15x18 - Unholy Alliance

[bunniefuu]

♪♪

Being completely alone
can get scary up here.

This is opilio.

It's a long journey,
and a big risk.

Jake: the weather is only
gonna get worse,

And it doesn't take
a big wave to k*ll somebody.

Sig: you get out to crab, and
it's just pain and suffering.

Every day lost and lost.

You're forced to
do things different.

You suck it up.

Alright.
Old-school these pots.

Man: old-school!

Sig: do what you got to do
to get them on.

It's just the way it is.

[Bleep]

♪♪

I don't care who you are,
just look forward, keep going.

Man #2:
son of a b*tch!

Whatever it takes.

♪♪

Narrator: 534 miles
northwest of dutch harbor...

Man:
no. Damn it.

...on the northwestern.

Oh.

I think our greed
got the best of us...

For sure.

Narrator: after two successful
setbacks on the same grounds,

Captain sig hansen
reaches into the cookie jar

One too many times.

♪♪

Sig: so, what was
a tremendous start for us

Is now a horrible reality.

♪♪

We need to get better numbers
than that.

♪♪

-Oh, my.
-Oh, my god.

He sent these back.

They got [bleep]
in them.

We've got to find a spot.

We had a good pick,
but we need some help right now.

♪♪

The string is not so sexy.

Sig: I think it's time
to go find a new home.

You're always better off
if you can be alone,

But I'm gonna need help.

Narrator: still 70,000 pounds
short of filling his tanks,

The veteran skipper
needs to reacquaint himself

With fertile grounds.

We don't have any partners
out here to talk to.

Narrator: and fishing
for inside information

Is the quickest way
to find it --

If you can get a bite.

Okay.

Harley, he's kind of up here.

He's not afraid
to pull back.

That's happened
in the past.

That being said...

Maybe we might
pick up the radio,

And compare notes
with the guy.

-Oh, [bleep].
-About the same.

[Bleep]

Okay.

Narrator:


♪♪

Man: damn it.

Man #2:
oh, god.

Narrator:...sig isn't the only
one yarding up blank pots.

♪♪

Looking around the ice way up
in the north, we lost time.

We lost money.

We're getting our a*s handed it
to us, to tell you the truth.

Man #3: bad mistake.

We're gonna need crab
that we can keep.

♪♪

Narrator: southern windcaptain
steve "harley" davidson

Gambled on
the polar ice pack.

This is exactly
what we left.

Narrator:
and empty pots continue
to plague the veteran skipper.

More smalls.

Harley:
this is a freaking desert.

This is terrible.

So, now, I'm in trouble,
you know?

We're getting
hammered, here.

Sig: you on there, harley?
Pick me up.

Southern wind,
pick me up.

Harley:
let's see what he says.

Hey, sig, how are you doing,
buddy?

I'm doing all right.
I mean, it's a slow go.

I'm covering
a lot of ground.

I'm trying to get
more north and south,

So what I ended up doing
on the edge was staying deep,

And so, we've only
got from, like,

The latter 80s up into,
like, the deeper 70s.

What about you?

Trying, but haven't
found anything.

It's a freaking lot of area
to cover, man.

Why don't we do this?

Why don't I just --
I'll get up over the bank.

I'll go 70 into 60,
or whatever.

You're already 40, 50.

Just keep covering
some ground.

Maybe we can do
something like that.

Man: another small.

Narrator: stuck on bad fishing
for 3 days...

You know, I've partnered up
with keith

In the past,
and jake anderson.

I mean, you know,
we've shared information.

...even a hard-a*s like harley
needs a little help.

Harley: I'm typically kind of
a lone wolf.

I'm just out by myself.

But if you're above me,
and I come in,

Then, we've got
lat and long.

You know, we've got the
up and down, as well.

Let's do that.

♪♪

This obviously isn't
working, here, so...

What's the plan?

I'll get you maybe tomorrow,
and compare some notes, okay?

That sounds great.
Alright. Good luck.

Sig: so, hopefully,
with what harley is doing,

And with what we're doing,
heading up the other way,

We might be able to make
something out of this deal.

Narrator:
the two veteran captains
will share their information

As they work their way
toward each other.

Sig will prospect
in the deep.

Harley will search
the shallows.

I don't like it,
but that's how it is.

The bottom line is, you've got
to be able to trust the guy.

Narrator: at least,
that's the plan.

I don't think he's gonna
tell me the truth.

He's not gonna tell me.
I don't think so.

He's kind of shifty,
that way.

"Yeah, yeah, no, no,
it's not so good, here, no."

[ Laughs ]

I'll always
tell the truth.

