Bleep]
Narrator: ...seawater cascades
into the engine room.
We got a crack in the bulk head
underneath the false deck,
So there's water pouring in
Right by all our
electrical equipment.
It's not a good situation.
Narrator: to fix the problem,
junior pairs
Engineer in training
james gallagher...
...with veteran deck hand
richard "hunky" ham.
Okay.
I'm going to give you
a chance, dude.
Why are you getting all [bleep]
up with me all of a sudden?
[Bleep]
Right now we honestly have
Probably 20 gallons a minute
coming in.
That's a serious leak.
It's got to be dealt with.
If we don't get it stopped,
we're done.
We're going to take this wood,
and we're just going to
Make wedges out of it.
We're going to take a hammer,
and we're going to pound
This wood in there
as hard as we can,
And that's going to help
stop the leak.
Narrator: fixing leaks of less
than 20 gallons per minute
Requires wood chips,
a water sealing putty...
...and a willingness
to work together.
Every boat has a gallon
of splash zone on it
Because you get
in situations like this,
That's the difference of you
being able to get home or not.
I just need 'em
to fix the [bleep] problem.
This cod quota
is going to go fast.
10 To 12 days, and this season's
going to be over.
Narrator: cod is a derby fishery
where a boat tanks as much
As it can until quota runs out,
meaning every minute
Not fishing is less poundage
for junior to catch.
Scott:
what do you mean, you give up?
Okay, get your a*s up here
and [bleep] calm down.
Last thing I need is everybody
losing their [bleep] head.
-I know.
-Okay, shut up and listen.
I'm going to go down there,
and both you [bleep]
Are going to
have to work together.
Don't come up here
[bleep] yelling,
"He ain't going to listen
to me, I'm done."
That doesn't fix
the [bleep] problem.
I know that.
♪♪
Get over here.
I think they got the message.
It was pretty clear down there.
Even I would have
got the message.
This is the problem
when you have
A green engineer
down in the engine room,
Is he doesn't have
the vast knowledge.
We have no leadership
on this boat.
So I'm going to have to be
deck boss,
Engineer, and captain.
In order for me to do all three,
I don't have time to be nice.
See that?
Alright.
Back in business again.
-Good job, boys, good job.
-Breezy.
Narrator:
with the leak plugged...
-Ready?
-Ready.
-Whoo!
-Ready to go.
-Going over.
-...junior sets his first pots
Of the 2020 cod season.
If we don't get
some money rolling in,
This is going to be
a very short lived operation.
Narrator: 25 miles east
of sutwik island...
♪♪
...with the united states
coast guard eric graff
Deployed in the search
for the scandies rose...
...one chopper
relays the news to base.
A rescue is underway.
♪♪
♪♪
Monte: the scandies rosewas
the only boat
I talked to on the radio.
We go back a long ways,
me and gary.
Pretty much hanging
by a thread right now.
And that's a total
understatement.
♪♪
-b*mb's away.
-Whoo!
Yeah, baby!
Narrator: on the summer bay...
We're almost done with the gear.
It's going to be really nice
to have all the pots
In the water fishing.
♪♪
[ Ding ]
Bill: yeah, I just got a text.
They found two rouse,
one was empty.
The other one had two guys.
Gary, art, brock, dave,
and seth are missing.
Narrator: his crew still
unaware of the sinking,
Captain bill learns
two deck hands
Were hoisted from the water with
no sign yet of the other five.
Nick: love it, last pot.
As soon as this is in,
we're making money.
Send it, baby.
Whoo! That's it!
Yeah! Whoo!
Yeah, whoo! Yeah!
Bill: thanks, guys.
I know that was
a b*tch of a set,
But it's in the water now.
Why don't you wrap it up
and come on in for a little bit.
I want to talk to you guys
in the galley.
♪♪
Narrator: 120 miles
northeast of dutch harbor
On the cod grounds...
Nick: love it, last pot.
Whoo, that's it! Yeah!
Whoo!
Narrator: ...aboard
the summer bay.
Bill: thanks, guys.
I know that
was a b*tch of a set,
But it's in the water now.
So why don't you wrap it up
and come on in for a little bit.
I want to talk to you guys
in the galley.
Narrator: captain wild bill
gathers the crew
To share the news
of the scandies rose.
Bill: this is like one of
the most [bleep] up moments
In our career, but last night,
the scandiesrolled over.
They got two back.
Gary and his son
weren't amongst them.
