[Jake] I know you're very ambitious,
and wanna get up here in the chair,
and I really understand that and I wanna make sure
that you learn everything you possibly can, the right way.
- Does that make sense? - Yeah.
I like that you're pushing me out there to do every position.
I have to know what I'm doing in each position before I can come up here
- and tell people what to do. - [Jake] Yeah.
[Jake] Remember what it was that you told me your dad used to tell you?
"Smooth seas don't make good sailors."
Everybody wants to be the rockstar.
[grunts]
Where's Kevin?
[Andy] Oh, my God.
She's laying on the floor in the fetal position.
[man] Oh, my God!
[man] Oh, watch out!
Holy [bleep]! Are you okay?
[man speaking]
[Jake] Go out there and show everybody what you can do.
Roger. A good attitude is good fish. Thank you, boss.
[narrator] 470 miles northwest of Dutch Harbor...
[Johnathan] Let's get back out on the gear here.
[narrator] ...on theTime Bandit...
We had a lot of crazy stuff happen.
Chases, fires, bandits. Not the good kind of bandits like we are.
- [Andy chuckles] - But, um, anyway, we're gonna stay vigilant,
but right now, we need to stay focused on fishing.
[narrator] Two weeks into the fall season,
Captain Johnathan Hillstrand and brother Andy approach the end of their 40 pot load,
eager to claim a piece of the $90 million golden king crab fishery.
[man speaking]
We're gonna go to kick ass and take names, baby! Whoo!
Don't take it personal when I say, like, stuff like that.
"Baby"...
[man] [bleep] you're in trouble now!
Oh, [bleep].
[narrator] Staking her own claim, 28-year-old greenhorn, former Dutch Harbor bartender,
Mckenzie Twyman.
[Kenzie] I learnt how to change a tampon, this morning
on a moving boat, so that was fun.
I got bad period cramps.
And I'm just really bitchy, so, that's not a super morning.
[man hooting]
All right, guys, coming up.
[man] Oh, God!
Whoo!
Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on.
[machines whirring]
Time Bandit,baby! Whoo! Right, Kenzie?
[men clamoring indistinctly]
Oi-yoy-yoy-yoy-yoy.
[man] Boo.
[man] Where's all the crab at?
[man] Three, brother.
- Only three? - [man over radio] Roger.
[Johnathan over radio] Stack it.
Okay!
Stack it.
Pull it back up and see what we get.
Let's get something, baby!
[indistinct chatter]
[man] Aah, not a lot.
[groans]
I had high hopes for this but it's not coming up too pretty.
- [man 1] Aw! - [man 2] Stack her!
[man] What the [bleep]!
Blanko stanko.
Blanko in the tanko.
[Kenzie vomiting]
Looks like Kenzie is not feeling very good.
[Kenzie vomiting]
[Johnathan] Putting the green in the greenhorn here.
I wouldn't wish being sick or getting seasick in a million years
on my worst enemy because it is miserable.
- [man 1] Come on baby! - [man 2] Whoa!
[man] [bleep]
I gotta get my rhythm back.
I gotta get my mojo back.
[indistinct chatter]
[man] Oh, my God!
- Watch out, guys, watch out! - [Andy] Whoa!
[man] Oh, [bleep].
[Johnathan over radio] You guys okay?
- [man 1] Roger. - [man 2] Oh, yeah, we're good.
[grunts]
[Johnathan over radio]
The table will kill you.
[Andy] Thank God, nobody got hurt.
Live to fight another day.
This don't look like the spot to me today.
So we gotta find a home.
Another day at the office, brother.
[narrator] 460 miles southeast...
[Maria] Hi baby.
I miss you so much. I hope you're having fun down there.
Are you ready for Halloween? You gonna dress up?
What are you gonna be?
[narrator] ...on theSummer Bay...
[Maria] I'll be home soon for you, okay?
Have fun with Aunty Shauna.
I love you.
Muah!
[Linda] Hey, Maria.
How's everything going?
[Maria] Good, my daughter's great.
Um, I miss her like crazy, obviously.
Is this the first time you've been away from Hazel since she's been born?