[ Laughs ]
of course.

Narrator: 172 miles
to the northeast...

♪♪

Well, still hitting 50
on that [indistinct].

It's nasty out there.

Narrator:...the 155-foot wizard
is caught in the vice

Of a bering sea
low-pressure system.

There's a big wave. There's
another one right behind it.

They're all big.

Narrator:
moist, southern winds colliding
with arctic northerlies

Fuel the massive


That now covers 70%
of the eastern opilio grounds.

Basically, you start getting
compound seas,

And they start crashing,
and piling up,

And you start
getting erratic,

Really big waves
jump out of nowhere.

Gary: we're taking
some big waves,

And we're just trying to go
slow, and be careful right now.

Keith: this one, here,
is a little bit dicey,

Because I've got the weather
just on the starboard side,

Here, a little bit,
which I do not like.

Gary:
we're in survival mode, man.

Narrator:
despite unrelenting weather...

Keith: if I can find a way
to get through 225 pots

In 36 to 38 hours,
in this storm,

We'll be rock stars.

Narrator: keith will need
to haul and reset a pot

Every 10 minutes
to make his offload

In just 48 hours,
or head to town light.

Man:
roger that, boss.

♪♪

Come on, crab.

Alright.
Moving slow.

Good sign, good sign,
good sign.

Man: oh, yeah!

Whoo!

Whoa!

Oh, yeah.
Oh, yeah.

[ Cheering ]

That's a hell of
a lot of crab.

♪♪



♪♪

Man #2: going over empty.
Coming back loaded.

♪♪

Heads up, guys.

Narrator: hauling amid
a towering and confused sea...

Whoa.
Heads up, guys.

♪♪

Oh, man.

That's not good.

Real sneaky one just came up,
took a shot, there.

[Bleep]

♪♪

Man: what did you do?
Did you get your knee?

Is somebody hurt?

How you doing, freddy?

Freddy doesn't look like
he's doing real good, right now.

Any time he leans over,
and doesn't move for about


I know he's in pain.

Gary, I need
some information.

It look like freddy
was injured, or something.

The hopper
slammed his knee?

Narrator: the 33-foot curler
deals the deck a crushing blow,

Slamming crewman
freddy maugatai's thigh

Into the corner
of the metal hopper.

Keith:
yeah, there he goes.

He's definitely got a little
gimpy limp in his walk.

♪♪

Man:
how's your leg?

Okay?

Narrator:
shaking off the punch...

When he comes in, I'll do
an assessment on his knee.

He's not coming off deck,
I'll tell you that right now.

Freddy: yeah, baby.

Narrator:
...the 18-year veteran deckhand
resumes the fight,

Pain be damned.

♪♪

Keith:
well, that's the danger of
trying to work in this weather.

You run the risk of
getting somebody banged up.

Wow.
There comes another one.

There's times when
you don't get out of this chair,

Sometimes, for 6,


If you have somebody on deck,
you're not going anywhere.

You're just staying right here
on the watch.

♪♪

Narrator: 280 miles
below the wizard...

It's been pretty foul
this year.

Narrator:
...the 107-foot saga battles
through the massive storm,

Raising havoc
on the eastern grounds.




They're starting to get
bigger and bigger.

♪♪

Narrator: after a white-knuckle
run into st. Paul harbor

To deliver his last


Captain jack anderson is back,
looking to fill his tanks again.

Jake:
right now, this has been fishing
on the bering sea for us.

I need to bring in at least
two tanks, or 80,000 pounds,

Or I'm gonna come up short
on the buy-in.

Narrator: his bid to buy
a 25% stake in the saga

Still on the line,

The young skippers
needs to maximize profits

By catching
his crab quickly.

It would be nice
to own a business.

Man:
it's supposed to pick up.

We take it
string by string, here.

-Here comes the first pot.
-Yeah, roger.

Jake: fingers crossed.

♪♪

♪♪

Come on, god.

Give me [bleep]
something, please.

Ah, [bleep]

Wha wha wha.

[Bleep] damn it.

Whoa.

♪♪

-Come on.
-Damn it.

Not great at all.

This is not
what I need right now.

The weather is only
gonna get worse...

...and it doesn't take
a big wave to k*ll somebody.

♪♪

Man: whoa. Whoa. Whoa.

Whoa, watch out!

Jake: got to be careful.

We've got to stack it,

And you guys just got to
get through 18 pots.

Narrator: a 14 average is not
gonna fill jake's tanks,

Or get him much closer
to that ownership stake.

He'll need new grounds
to make that happen.