[Bleep]
They had a full stack
coming from kodiak.
Iced up and rolled over.
[Bleep]
Everybody else is m.i.a.
Man, I've known
gary forever.
Just yesterday I was
talking to him on messenger.
[Bleep]
You never think it
would be us, you know?
But gary's been fishing
a long, long time.
♪♪
Sorry, guys.
♪♪
♪♪
What's happening,
brother?
Yeah, it sucks.
[Bleep] terrible.
Alright, I'm going
to collect my thoughts.
Yeah, sounds good, man.
No rush here.
We're putting down the hill.
Tough day.
Narrator: while bill
and his crew hold out hope,
25 Miles east
of sutwik island...
...on the coast guard
mh-60 jayhawk,
The search continues
for the five men
Still missing
from the scandies rose...
...facing 52-knot head winds...
...the rescue team worries their
fuel burn rate is too high.
Man: roger.
Narrator: the crew decides to
forgo to use of heat
In the cabin to maximize
their time in the air
And the chances of finding
the five missing men.
♪♪
In dutch harbor,
On the wizard...
Tyler: it's not like
they had a bunch of gear on
That had iced up.
You know, it's sad
to see a boat go down.
Definitely.
And then you're thinking about,
now you're heading out in that.
Two crew made it out,
but I know that gary,
The skipper, was one
of monte's good friends.
I know it's weighing
heavy on him.
Monte: very fragile out here.
♪♪
Ah.
[ Sighs ]
You know why sailors
are superstitious?
Ocean's got a very long history
of swallowing things up.
With the old man.
And gary.
We've been struggling.
♪♪
Roger: we got captain monte
at the helm.
Keith's going to be coming up
for a second trip.
And we got about
1.6 million pounds to catch,
So the sooner we can get
out there, the better.
Right now we're just loading
the last bit of our herring
That we'll grind up
and use it as scrap bait.
We've loaded like close
to 60,000 pounds of bait
On board right now.
Last cup!
Monte: ready to go.
Guys are counting on me.
Ready to do this?
Narrator: the bait and and crew
are squared away.
Captain's incoherent.
He's too drunk
to pilot the boat.
I want
to go check on him.
Narrator:
but captain monte colburn
Is far from ship shape.
♪♪
Alright, here we go.
♪♪
-Hold it on back!
-Whoa. Whoa!
Hey, no, heads up!
Stop, monte.
Come on, we're ready
to move the boat.
Hang on.
[ Indistinct shouting ]
Narrator: in dutch harbor...
Monte: you ready to do this?
Narrator: ...the 155-foot wizard
is poised to throw lines.
But captain monte colburn
comes apart at the seams.
Alright, here we go.
♪♪
-Hold it on back!
-Whoa!
[ Indistinct shouting ]
Stop, monte.
Come on, we're ready
to move the boat.
Hang on, everybody.
[ Indistinct shouting ]
-Stop drinking.
-I know.
[Bleep]
This is [bleep]
bull [bleep]
It's [bleep]
-I know it's bull [bleep]
-damn it, dude.
We got a million and a half
pounds to put in.
I know.
Narrator: with winter
only just beginning,
The fleet reels from the loss
of the scandies rose.
I think monte's
drinking right now
Has a lot to do with losing
a really good friend.
But it ain't helping anybody.
We need to go catch some crab.
Narrator: and not knowing
the fate of captain gary cobban
Weighs heavy on
the skipper's shoulders.
Monte: I do miss my buddy.
♪♪
And that's an excuse
For being a [bleep] idiot.
And it's really,
really disappointing...
...to let these guys down.
Man: hey, come on.
[ Line ringing]
I got you fine.
How are you?
-Hello, keith.
-Hi, kid.
Talk some sense into him
or something about his drinking.
'Cause it's bad.
Narrator: on the phone,
monte's brother and boat owner,
Keith colburn.
Well, I will try.
Okay. I'm going to bed.
Alright.
Yeah, we can only
[bleep] hope.
Bro, I love you, too.
Good night.
Brutal year. It's been one of
the hardest years so far,
And we haven't even
started fishing.
But hopefully we'll be
out of here soon.
If we can get
our captain back.
♪♪
Narrator: 510 miles far north...
♪♪
♪♪
There's nobody out here,
so there's only one way
To find crab,
and that's to look.
Narrator: ...charging
through freezing spray
To get a jump
on the opilio biomass
Before the russian fleet,
Captain sig works his way up
towards the russian line.
