Heading Out to Sea
The start of king crab season in Dutch Harbor is usually cause for celebration, but with a massive storm moving in and the specter of last year’s Big Valley tragedy still lingering, captains and crews are uneasy. Captain Hillstrand of the Time Bandit takes a gamble and leaves port on Friday, breaking one of the oldest fishing superstitions in the book.
Batten Down the Hatches
A rare, calm day on the Bering Sea is interrupted by reports of an approaching storm – boasting 50 mph winds and 30-foot waves. While Captain Hansen of the Northwestern wisely decides to wait out the weather on the small island of Amak, the Time Bandit’s Captain Hillstrand elects to fish through the monster.
On the Crab
After a hide-and-seek run behind Amak Island to avoid a storm, the Northwestern is back on the crab grounds, pulling big pots and filling its holds – until a broken crane brings them to a halt. Meanwhile, the Time Bandit’s Captain Hillstrand relishes his decision to leave early and brave the storm. He’s already caught a boatload of crab and the Bandit is now the first boat in the fleet to offload at St. Paul Harbor.
The Finish Line
Captain Hansen and the Northwestern crew are finally pulling in a good amount of crab – but they’re covered in barnacles, which means they’re worth much less. Captain Corky Tilly of the Aleutian Ballad has a different kind of problem – one of his greenhorn deckhands can’t hack it on the Bering Sea and has threatened to jump overboard.
Friends and Rivals
When a rogue wave knocks the Aleutian Ballad on its side, shutting down all power and the boat’s engines, the crew must scramble in the dark to avoid disaster. Elsewhere on the crab grounds, Captain Sig and the crew of the Northwestern sabotage one of the Cornelia Marie’s pots with an old pair of Sig’s underwear – a practical joke that prompts an equally “trashy” response from Captain Harris and the men of the Marie.
A New Hunt Begins
January on the Bering Sea is usually a time of respite, a brief period when the crews return to port to prep their boats for the Opilio crab portion of the season. While boats like the Maverick refresh their supplies, the Time Bandit heads out in the middle of the season’s first big snowstorm to get a jump on the competition. Meanwhile, Captain Sig instructs his crew to get ready for a marathon stretch of Cod fishing – before heading straight into the Opilio season.
Smoke on the Water
As an arctic storm presses further into the crab grounds, the fishing gets tougher. The Time Bandit is low on bait and too far north to head back for more. Plus, there’s a new obstacle: the encroaching arctic ice pack. With temperatures barely above zero, the Rollo and the Maverick drop their pots in turbulent seas, and the Cornelia Marie remains stuck in port for a third, agonizing day.
Man Versus Ice
Hopes for a quick Opilio season fade as heavy sea spray ices down the fleet, turning the race for crab into a slow crawl. Poor results and long days fray nerves, causing fights on the Maverick and Rollo. The trailblazing Time Bandit crew keeps pressing north into the arctic onslaught. Meanwhile, Sig Hansen takes a short nap from the Northwestern’s cod-fishing marathon – and the boat soon drifts off course.
On the Edge
The Time Bandit finally encounters the ice pack and discovers that it’s much closer to their gear than expected. While the Rollo fishes through gnarly weather nearby, the entire crew of the Maverick endures a ship-wide flu epidemic. Elsewhere, the Cornelia Marie has little luck finding Opilio and instead catches tons of Tanner. Captain Sig and the Northwestern crew finish up their cod season and Deckboss Edgar Hansen becomes a new father.
Pribilof Stare
Freezing weather and severe icing continue to make life at sea miserable. The icy decks of the Cornelia Marie claim their first victim when Deckhand Dave Gilbert takes a nasty spill. Captain Andy Hillstrand of the Time Bandit navigates the northern ice pack, through the Pribilof islands, and the ship’s deckhands are forced to take breaks from fishing to remove thousands of pounds of icy buildup from every inch of steel. On the Maverick, fishing comes to a standstill when the crew attempts to fix a shattered stiff arm.
Race Against the Ice
After a heavy offload on St. Paul Island, the Rollo heads back to the crab grounds for a final haul. As they steam out, Captain Eric chastises his crew – because of poor counting on deck, they offloaded almost 40,000 more pounds of crab than they were permitted. Captain Andy Hillstrand and the Time Bandit crew are still battling the ice pack on the northern edge of the crab grounds. If they don’t haul their gear and catch their crab fast enough, their Special Forces tactics (first in, first out) might not pay off in the end.
Cashing In
It’s the end of the season and everyone is eager to wrap up operations. After one final push, the Opilio fleet plugs the holds, stacks the pots and heads for port. While the fishing has come to an end, the dangers of the Bering Sea persist. With full holds and iced-over decks full of pots, each boat risks tipping over while steaming back to port. Back home in Seattle, the wives and children of the Northwestern crew wait with nervous anticipation. In the end, a teary-eyed reunion on the docks is the perfect way to cap off this long, bitterly cold, crab-fishing season.