[Maria] Yeah, I think the longest was five hours before this trip.
- [Linda] That's a big adjustment. - [Maria chuckles] I know.
[Maria] Well, thank you.
Yep, thank you.
[narrator] After weeks away from home, captains, Linda Greenlaw...
- Change of the guard. - [Linda] Yep. Thank you.
You bet.
[narrator] ...and wild Bill Wichrowski fix their sights
on 60 pots soaking in the western shallows.
And their remaining 60,000 pounds of bairdi crab quota.
[Bill] Yeah, let's get ready, guys.
[man] Roger!
[man] Whoo!
First pot's coming up.
[Bill] I hope there's some crab in this string.
When they're in the pots you look like a genius.
And then there's the other times.
[man] Let's go! Let's go, baby!
Come on.
[machine whirring]
- [man 1] Yeah. - [man 2] Yeah, dude.
Not what I'd hoped for.
I need a number.
[bleep] me.
The second pot, coming up.
[creaking]
[man] Damn. Nothing.
Oh, Oh-ho-ho, [bleep].
[Bill] If you see it like this, it's like
what's the point?
[Maria speaking]
[man speaking]
Smooth is fast.
Don't hurt yourself.
[Bill] Well, it looks like we're going to give Maria a shot here.
[man] Wait for the sure shot.
Everybody wants to be the rockstar.
[man] One shot, one kill.
[man] Oh!
[man] You'll get it. You'll get it.
Swing and a miss.
- [man 2] So good! - [man 1] Let it sink. Let it sink.
[Maria grunts]
[man 1] Aw, man. [bleep]
[grunts]
[Maria speaking]
[Bill speaking]
We're gonna pull you back off the rail there.
You gotta earn being a star.
You can't just jump into the spot.
You only get so many chances on a crab boat.
[man grunts] Not good.
This is basically like starting over. I mean it's--
[man speaking over radio]
[Bill] I don't know what to do.
Maybe pump a little bit to the west, out to the 166 line and set above it.
You gotta take chances.
We gotta find 'em.
[narrator] 42 miles southwest,
aboard theAleutian Lady...
[Rick] This is what we've been fighting this whole fricking week for.
In town, all the BS, all the [bleep],
we're finally here, we're doing our jobs,
we're doing what we love to do.
- Are you down with that? - [man] Hell yeah.
Let's rock and [bleep] roll, guys.
- Let's do it. Ben. - Let's do it.
Let's get 'em wet.
[man] Going over!
[Rick] Here we go. Money stream.
[narrator] After leaving dock behind the fleet,
fifth-generation skipper Rick Shelfer
ploughs through two story high rollers, sprinting to plant his flag
on the eastern bairdi crab grounds.
It's an old-timer fishery.
[indistinct chatter]
I don't know how to fish it well.
But what I do know is the knowledge passed down to me through my family,
charts I've been given, that's why I'm at this line bank.
This spot is a spot that my father fished.
He would come in here and just kick the crap out of bairdi season.
It used to be a hotspot back in the day, but
nobody's really fished here in a while, so, hopefully,
we can get on something big.
[men clamoring indistinctly]
[man] There she goes!
[man] Oh, watch out!
Everything has got to go right for us this season, we need
to prove this boat is profitable.
[indistinct yelling]
Oh, watch out!
[ship creaking and clanging]
[Rick] [bleep]
[man grunts] [bleep]
Are you okay?
[man] What the [bleep]?
[narrator] On theAleutian Lady...
[Rick] Watch out!
[creaking]
[man] [bleep]
Are you okay?
[Noah speaking]
Pallet of bait just broke free.
[man speaking]
[narrator] Rocked by a 16-foot surge...
the force of the bow crash sends the 1000-pound pallet of bait
hurtling into deck boss Noah Harbeck.
[Noah] [bleep]
[Rick] Can you move it?
[groans]
[Rick] You got quite a lot of swelling down underneath.
You got some scraping and bruising going down the toe.
- [Noah winces] - [Rick] You got that thing good.
[Rick] Well, let's elevate it, let's put some ice on it here real quick,
and let's pay attention.