You know, with
the scandies rosesinking,
Just hope that the other guys
are out there.
We're just waiting
for more news, and, you know,
That's all I can do.
You almost have to
just suck it up
And go do
what you have to do.
Fishing closer to that ice edge,
so much more risk involved.
So we're going to have to stay
positive here first time
Through the gear, and we've got
a big spread on this gear.
Narrator: fearing the ice
of the far north,
Sig readies to reel in
the 60-mile wide net
He cast on the flats farther
away from his red rivals.
Just think of it like
one big prospect string.
♪♪
I hope it'll pay off.
Okay, this is
the first pot of the season.
Let's see what happens.
-First pot.
-First pot, go fishing.
Whoo!
♪♪
-Come on!
-Let's see what we got.
Okay, so we will see.
Oh.
[Bleep]
That's bad.
55!
Really?
Not impressed.
Narrator: a stellar opilio pot
generally has 400 crab.
A mediocre one has 200.
55 Makes the cut for neither.
Sig: you know,
we can't judge a season
By the first pot
or the first string.
-Uh-oh! Uh-oh!
-No!
This is opposite.
This is terrible right here.
Ah, these first pots
look like crap.
Oh, this is horrible.
-Damn it!
-Ugh!
-Ohh!
-So far, not so good.
-How many crab?
-One.
[ Laughs ]
this is so [bleep] bad.
Trying to stay positive,
but it's not easy.
This is one of the worst starts
I think I've ever had ever.
Well, at least we know
there' no crab here.
I'm not going to spend
any more time down here.
I'm going to just
stack them all up.
I'm going to set it
on the edge.
Narrator: the southern flats
are a bust,
Leaving sig no choice but to
test the waters further north.
Sig: I'd rather not have
to go up there again.
You get a lot of big seas.
I mean, it gets rough out there.
But you'll find more keepers,
more school crab
Down on the edge,
is what I'm looking for.
Narrator: next stop, the edge.
A deep, underwater slope known
for big pots and bigger swells.
Sig:
we got to find better fishing.
That's all we can do.
Narrator: coming up...
-Oh!
-[Bleep]
Give him a hand, give him
a hand, give him a hand.
-Pick it up!
-Whoo!
-Oh, no way!
-[Bleep]
Man: got to give 100%
Man #2: hang on! Heads up!
Oh, my god!
♪♪
Monte: is everybody
on the boat?!
♪♪
Man: we came up fishing
for an updated position.
Man #2: roger that.
Narrator: across the nation...
Thoughts and prayers
are going out tonight
For the families of missing
fishermen in the gulf of alaska
After the boat sank
near sutwik island.
The search continues for five
other missing fishermen.
Narrator: the tragic news of
the scandies rosespreads.
I'm going to pick up
the speed a little bit
If you're
comfortable with that?
-Yeah.
-Roger that.
Narrator:
while on the bering sea...
...with five men
unaccounted for,
The coast guard perseveres
in their search.
-Got to give 100%
-roger.
♪♪
Narrator: in dutch harbor...
Tyler: we came
back here to catch
A million six pounds of opies.
And we're not going
to do it like this,
With our skipper feeling sick.
Narrator: ...primed to carve out
their slice of the opilio buy,
The wizardcrew is still short
of one important piece...
I don't know if monte's going
to even make it through this
Or if he even wants to.
I still love the guy,
but we need to go fishing.
Narrator: ...a captain
to get them to the grounds.
♪♪
Monte: we're ready to go,
that's for sure.
Hey, everybody come back here.
We're going to go on the stern.
It'll be brief.
[ Sighs ]
Narrator: now slowly coming to
grips with the painful loss
Of the scandies rose,
The veteran skipper rallies
his troops and himself.
So, first of all
I want to apologize
To you guys
for my atrocious behavior.
You deserve are better,
and I need to be better.
Let's just go out and see
if we can get
A couple tanks on here.
Let's be careful.
We need to be aware
of the dangers
That exist pretty much
every moment of every day.
So with that being said,
let's get these lines go
And point it up the hill.
-Whoo!
-About time.
-Let's go fishing, boys.
-Let's do it.
O-kay, stay back.
-Monte looks like
He's doing all right.
He's back to the form of,
You know, being the captain
and giving orders.
He'll be good.
We're gonna go find some crab.
We're going to get this done.
Whoo!
Narrator: with
a 1.6 million pound quota
Staring him in the face
and nary a crab on board...