I just want to get
at least these 18 pots

Picked up and moved.

We're stacking
and getting out of dodge.

One pot down,


♪♪

See, they're starting to curl.

Just about every four
or five waves, they're curling.

Whoa.

So, at night, I can only see
about 600 feet in front of me,

Because that's as far as
about my lights go.

So, you've got
plenty of --

Oh, [bleep].

Get down.

Narrator: on the saga...

Jake:
so, at night, I can only see
about 600 feet in front of me,

Because that's as far as
about my lights go.

So, you've got
plenty of --

Oh, [bleep].

[Bleep]

[Bleep]

That was a big one.

Everybody okay?
-Yeah!

That's what you call
a "rogue wave," right there.

It's just like looking out these
windows, and you don't see it.

You just see black.

And then, out of nowhere,
from the ground up, just white.

That's how it happens.

Narrator: a rogue wave
is twice the size,

And often moves counter
to the seas around it --

An element of surprise
that can prove deadly.

There's no rhyme or reason.

There's no control over it.

♪♪

But the weather is not even
stopping me right now.

♪♪

I'm not quitting,
by no means.

I'm gonna go east.

Narrator:
despite building 25-foot seas

And the occasional
rogue wave...

James:
we deal with weather like this
all the time, it seems like.

We've got to do
what we've got to do.

Finish it up.

Narrator:...captain and crew
forge ahead undaunted.

We're gonna push
through this together.

Just keep going.

♪♪

Narrator:


Man: going over.

Narrator:
...on the northwestern.

Sig: having two boats
working together,

You've got twice the boat,
twice the gear,

You cover twice the real estate
twice as fast.

So, I'm gonna set from
the deeper 70s up into the 60s.

Harley is up above us, coming
this way, from shallow to deep.

So, you're covering depths,

But you're also covering,
you know, from north to south.

Narrator:
to speed up prospecting,
and locate a productive biomass,

Sig has partnered
with harley.

You know, so, hopefully, there's
crab between here and there.

But I really don't know
if it's the right move,

Because harley has always been
a little rough around the edges.

The only problem
with the buddy system...

Man: going over.

Narrator:...you have to trust
your buddy.

Sig: it's a two-way street
with information.

So, we'll see.

♪♪

Narrator: 35 miles north,
and working in the shallows...

Harley: the only time
I hear from these chumps

Is if they're not
catching something.

I never hear boo from them
when they're on them.

They don't want to
share their...

It's a cutthroat business.

Narrator:
captain steve "harley" davidson
is abiding by the agreement...

I'm gonna go right here,
in the mid 60s.

Narrator: ...for now.

We never work together.

I tend to work by myself.

They've got to give me
some valuable information, here.

Okay, guys.
Let's get rid of these.

Start setting
these pots up.

Steve: get these pots
back in the water.

Hopefully, we can get back
on bigger crab.

♪♪

Harley:
cover some ground,

And hopefully,
one of us stumble across it.

I'll do a pass-through, here,

And then, see I can figure out
what he's got going on.

I am a little
bit apprehensive,

Because normally
I don't do that.

Man: going over.

Sig: hopefully,
we can find something in there,

And then get going, because,
you know, all this small crab

That we've found down below is
just not cutting it, right now.

You know, there's got to be
some better fishing around here.

Harley: I'm not quite sure
what to think of this yet.

I'm still sizing it up.

You want to play.
We play.

But I know I wouldn't
if it was keith, though.

[ Laughs ]

Narrator: 162 miles northeast,
on the wizard...

Keith: 35, gusting up to 45,


Narrator: ...harley's biggest
fan, keith colburn,

Continues his battle
with the ever-expanding storm

On the eastern
opilio grounds.

Keith: this weather
is relentless.

This is a nice day.

It seems like we're in
this perpetual storm

That just will not give up.

It's slowing us down.

I mean, we don't want
to slow down.

Narrator:
the building 25-foot swells
and shredding 40-knot winds

Threaten keith's goal
of hauling one pot

Every 10 minutes
in just 36 hours.

♪♪

Keith: I only got 65 pots
hauled today.

It's nasty out there.

Just kind of taking it
at one pot at a time.

As long as you're set to
the weather, you're good to go.

[ Distant cheering ]

♪♪

♪♪

Three-three-zero.
Thank you.

♪♪

Three-ten. Right on.

♪♪

Man:
hold on. Hold on.

Oh, [bleep].

Heads up.

[ Indistinct talking ]

Narrator:
on the wizard...

Man:
hold on. Hold on.

Oh, [bleep]

Heads up!

[ Indistinct talking ]

[Bleep]

Oh, man.