[groans]
All right.
[Rick over radio] All right guys, here we go.
[man] Roger.
[Rick] I'll give it a couple hours here, see how it is, and...
if it ends up being a problem then we gotta head in.
But we still have to prove this boat is profitable.
- We need some luck. - [man over radio]
[narrator] 80 miles southwest,
on the black cod grounds...
All right guys, one mile and we'll start.
[Jake over radio] Just be careful when you're out there.
[narrator] ...aboard theSaga...
Roger!
So, I'm just getting to the point where I'm gonna set.
Figured we'd try the shallows so,
hopefully we land on 'em quick.
[narrator] Amid building seas, Captain Jake Anderson, readies his crew
to set his long line gear,
gunning to make his fourth delivery of 60,000 pounds of black cod in just 72 hours.
[bleep] let's get outta here. [chuckles]
I don't want to be out here.
[Jake speaking]
...buoys on this one.
[Jake over radio] The tide's running real hard.
And the wind's blowing.
So, you need to get those buoys as far away from the boat as possible.
[Sofia speaks over radio]
[narrator] Throwing the two sets of end bags, skipper-in-training
Sofia Bob Nielson.
[Jake] Bob's been through a lot.
She lost both her parents at a young age.
And she inherited the family business.
And I know her sights are set on a bairdi fishery this winter,
but I need to know what she's capable of.
The best way to do that,
is to throw her to the wolves.
[Jake over radio]
Get ready.
[Sophia answers indistinctly]
I'll show you how a long line string works.
I'm fishing in the mountains, right.
So, normally when you're long lining, normally I'd set a buoy system right here,
and it would run down to the first pot.
And that would run down to the second
and that would run down to the third and so on, to the very end,
to the next buoy system.
I'll have 20 pots anchored to the long line.
That's worth, with product in it, a 100 grand.
[man over radio] Oh!
[Jake over radio]
[creaking and clanging]
[bleep] what was that?
Come on.
Where's the line?
[bleep] Mason get up here, I think I got it in the wheel,
I can't see it coming out of the stern.
[Mason] Roger!
[Jake] Mason, talk to me! What do you see back there?
I don't see anything. I think we trapped it.
I can feel it Mason, I got something in the wheel.
[Mason] There they are! We dropped the buoys.
[bleep]
[narrator] A suicide set, a long lining term for losing one of the two buoy set ups,
leaves Jake's 20 pots,
along with $50,000 of cod fish within trapped on the ocean floor.
If we lose these bags,
I'll lose the whole [bleep] string.
[narrator] With only one shot at retrieval...
[Jake] This is gonna be a tough one to haul.
I don't know if I'm even gonna be able to find that set of buoys.
[man] Going over!
'Cause sometimes you can't.
I really need this to make my delivery.
Only time will tell.
[narrator] 420 miles northwest...
They're not always in the same place.
Crab got little legs.
[narrator] ...on theTime Bandit...
[Johnathan] I think they're moving deeper right now.
'Cause it seems like solid crab right here.
So I'm just gonna set down here a little deeper.
Between 180 and 220.
Could be all blanks, you could set it on the motherlode.
[Andy] Right now, we have to spread our gear out to find the crab.
Put them back on like one little spot, and like get the nest tight.
[narrator] Coming up blank at 160 fathoms,
the Hillstrand brothers probe deeper into the canyons
northwest of the Pribilof Islands,
hunting the school of golden king crab down slope.
Okay guys, we'll dump one here.
We're gonna have 10 shots in all these.
[men hooting]
[man] Ready?
Going over!
[indistinct yelling]
[Johnathan] I don't see my greenhorn.
I don't know what's going on.
I see Russel, I see five crew, I don't see six.
Where's Kenzie?
[vomiting]
- She needs to get her sea legs right now. - [Russel] Come on!
She's struggling with it.
I saw her out there for the chop and bait and then she disappeared.
[Andy] I'll report back to you.
Your momma is not here to take care of you anymore.
Get the [bleep] back out on deck.
[Johnathan over radio] Go ahead, when you're ready.
[man] Going over!
[Andy] She's not in her bunk.