Monte: away we go.
Let's do this.
-Whoo!
-Yeah!
Narrator: ...monte looks to
make up for lost time.
Yeah, you know,
we got a lot to catch.
I need to get my a*s in gear.
Everybody's counting
on the guy up top
To put him in the right spot.
Put some crab in the tank here.
It's not an option.
It pretty much has to happen
As far as finding
something goes.
Man: yeah!
We shall see.
Narrator: 550 miles northwest...
♪♪
Whoo!
Out of the seven guys,
two survivors that
They know of so far.
Narrator:
...on the northwestern.
Five are still missing.
One of 'em is gary,
who I've known
For a lot, a lot of years.
You know, we've worked together
in the past, we know each other.
You know, the fleet's
known him for decades.
It's one of those
unthinkable things.
Just hope that, you know,
the other guys are out there.
Narrator: shaken by the fate
of the scandies rose...
Sig: we're about to
start setting here.
Narrator: ...captain sig hanson
steadies his head and his hand
By turning his attention
to this season.
It's a real tough start.
We didn't put a lot of crab
on the boat whatsoever.
I'm just hoping that
because we're on the edge,
We can find some school crab,
And so that's why
we're trying this.
Whoo!
Narrator: after wasting precious
time in the opilio race
Hauling blanks,
the skipper presses closer
To the russian line,
hoping to find
The biomass hiding in the edge.
The steep underwater slope known
for its dangerous swells
And feast or famine fishing.
-Set 'em.
-Oh, yeah, baby!
Whoo!
Yeah!
Sig: if I don't see crab,
then I don't know what to think.
Then we'll probably have to
head to the russian border.
-Whoo-hoo!
-And I really don't want to.
I need to see some
crab here now.
Narrator: 560 miles southeast...
...on the cod grounds...
Ah, does it have to start
snowing like a son of a g*n?
...aboard the summer bay.
Bill: I'd set closer
to the southwest.
Visibility stinks.
Tough for the guys on deck.
We're going to earn this one.
Nick: right now the bering sea
is giving up 20-foot wave,
30-Knot wind,
sub zero temperatures,
Heavy freezing spray.
All for a little cod fish.
Narrator: pulling up to his
first pots of the season,
Captain wild bill stares down
the same weather conditions
Faced by the scandies rose.
♪♪
Bill: get ready
to lock and load.
♪♪
-Here we go, guys.
-Yeah, man!
Let's make some money.
♪♪
Narrator: a well placed string
can contain 700 cod,
Worth north of $10,000,
making the derby a fierce fight
To seize as much poundage
as fast as possible.
Bill: yeah, it's grueling.
It's a young man's game.
And we're running
out of young men.
♪♪
Come on,
have some fish in it.
Come on, baby,
show me the money, come on!
King cod!
Yeah!
There we go.
Some big fish.
Yeah!
Alright,
coming aboard.
I like it.
Yeah, and right now
we're on some
Really clean cod, man.
26, Two-six.
Pretty impressive.
We get 26 of cod.
That actually adds up.
♪♪
Oh, yeah.
You know, even there, too,
so sometimes even if you're not
On like the granddaddy
of fishing,
If you're turn enough gear,
you're still making money.
Narrator:
it's no rock star fishing...
-Oh, yeah. [Bleep]
-whoo!
Ooh, that's cold.
This is as hard as it's snowed
in the last three hours
Right now.
Narrator: ...but for now,
bill's content with
Middling numbers if it means
avoiding the danger
Of putting on
an icy 80,000 pound stack.
It is nice when you get
in the right freakin' spot,
And I don't know
if we're in it or not.
We'll see.
♪♪
-Oh!
-Hey, hey!
-[Bleep]
-give him a hand,
Give him a hand,
give him a hand.
Hey, stop, stop, stop!
It's behind his back.
Take it out of the block.
Take it out!
Take it out!
♪♪
Narrator: on the summer bay...
Oh!
-[Bleep]
-give him a hand,
Give him a hand,
give him a hand.
Hey stop, stop, stop!
Stop!
It's behind his back.
Take it out of the block.
Take it out!
Take it out! Stop!
[Bleep] man!
What the [bleep]
were you doing?
What the [bleep]
Narrator: as captain wild bill
hauls a cod pot,
The line slips out
of the block...
Hey, hey.
...rocketing
the thousand-pound weight,
Back toward the sea floor.