Is there something wrong
with the dogs?

Narrator: while pushing through
cresting whitecaps,

The dogs, or clamps,
which keep the crab pots

Connected to the launcher,
shook loose,

Allowing the 1,400 pounds
of pot and crab

To tumble onto
the sorting table.

I kind of seen it pop out of
the dog before it fell over.

I didn't know it was
gonna fall,

But I had time
to back up a little bit.

You know what I mean?

Alright. Let's get that thing
up and out of there.

That door might be
a little tweaked.

♪♪

Okay. It looks like we got it
fixed, and we got it clean,

And we're getting
the pots stacked. Cool.

Alright.
The event looks like it's over.

We're back on track,
working again.

Didn't last long.

Man #2: yeah!
Big boys, big boys!

♪♪

-One more time.
-Time-out.

Narrator: just as the crew
regains its rhythm...

-Dump it.
-Okay. Dump it.

...the wizard suffers
another breakdown.

Keith: give me a good count
guys. Good count, good count.

[Bleep]

Narrator:
the 1,500-pound sorting table

Uses hydraulics
to move in all directions --

A crucial element
to the deck's operation.

The storm is
beating up the boat.

It's beating up the gear.

It's beating up the crew.

Narrator:
without hydraulics, the table
is locked in one position.

Keith: mouse, just get away
from the crab,

And help me fix
this hose, okay?

Mouse: okay.

It's this one,
right here.

Narrator: the culprit --
a faulty 2-foot hydraulic hose.

We've got to
stay on this.

If we've got to haul these pots
old-school,

Using the crane basket
to suck them up, fine.

You know, whatever we've
got to do to keep gear

Coming onboard this boat,
and crab going in those tanks,

That's what we're
gonna do, right now.

Narrator: to keep production
moving...

Alright. Old-school
these pots there, sea dogs.

"[Bleep] yeah!"

...the veteran
calls an audible.

Instead of bringing the table
to the crab,

We're just gonna take
the crab to the table.

Narrator: rather than wait
on the hydraulics,

The crew will use the main crane
to hoist 1,500-pound pots

Across the deck
to the sorting table.

We're gonna
just keep hauling.

Shake that booty!

If we do it this way,
we won't lose any fishing time.

Keith:
sit around and have five guys
stare at somebody put a hose on

When I can do this...

...hell, I'll haul the whole
string like this, if I have to.

I don't care.

♪♪

Man:
keep them coming, baby!

♪♪

We're getting through this gear
just as fast as we were

When we had
a sorting table that moved.

[ Cheering ]

Well, that's got to have


Let's see what's in
these last two pots.

Come on. We need some crab.
Need some crab.

♪♪

[Bleep].

The boys are happy.

[ Indistinct talking ]

Go ahead and count
that one for me, guys.

Give me a count.
Give me a count.

Three-eight-five.
Right on.

I tell you what, nothing
can stop the wizard,baby.

With the hydraulic
broke down,

We still keep on hauling.

Talk about badasses.

Narrator: 160 miles southwest,
and clear of the storm,

On the southern wind...

There's a lot of ground,
here, in this depth.

I keep question marking
on myself.

Narrator: ...late in the season
and short on crab,

Harley and sig
are to share intel,

Hoping to cover twice the ground
twice as fast.

Well, that's the agreement,
anyway.

Harley:
I don't know.

We'll have to see
how it goes.

Narrator: the veteran captains
are prospecting

An 800-square
mile swath of ocean,

Working towards each other
at different depths

To maximize
their efforts.

Alright, guys,
here comes the first one.

Let's see what we get.

And harley is about
to find out

If his pots hold information
worth sharing or hoarding.

This needs to
work out for me.

♪♪

♪♪

Man: holy [bleep]!
Yeah.

Harley: nice. Okay.

That's what we need.

-Whoo!
-Whoo!

Yeah, looks about,
like, 300 or so.

Not bad.

It's nice-looking crab --
nice and clean, big stuff.

♪♪

Nice.

Alright.

♪♪

Four twenty. Okay.

Man: oh, yeah.

If we keep
that 400 average up,

We'll be knocking this thing
out before we know it.

-Yeah, baby.
-Whoo!

Narrator: after 4 days of ice
and bad fishing...

Four-eighty.
Sweet.

...the veteran skipper
finally hits it big.

This string
is going really well,

But I still need
some more.

Narrator:
but just 28 miles south,

Harley's partner in crab...

Man: oh, no.

Narrator:
...still flounders in the deep.

Sig: damn.

We were hoping
for bigger numbers.

Can I get a number?

I don't even know.