Oh.
You can throw up and work.
[man] Going over!
[knocks on door]
Hello?
[Andy] Oh my God.
[narrator] 480 miles northwest of Dutch Harbor.
[Andy] Where's Kenzie?
[narrator] On theTime Bandit.
[Johnathan] Might've already lost a crew member.
But, you know, we'll find out.
You're just throwing up. You seasick or something?
[Kenzie speaking]
[Andy] Oh.
[Andy] Yeah, I hear you. Okay.
Um, you wanna try to go to your bunk and lay down?
[Kenzie speaking]
[Andy] Okay.
Remember, try to drink some fluids.
I just wanted to check on you. We didn't see you out there.
[Kenzie speaking]
[Andy] Oh boy, John.
She's not doing good.
[Johnathan] I mean, you know,
just 'cause you don't feel good,
doesn't mean you can't work.
You can work.
Go breathe some fresh air,
go stand over there by the crane.
When you're ready.
[man] Going over!
[Johnathan] Don't let her go to bed, Andy.
- Don't-- You can't treat her like that. - Dude, she's laying
she's laying on the floor in the fetal position.
[Johnathan] Oh she is? Okay, I didn't see that.
[waves crashing]
I need to ask you a question
that I don't know.
What?
She told me she took some Midol for her period.
- [groans] - How long do women have periods for?
- [coughs] - [Andy] Is it a month?
- I don't know. - Is it seven days? Do you-- You don't know [bleep].
[man] Going over!
I-- I mean, if she can't get past this
then I gotta take her to town and it's gonna cost us a lot of money.
[men screaming]
[Kenzie speaking]
It's [bleep] It's like how it felt when I have the flu.
So, I just...
[sniffles] Whatever.
She seems like a good kid. I want her to succeed
and be part of this boat.
So it's up to her.
[narrator] 430 miles southeast,
on theSummer Bay.
Little under three miles and then we'll turn and set.
[man over radio]
[Bill] We're starting over, basically.
The, uh, eastern end was weak.
So we'll pump a little bit to the west,
out to the 166 line
and set back a little bit above it.
I'm hoping we get a little deeper and we see him.
Gotta take chances.
Yep.
[Maria speaking]
You wanna do what?
I'd like to urine on these pots for good luck.
- Have at her. - [Maria speaking]
[Bill] We gotta go, we got 13 minutes.
- [chuckling] Okay, sounds good. - [Bill chuckles]
[Maria] I'll go coll... I'll go collect the sample.
[chuckles]
I heard the tradition was a little different.
Let's do this.
[Bill] At closing time,
they used to tell the barmaids that
for good luck you gotta come down and pee on the pots.
And that was the way to get the barmaids from the bar down onto the boat.
But it was a tradition.
[urinating]
- [man] Damn, girl. - Locked and loaded.
And I thought I heard them all.
[man speaking]
[Maria speaking]
[man speaking]
We're blessing the pots.
There are a lot of things that fishermen believe,
you know, will change their luck.
Bill could shave his beard off. Might help.
Try the pee first.
[Maria speaking indistinctly]
[man] Whoo-hoo!
[chuckling] Cheers.
It may work. This may be the thing we need.
Going over!
Let's see what happens when we come back.
[narrator] 100 miles southwest...
on theSaga.
[Brett over phone]
[chuckles] Oh, you know...
I don't know.
But the long lining of six-byes and seven-byes
it's, it's really dangerous.
[Brett speaking]
Yeah.
[Sophia] I miss you a lot.
[Brett speaking]
- Bye. - Bye!
[Sophia] My brother, he's my best friend.
But after my mom passed
and I was just a rebellious teenager,
and he was trying to be parent,
we would just butt heads all the time.
But nobody pushes me like he does.
So if he says I can do something, I know I can do it.
- [Jake speaking] - [Sophia] Yeah.
[Jake over radio]
Keep your eyes peeled.
[Bill over radio]
No worries.
[Jake] Heading toward the suicide set right now.
There's only one end with bags on it.
If something happens to this end,
I'll lose $100,000 in product,
lost revenue and the pots themselves.