Deck hand mahlon reyes
quickly replaces the line,
Accidentally wrapping it
around deck boss,
Nick mcglashan,
catching him in the bite,
Nearly forcing nick
into the 34-degree water.
Pick it up, stop!
[Bleep] man!
That could have either
hurt him pretty bad,
You know, coming tight
on his legs,
Or I've seen guys get tossed
over the side like that.
Just not paying attention
to what was going on.
Nick was in the bite.
I put the line back
on the block.
It was definitely scary.
I haven't been that scared
in a long time.
I don't think
I've ever came that close
To going over the side.
Don't beat yourself
up over it, man.
You know?
You almost just k*lled me,
but it's all right.
That's what I said
when I started,
It's going to be
a long a*s day today.
♪♪
Narrator: 535 miles northwest,
on the wizard.
♪♪
Monte: well, we're doing better
today then we were yesterday,
I'll tell you that.
It's kind of disappointing
to drop off the roster
There for a couple of days.
It's not fair to them.
You know, started
letting the team down.
Good!
We got
a million-six to catch,
And we're on this
southwest edge.
Narrator: sober after two days
at the bottom of a bottle,
Captain monte colburn
looks to redeem himself
By hauling 400,000 pounds
Of the wizard's
1.6 million pound quota.
Monte: go ahead and let it go.
2020, First pot
going in the water.
Yeah!
Feeling good about it,
feeling good about it.
Monte: one of the things
about working on this edge
Is that there's
a lot more tide.
And if it's going
to start blowing,
You don't want to be
on one of these edges.
This southwest edge,
it's either really hot,
Good fishing, or it's
pretty much a ghost town.
Let's hope it's the prior.
Narrator: as monte bets
250 pots on the edge...
...just 25 miles north...
Well, we're on the first pots
here, the first string.
We're on that edge, so you got
to be real careful down here.
And this weather doesn't seem
to want to be coming down.
It's real nautical for the guys.
Narrator:
...on the northwestern.
Man: whoo-hoo!
We're going to get
our a*s handed to us.
Sig: you know, we have had
a catastrophe in the fleet
With the scandies rosesinking.
It's very sad that gary,
he had his son with him.
And, you know, it scares me
because here I have a daughter,
I have a son-in-law,
I have my brother on the boat.
So I know we are
taking risk here.
But at the same time, I got to
get these pots hauled quickly.
Narrator: while
captain gary cobban
And four crew men from
the scandies rose
Are still missing,
Captain sig hansen
has no choice but to fish on.
Hopefully this
is the place to be.
We need to find a home.
First pot.
We don't have a lot of time.
We got to get in
for an off load.
Now we just got to hope we put
the pots in the right place.
♪♪
♪♪
What happened?
It's a water haul.
So that one sucked.
Okay.
Man: whoa! Whoa!
Whoa, watch out.
But, you know,
we're on the edge
So it doesn't take much
before you get into nothing.
I think it'll get stronger
as we go down.
Narrator: with his pots
set progressively deeper
Down the steep
underwater drop off,
Sig hopes to dial in the depth
where the crab are lurking.
We'll get on 'em.
Whoo!
Alright, come on now.
♪♪
-There we go.
-There we go.
Yeah!
We got crab.
Oh, yeah.
That looks real good.
Whoo!
Oh, these are all big.
All freed up.
Awesome.
Whoo!
♪♪
Yeah.
We're on the meat pile
right here.
-That's the one!
-That's it, baby!
-430.
-430.
[ Laughs ]
I just like to see the crab
going in the tank.
Pull 'em on.
Oh, yeah!
That's a good feeling.
And that's how it is
on the edge, you know?
You run into these little spots,
And then just, pow,
and you get nice big pots.
If the fishing stays like this,
we will get what we need
And we will be able to get out
of here without a lot of pain.
It's going to work.
Narrator: 570 miles southeast...
...on the cod grounds.
Man: whoo-hoo!
Scott: we have been doing
nothing but hemorrhaging money.
You know, we thought
we could get this boat out
For about 150 grand.
We're over $500,000
in debt right now.
Just to get this boat
out fishing.
Narrator: deep in the hole
after purchasing
The 138-foot lady alaska...
I think we are here.
Narrator:
...captain scott campbell jr.
Arrives at the top
of his first string,
Betting that the cod derby
arrests his financial free fall.
This cod fishing is the last
of the derby days, you know?
And I don't know if anyone
knows about the derby days,
But it's hard core.
