Original Air Date: March 28, 2006
Season: 2
Crab Count:
SYNOPSIS: It's October in Dutch Harbor, and that means only one thing: king crab season. Bering Sea weather reports are forecasting some of the roughest waters the fleet has seen in years, and the Big Valley tragedy last January has captains and crews on edge. The Coast Guard is cracking down on vessel rules and regulations, and anticipation is high for the start of this, the first non-derby, "Rationalized" fishing season. A massive storm system is moving in, and captains must decide whether or not to shove off or batten down and wait it out.
Capt. Johnathon Hillstrand on the Time Bandit takes a gamble and leaves port on Friday, breaking one of the oldest fishing superstitions in the book. He might be headed into the mouth of a gnarly storm, but if all goes well, his crew will be one of the only boats dropping pots in wide-open, fertile fishing grounds. Hot on the Time Bandit's heels is the Northwestern, leaving port a day later. As Sig Hansen and his men reach the grounds and the storm presses down, a debate breaks out between captain and crew as to whether or not they should stay and fish or run and hide. While the debate rages, Capt. Phil Harris on the Cornelia Marie steams out to the grounds, where he almost immediately blows a head gasket. Now he and his crew must try to drop all of their pots, stabilize their hold and limp back to port at half speed, all before the impending storm bears down. Leaving Dutch Harbor last is Eric Nyhammer and the eccentric crew of the Rollo. Eric and his guys perform some last-minute boat repairs as they enter the Bering waters and head out into the storm. Only one boat gets waylaid back in Dutch Harbor: the Maverick. Engineer Blake Edwards is scheduled to take over as skipper midway through the season, but he's already challenged with a potentially season-ending problem. The Maverick fails its initial Coast Guard investigation, and the requested changes may be more than this young captain can handle. Fearing he will be captaining from Dutch Harbor, Blake agrees to reduce the number of pots he will carry from 100 to 70 and the Coast Guard gives him the OK to begin his trip. With the biggest storm of the year heading directly towards the fishing grounds, the captains are forced to make a
trip-altering decision -- either fish through the storm or run 70 miles to hide behind the nearest island.
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