It's gonna be really bad for me
because I have a delivery date.
And I need it today
to fill the boat.
[Jake speaking]
The weather's picking up significantly.
Well, look at the waves, they're already just starting to blast now.
This is it, man. This is it!
Bob, you're throwing on this one so get ready.
It's Bobby.
We got-- She's got one shot.
She cannot [bleep] this up
and I'm not gonna let her know that
'cause if I start putting pressure on her, she's gonna [bleep] it up.
[woman speaking]
Nope.
[woman speaking]
[bleep] Come on.
[Sophia grunts]
[man] Let's go!
[narrator] On theSaga...
[man] All right. Here we go. First one!
Come on.
- [Sophia grunts] - [man] Let's go!
[all cheering]
[Jake over radio] Nice throw, Bob.
[Sophia] Thank you!
- [grunts] - [Jake] Beautiful display.
That's how you're supposed to do it right there.
[indistinct cheering]
You know, I'm still not very good,
but with a little bit of practice, I'm sure I'll get a lot better.
[Jake] First pot's coming up
and there is no turning back now.
I really need this to hit
to make my delivery.
Come on.
[man] What have we got?
Holy [bleep] No way, that's-- Oh my God!
That thing is huge!
[man 1] Looking good.
[man 2] Yeah!
[Jake over radio]
[bleep] Damn!
Look at that.
That's money, money, money right there.
[man over radio]
[Jake] We need a bigger boat.
[Jake speaking]
And she can learn it really quick.
Hopefully we keep getting those numbers
and get the hell out of here and get to town.
We'll see.
[narrator] 85 miles northeast...
on theAleutian Lady.
We're at the slime bank,
in my old man's honey hole.
Pot's been soaking for a while.
But I need to check on, uh, Noah here.
Hey, Noah, you wanna come up for a minute?
He's helping cook. He's doing wheel watches.
But still, his foot
looks like he's got elephantiasis of the foot.
Here, come sit down at the chair
and I'll stand up.
Hey, sit down.
[Noah] I didn't bring no cigarettes.
[bleep] Have one of mine, they're right there.
[bleep]
[Rick] How's she feeling, my friend?
But you can't even walk on her right now
and you could limp on it and put some pressure on the ball,
but it's gotta improve a crap ton.
I don't see your ankle getting good enough.
Even within a week,
enough to be able to be screwing around on deck.
I mean, do you?
I get you wanna stay, and I want you to stay.
[laughing] I mean, right? I want you here.
But your ankle is top-priority.
That thing took some trauma, man.
And it's gonna take a bit.
You're probably right.
[Rick] We can't four-man it
and you can't go out there.
So we're gonna head in.
Just take it easy right now, man.
Keep it elevated, you know?
[Noah] Yeah.
[Rick exhales]
We have to get a guy lined up.
Yeah, it just [bleep] sucks.
I'm going to town.
[narrator] 460 miles northwest...
on the golden king crab grounds...
[Johnathan over radio]
[Freddy over radio]
[narrator] ...aboard theTime Bandit.
My first year I came out, 19 years old,
- I didn't speak any English. - [Bill] That's impressive.
So every time the captain says something,
I turn around, "Yeah, roger!"
And I turn around.
[both laughing]
Every time.
[Johnathan] Back here on the ridgeline.
Hopefully we'll have the rest we need
for the offload right on this spot right here,
we'll have all the crab we need.
Get our offload in.
[narrator] The brothers Hillstrand returned to the edge
of an 1800 foot abyss
after setting all 40 pots
on the underwater canyon's decline.
[Johnathan] Only got five little soldiers out there.
I think I'm missing a Kenzie.
That's not good, man.
We've had this happen
and I can see it happening again.
And she's two days into this and she's not drinking,
and she's not eating.
Just gonna cost us a lot of time and a lot of money.
I'm hoping for the best.
[Johnathan over radio]
[indistinct yelling]
[Porter speaking]
Are you kidding me?
[Porter speaking]
[Johnathan] Oh God.
[men shouting indistinctly]
[Johnathan speaking]
Yeah.
"Help me. I can't swim."