Narrator: in a derby, boats haul
until the fleet reaches
The state issued
total allowable catch, or t.a.c.
The spoils go to the quickest
and most efficient operations.
Okay. Coming up, first pot.
-Let's kick a*s!
-72 Hours of pain starts now.
Man: come on,
let's kick a*s!
I just got so much
on my plate right now,
I mean, I'm excited,
But we're half a million
dollars in debt already.
I have to produce.
Alright.
♪♪
-Thing gonna work?
-Here we go.
Narrator: just 48 hours after
repairing a crack in the hull...
James, you're [bleep]
hand coiled 500 [bleep] lines.
Hand coil
and [bleep] get the pot out.
Narrator: ...the coiler loses
it's hydraulic power,
Forcing the crew to coil
400 feet of line
Per pot by hand.
That don't look good.
♪♪
Not very many.
Pretty much a cluster [bleep]
Let's not take all [bleep] day
Switching four [bleep]
hoses, james.
It should be
a five minute job.
Narrator: unlike crab,
which can live in the tank
Up to two weeks, cod starts
to spoil after three days.
Scott: once that first fish
comes aboard, we got 72 hours,
We got to be back in the dock,
no matter what.
Narrator: meaning, the clock is
now ticking on the lady alaska.
The tire's not spinning.
[Bleep] most disorganized crew
I think I've seen in a long time
For guys that have
all fished for [bleep] ever.
♪♪
Okay.
We are back in action.
Knock on wood.
♪♪
♪♪
-Yeah, we got a trap here.
-Bring 'em on. Bring 'em on.
Ah, looking a little
better here as we go.
They'll come. It'll happen.
[ Groans ]
Just got to get
through some gear.
Oh! Yeah.
♪♪
Whoa, whoa!
Whoa, whoa!
Hey! [Bleep]
Oh, my god.
Narrator: on the lady alaska...
Man: whoa! Yo!
Whoa, whoa.
Hey! Hey!
Scott: oh, my god.
Just [bleep] destroy the pot.
It kept going down.
It kept going down.
Narrator: the forward boom
drops unexpectedly,
Crushing the $1,000 pot
and nearly taking out engineer
James gallagher.
Hey!
Scott: man, we're hemorrhaging
money, and we can't even
Get started because every time
we try, something breaks.
Just do not have
our [bleep] together.
It's pathetic.
Dude, I have no idea
what's going on with the crane.
Probably get yelled at
for it, though.
Narrator: an actuator
is a valve that controls
The flow of hydraulic fluid.
My guess is that your actuator
is gummed up or froze up.
Narrator: suffering through
a cracked hull,
A cantankerous coiler,
and now a gummed up crane...
Let's do it, boys!
...james' first trip as
an engineer is proving to be...
[Bleep]
...let's call it
a learning experience.
[Bleep] dude!
James, you got to pay
the [bleep] attention, man.
This is a big boat.
Cannot stop it.
Hustle your a*s.
Get it in the block.
[Bleep] damn it, dude!
[Bleep]
[Bleep]
Mac: you're getting --
chill out, chill out.
Okay.
Get your a*s up here.
♪♪
What's up, james?
What the hell's
going on out there?
With you.
Your performing
pathetically.
You're the slowest guy
on the boat.
What's going on?
So you have no idea?
Because you are.
You want to know why?
Because I've put you
in a position
You weren't ready for.
And you want to know
what you're doing?
Everything that
greenhorns do.
And you're not
a greenhorn.
You're a [bleep]
high caliber [bleep] deck hand.
That's what you are.
But I need you to be
that high caliber deck hand.
Do it. Show me.
Make me proud.
Today's like a practice day,
honestly.
That's the best way to put it.
Narrator: with the fleet wide
cod quota diminishing
And a mandatory
offload looming...
Scott: when you have
a practice day,
You've just lost
24 hours of your 72.
Narrator: ...it's critical
the lady alaskafill her tanks
With all due speed.
So tomorrow we got
to be hauling a*s
And making up for it.
Alright, run it.
Narrator:
275 miles northeast...
♪♪
[ Sighs ]
Narrator:
after an exhaustive search
Combing 1,400 square miles
off sutwik island...
Well, that was not
the news I wanted.
Um...
They've called off the search.
Narrator: ...the coast guard
saves two lives,
But the scandies rose,
Her captain,
and four crew are lost.
You know, they've been
searching for quite a while.