I'm losing faith,
again, today.

Narrator:
striking out in the south...

You on there, harley?
Pick me up.

...time to check with his buddy
working the shallows.

Harley: hey, there you are.
Yeah, I got you, buddy.

I thought we were
gonna k*ll it,

But honestly, some of this stuff
I've been seeing, it's...

I mean, the numbers
aren't there.

And I know
we've seen the sign,

But I haven't seen
the mother lode yet.

Put it that way.

Oh, yeah?

What about you?

[ Cheering ]

♪♪

It's a tough one. You've got
more pots, and more people.

You know,
if you tell one,

That probably means
three to five, you know?

Narrator:
this week on "salty takes,"

Off-season plans
with keith colburn.

Well, I'm gonna spend
some time at home.

I'm gonna spend some time
dealing with my life.

And I'm going
to ride my bike.

And I'm gonna try
and get myself healthy.

I'm probably just gonna
find a palm tree,

And I'm gonna
sit on the beach,

And I'm gonna relax
in the sun,

And sin.

[ Laughs ]

Narrator: wishing you a
well-deserved vacation, keith.

I can picture you now --
a skin-tight cyclist outfit,

A palm tree,
and I don't know what else.

Narrator: 506 miles
northwest of dutch harbor...

Sig: the numbers aren't there.
And I know we've seen the sign,

But I haven't see
the mother lode yet.

Put it that way.

Harley: oh, yeah?

What about you?

Narrator:
captain sig and captain harley

Teamed up to find the crab
and fill their tanks.

[ Cheering ]

But receiving good intel
is a lot easier than giving it.

Man: yeah!

Harley:
it's a tough one.

You've got more pots,
and more people.

You know,
if you tell one,

That probably means
three to five, you know?

♪♪

It's starting to
liven up for me,

The more I come into
the 69 --

That little groove, there,
up and down that whole bank.

But, yeah, right about 67, 69,
you know, right in there,

It started getting nice,
clean stuff.

I think this might be
the spot for us.

That's awesome, harley.

That's awesome.

Well, thank you so much.

Narrator: after a tense start,
instead of clashing,

The two titans make good.

Who knew?

It sounds like there's a lot
of crab from me to you,

So I want to get the rest
of these pots out here,

And I'll probably just get them
in the 67, 68, or something,

And work my way up,
if that's cool.

Harley: okay.

And yeah, same thing,
I'll work my way down.

And even if we've got crab
between us, dude,

This could work out
really well.

Right. That's a big area,
so, awesome.

Maybe we will see you
around the bend,

But, yeah, I'm gonna get
the gear in the water,

And get to fishing.
So, good luck, man.

Same thing.
See you down the road.

Roger.
Good business.

You know what,
if I'm gonna go

And search an area,
and find something,

I'm gonna tell him
what I find,

And I expect him
to do the same to me.

You, know you don't want to
hold off, and hold back on it.

That wouldn't be right.

We told the truth to each other,
and it worked out well.

♪♪

Keith: we lost a little bit
of time -- not a lot.

We'll continued to
haul gear,

And use the crane
the old wizardway.

♪♪

Nothing stopping
the wizard,baby.

♪ Gonna push it harder ♪

♪ Gonna climb up higher ♪

♪ It's like
I just can't miss ♪

♪ I was made for this ♪

♪ I was made for this ♪

Jake:
crew did fantastic tonight,

Even though they are
just sore and dog-tired.

They really pulled through
when I needed them most.

♪ I was made for this ♪

We're willing to do
whatever it takes

To get the job done,
and make the most money.

♪ Show the world
I'm stronger ♪

♪ Prove it to them
I'm a fighter ♪

♪ I can't help but win ♪

♪ I was made for this ♪

♪♪

Harley: alright, guys,
we have company out here.

[ Foghorn blares ]

You got company.

♪ I was made for this ♪

[ Foghorn blares ]

Harley: yeah.

That worked out
just fine.

Yeah, you bet, buddy.

A little trust goes a long way,
I think.

We told the truth to each other,
and it worked out well.

♪ Just try and stop me ♪

♪ I was made for this ♪

Harley: sig's a feisty
norwegian, you know.

He's a fighter, man.

True viking, that guy.

He hauls gear,
and he don't stop.

He'll give you good information,
so, perfect.

He's a great
partner for me.

♪ Gonna push it harder ♪

♪ Gonna climb up higher ♪

Sig: you're a band of brothers
at sea,

And, you know, you're gonna
help each other out.

Harley is an
old-school guy,

And for that,
you get respect, period.

Alright. Have a good one.
I'm out.