"I'm drowning!" That's all my brother said.
- It's always about Andy. - [chuckles]
What about me?
[Johnathan speaking]
"Help me, I can't swim. I'm drowning!"
I need mustard.
I go throw my hot dog down and go save my brother.
- Yeah, I mean-- - Then I come back and then the hot dogs are all gone.
I didn't get to get a hot dog.
No hot dogs for me.
- I'm pretty needy. - [laughing]
I'm pretty needy.
Next time I have to pick between him and a hot dog,
I don't know which one I'm gonna pick.
[narrator] Ah, the Hillstrands.
Gotta love that brotherly love.
[narrator] On theTime Bandit...
[Porter speaking]
Are you kidding me?
[Porter speaking]
[Johnathan speaking]
[Andy speaking]
[Johnathan] Oh Kenzie, Kenzie might not be sick.
She just might be smoking Fentanyl in her bathroom.
- Oh my God. - You know people that have been--
- I can't hear this right now. - I know, I didn't...
didn't wanna tell you.
[Johnathan speaking]
[Porter speaking]
It doesn't matter. Now we're on the hook.
[Johnathan speaking]
[indistinct conversation]
There's zero tolerance on boats, brother.
This is our Catch 22.
[Johnathan speaking]
We gotta get her off this [bleep] boat
as soon as possible.
All right, guys, uh...
Just can't have that kinda liability on the boat.
There's no other choice.
[narrator] 430 miles southeast...
[Bill over radio]
[narrator] ...on theSummer Bay.
Here we're about to haul.
Was sitting on deck, minding its own business,
and then Maria comes up and sprinkles all over it.
I've been through some weird deals for good luck,
this is probably one of the stranger ones here.
Hopefully this pays off.
[man] Here we go.
Fishermen will try anything to change their luck.
Hopefully it's stuffed.
Here comes piss pot number one.
- [man 1 speaking] - [man 2] Yeah!
Oh yeah.
Beautiful.
[men cheering]
[Bill over radio]
I mean, did you give us your best shot?
[man laughing]
[Maria speaking]
[Bill] Twenty-three.
Twenty-three looks pretty good.
[Bill] That's what we need, a bunch of them.
[over radio] Hey Maria.
Jump in and throw a couple.
Be careful, kid.
In you go, Maria.
Let's go.
- [Maria] Okay. - [man] Yeah.
[man] Yeah! Come on, bring it in, bring it in.
Yep. She got it.
[man] Come on, guys. Let's go, let's go!
Pot coming up.
[man speaking]
[Bill] That's solid.
Mid fours probably?
[men cheering]
[man] Yeah, baby!
[Bill] Decent looking crab. Color's good,
bellies are clean.
- [man on radio] - Maybe there's something to her
peeing on the pots.
Pretty damn good.
[Maria over radio] Yeah, you're welcome, Bill.
- [man] Yeah! - [Maria] Whoo!
[narrator] 110 miles southwest.
[Rick] Never would've imagined we'd be at this point running the Dutch.
[sighs]
Rest up and heal up so I can
come back up and make some money, hopefully.
Every minute we're here...
we're going backwards.
[man] Yo, ready to go!
We're a guy light. I ain't waiting anymore.
It's time to go fish.
[Andy] Hey, Kenzie.
Hey, we're at St. George here.
And we're gonna drop you off
and you're gonna fly back to Dutch.
So we need you to get up
and get your stuff packed, okay?
[Johnathan speaking]
I would've never hired her if I had for a second thought this was gonna happen.
[Kenzie speaking]
I'll probably care when I don't feel like [bleep].
Right now I just feel like [bleep].
[Andy] Let's go, take it one step at a time.
[Johnathan] So, lesson be learnt from me, you know,
[bleep] happens.
Crab piss happens.
[Sophia] It's awesome to see everything that we caught and everything's still alive,
and that means we're gonna get paid good.
[Jake] It feels good to know that
what we're doing is actually working.
You're throwing stuff in the water
and you're picking back up gold.
[Sophia] So let's just turn a bird and go at it again, you know?
Can't wait to go back out there and catch some more fish.