And with these
water temperatures
And the wind that they had,
you know, the conditions,
I mean, there's only
so much you can do.
So there goes five more.
This is not our first loss
and, uh...
Probably won't be our last.
You don't find fisherman
like gary cobban.
Very honest, open book,
truthful.
It's unreal.
♪♪
Bill: we got confirmation
they called off the search
For any survivors
on the scandies.
Gary's gone.
It's a crazy day, nick.
Yeah.
I guess thankful
for what we got.
I b*tch and moan
about some [bleep]
I guess we got it
pretty good.
I got family and some
pretty good friends.
You're one of 'em, nick.
Thanks for
keeping us safe.
I love you, man.
♪♪
♪♪
Oh, my god.
♪♪
That's devastating news.
So they only found two guys
out of an entire crew.
Hopefully we find out
what the cause was
So that we can make sure
that none of us
Get in the same situation
they were in,
But I lost a good friend today.
It's [bleep] up.
And I'm supposed to be
worrying about catching cod.
[ Chuckles ]
Narrator: 550 miles northwest...
...on the opilio grounds.
Monte: you know, gary was
a good friend of mine.
And it's really
been bothering me,
The fact that gary's son
was also on there and perished.
It's hard to believe.
It's heartbreaking.
♪♪
Let's just get
through these pots.
Narrator: with the tragedy
of the scandies rose
Still fresh in his mind,
Captain monte colburn
pounds through 30-foot seas
To his first prospect
string of the season.
Monte: we've basically got about
100 pots in the water.
Man: whoa!
It goes from
61 fathoms down to 75.
That's right,
straight down the slope there.
We go through all these,
and then we'll start
To hopefully zero in
on a target.
♪♪
It's dangerous on these edges
and these banks.
-Whoo!
-Whoa, whoa.
I'm a little nervous
about that.
Narrator: monte rolls the dice
on the steep cliffs
To stake his claim
on the opilio hoard.
And strike the first blow
against his ruskie counterparts.
The weather's picking up
a little bit more
Than they called for.
Kind of makes you wonder
if we should be hauling or not,
But we're going to
take it slow and easy.
Alrighty, coming up,
let's do this.
-Ready?
-Yes!
Whoo!
You reel. This is
the first pot that we set.
Come on, money pot!
♪♪
Coming up.
Come on, baby.
Whoo-whoo!
Yeah, there we go.
Not bad.
It's definitely something.
Whoo!
Bet there's an awful
lot of keepers in there.
That looks pretty good.
That might be
a buck 50 or something.
Go, whoo!
One-five-oh.
Yeah, baby!
Whoa!
Now it's going from
60 fathoms down to 74.
Whoa!
See what happens here.
Whoo!
Nice.
Whoo!
Starting to pick it up
a little bit.
Three-five-oh!
We need 'em to keep
coming up like that.
-Oh, yeah!
-Whoo!
-This is huge.
-It's amazing!
[ Laughs ]
Opies, money, money.
Yeah, baby!
Ow!
♪♪
It's phenomenal,
and god knows we need it.
Oh, yeah,
oh, yeah.
Narrator: skillfully working
different depths on the edge...
Okay, I got a home.
I know where to put it now.
...monte zeroes in
on his hot spot.
Were in the mother lode,
baby.
It's nice to not have
my brother here,
Otherwise I'd be
down there freezing
With the rest of these guys.
[ Laughs ]
Coming over!
Heads up!
[ Cheering ]
What is with this
[bleep] wind, man?
Whoa!
Proceed with extreme caution.
If it starts blowing
35 or 40 or 60,
It's a serious problem.
Ugh!
Heads up.
[ Chuckles ]
♪♪
Whoa!
Hold on!
Hang on!
Heads up!
Whoa!
♪♪
Where's todd?
Everyone still out there?
Todd, todd?
Is everybody on the boat?
Sig: I first met gary
in the late '80s, early '90s.
We were on the beach
off-loading, and I said,
"I want to take a hand
at this bairdi fishing.
But, you know,
I don't where to go."
[ Laughs ]
and gary kind of chuckled
And said,
"why don't you follow me?"
And so he kind of took me
under his wing.
And he taught me
a lot about patience.
He believed in very large pots,
A lot of soak, and, you know,
let the gear do the work.
Which I believe in now.
At the time,
that was a hard pill to swallow.
And he's like, "what are you
doing, you knucklehead?
You know, you got to let
the gear do the work."
He was honest, sincere.
He was not shy about
giving information,
He was not shy about
being on the radio.
He loved to talk.
And when I look back,
I'm very grateful for that
Because there was not
a lot of guys like that.
Narrator: on the wizard...
♪♪
Whoa!
-Hold on!
-Hang on!
♪♪
Where's todd?
Everyone
still out there?
Todd? Todd.
Is everybody
on the boat?
Are you okay?
Are you all right?
Todd: yeah.
Yeah, I'm fine.
-Fine.
-I'm good.
Holy [bleep]
Deal there if there
[bleep] was one.
Goodness, where
the [bleep] that come from?
Narrator: a rouge wave clears
the port side shelter wall
And floods the deck
with 30,000 gallons of water,
Nearly dragging
deck hand todd gateman
Into the bering sea.
♪♪
Washed me under the pot,
tore our table out of there,
Washed it on top of me.
Just kind of lucky to be
okay right now, you know?
Oh, man.
That curled over and knocked us
all into the block.
I ran over and grabbed
ahold of him,
And he was kind of clearly
not knowing like,
He's under water,
not knowing he was on the boat.
Could of been a bad one.
Kid's really lucky, man.
I don't know
what the hell to think.
I mean, 'cause we want to take
crab to town
And everything else,
but we don't want to
Boot our season
by injuring somebody.
And I don't even
want to say that.
Okay, just go hide.
Let's catch our breath.
I don't really feel
too inclined to haul
A string of gear
straight into this [bleep]
Alright.
Get on in.
Thank you.
Thank god they're
in the house.
♪♪
[ Telephone rings ]
Who is it?
It's my brother.
Hello. Wizard.
How's it going?
We were putting 300s
in the tank,
And all of a sudden,
a giant comber
Just washed the kid all around.
He's all right,
that would be todd.
He's made out of rubber,
and he's badass.
Keith: okay, good.
He's okay, alright.
And this swell just does
not want to lay down.
I was kind of hoping to have
about 100,000 pounds on here,
But I'm not so sure now.
We're doing good.
We're definitely a lot better
than we were.
I got to go.
Alright, mouse.
We all know who
the real boss is out here.
That would be mother nature.
Tomorrow should be a better day,
'cause it can't get much worse.
♪♪
♪♪
Whenever a vessel's
lost in the bering sea,
We all take it hard.
So the guys wanted to do
a special tribute.
Scandies rose,
they got some roses,
One for each of the...
One for each of the men
that wasn't recovered.
♪ Try to teach myself ♪
♪ To be alone
but not be lonely ♪
Man: heavenly father,
we are gathered here today
To honor the men lost at sea
of the fishing vessel
Scandies rose.
We honor our shipmates
of the scandies rose
And her captain
as we toll the bell.
With your final watch complete,
you may now rest in peace.
Let's send these boys off.
Captain of
the scandies rose,gary.
♪ Waiting for the moment
that the phone rings ♪
♪ That might be ages from now ♪
[ Bell dings ]
♪ That might be pages from now ♪
Arthur, engineer of
the scandies rose,
Former captain
of the bering hunter.
[ Bell dings ]
♪ You've got this, babe ♪
♪ It wasn't your time ♪
Scott: I want everybody
to take a moment
And remember these guys.
These are our brothers,
and they're not coming home.
♪ I need to amend
my comprehension ♪
♪ Of the order of things ♪
Captain gary's son, david.
Sig: it just doesn't
make sense.
[ Bell dings ]
The boat's gone.
And, uh...
...so are our friends.
Man: deck boss
and rail guy, brock.
Bill: it's always hard
when a boat goes down,
But it's really hard when...
That boat was your family.
Man: and the youngest member
of the scandies rose,seth.
[ Bell dings ]
♪ I need to find
some peace within ♪
♪ All this uncertainty ♪
In these calm seas,
we offer up these five roses
So that our brothers
may rest easy.
♪ It wasn't your time ♪
♪ You've had the love some
only dream of in your life ♪
♪ You know the grass
is always greener ♪
♪ I've seen
happy people meaner ♪
♪ Because love's an awful
project that gets in the way ♪
♪♪
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16x08 - Mayday Mayday
Watch/Buy Amazon
Follows crab fishermen aboard fishing vessels in the Bering Sea during the Alaskan king crab and snow crab fishing seasons.
Follows crab fishermen aboard fishing vessels in the Bering Sea during the Alaskan king crab and snow crab fishing seasons.