Deadliest Catch

As the powerful hurricane and the strong winds and heavy seas that it brought along with it finally subside, the entire fleet struggles to repair the damaged done by Mother Nature. Over on the North American, the deck boards have been broken up, steel plates cracked on deck and bait and gear scattered. The storm and it’s fury have caused around $5,000 in damage to the boat but most importantly the captain and crew have escaped harm. Over on the Early Dawn, the crew also has plenty of damage to repair, however time in of the essence as their current position puts them in the path of another storm including possible seas of around 40 feet. In less than an hour the crew is able to scramble and patch up the deck as well as tie down any loose pieces of equipment.

Damage done to the boats is easy to fix, however on the Cornelia Marie it is Captain Phil Harris who was beat up the most. While laying in his bunk he was jarred loose by a heavy wave rolling the boat, throwing him into the corner of some furniture and possibly breaking several ribs. The resulting injury has made breathing a painfully enduring process. Captain Phil, however, has no time to worry about his own health and returns to his wheelhouse a few hours later to return to work. His condition worsens and soon along with the pain comes the sign of something much more seriously wrong when he begins coughing up blood. At first he tells the Discovery Channel’s producer, not to say anything as he knows it would weigh heavy on the minds of his two boys on board and needs them to stay focused on the job at hand.

Captain Phil’s condition slowly worsens and he decides to confide in his long time friend Murray about his symptoms. Murray figures that there is a good chance when he broke his ribs he also punctured a lung resulting in the difficult breathing and apparent internal bleeding. Again Capt. Phil asks Murray not to tell either of the captain’s boys. It isn’t long however, that Murray decides that Phil’s life is too important to risk and shares the information with his sons, Jake and Josh. Josh quickly confronts his father in the wheelhouse and tells him he needs to start thinking about his health as the money just isn’t important enough to risk his life. Before he leaves Captain Keith on board the Wizard calls over to the Cornelia Maria on the radio and Phil describes his situation. Captain Keith tells him to take care of himself and not to be afraid of calling the Coast Guard if he needed to. Taking all of this advice, Captain Phil decides to set the gear one last time and head to the nearest hospital at St. Paul. With the approaching storm, the Cornelia Marie is forced to circle the island until the seas subside. Captain Phil then makes his way to the hospital, and they immediately find that there is no puncture or broken ribs as suspected. However he needs to be seen by a specialist as the test reveals there is definitely something serious going on causing his symptoms.

With the Cornelia Marie still on Dutch Harbor, trying to at least make a quick fix on one of her engines, time becomes of the essence. When the repairs are made, and the boat begins to steam back towards the fishing grounds, it’s all hands on deck to get the gear prepared and baited. However, it doesn’t take long for Capt. Phil to notice his son Jake has taken one to many breaks and questions his work ethic as well as threatening to cut some of his pay. At 22, Jake still lacks a bit of the majority of most seasoned deck hands, and regardless off being the Captain’s son or not, needs to keep up with his share of the work, especially while cashing in on around $100,000 annually.

Nobody’s getting a break over on the Northwestern however, as a call from the processor increases their quota and at the same time they have asked for the catch two days earlier. The already fatigued crew will need to work all through the night again, after already working 24 hours straight. But a tired crew on the Bearing Sea can be a recipe for disaster and it isn’t long before a pot is left unsecured on the launcher. Coming off the roll of a wave the put is knocked loose and slides towards the sorting table, catching deck hand Jake in between. The rest of the crew immediately frees him, pulling him from harm. But it’s another reminder that no one can afford to overlook safety no matter how much the Captain has pushed them. After a few more grueling hours all of the tanks are full and Captain Sig turns the boat towards port to make the journey back to offload.

Over on the Time Bandit, the crew continues pulling up strong numbers of crabs per pot, in a race to beat the approaching weather. The help out as an extra man on deck, Captain Jonathan Hillstrand head down on deck to lend a helping hand. Trying to add more flair to the task at hand, his attempt at an underhand throw of the grappling hook comes back to smack him right on the nose. With a bloodied face he returns back to the wheelhouse to consult with brother Andy and clean up his wounds before returning for the final pot. Now with all of their holds filled with opilio crab it’s time to head back to offload. However it won’t be an easy time for any of the boats as a hurricane is pounding the entire fleet with 40 foot seas and 100 knot winds. The Bearing Sea has begun to unleash it’s fury in pure Opilio season tradition.

The latest episode of Deadliest Catch rejoins the rescue attempt on board the US Coast Guard helicopter as it struggles flying it’s rescued passenger back to Cold Bay.  Flying straight back through the center of the approaching low pressure system, means strong headwinds, and the ever increasing danger of icing up causing eventual engine failure.  In addition, the helicoptor is running low on fuel and would be literally flying on flumes when they arrived.  Deciding not to risk the lives of the entire crew to save one man, they turn around and return to St. Paul.  Luckily upon landing they meet a civilian pilot who agrees to fly the patient to Anchorage for medical attention.

Meanwhile on the Cornelia Marie, Capt. Phil and crew are still battling heavy seas running on only one good engine.  They decide to ride out the rest of the storm at anchor, but the heavy seas soon take their toll on the anchor line which only adds further to their list of needed repairs.  Aftor the storm subside they are able to slowly limp back to Dutch Harbor, where they are met by the local boat mechanic.  The prognosis is not good, as the actual problem cannot be determined, leaving Capt. Phil with a difficult decision to either fish the rest of the season on one good engine or call it quits while the engine can be completely taken apart and worked on.

Having similarly bad luck is Capt. Keith on the Wizard.  Although mechanically everything has been sound, the equipment has not been kept in proper shape and pots are being pulled up with holes and open doors.  Leading to the Captains frustration, is the greenhorn Moi who has given Captain about all he can take.  Captain Keith orders a quick meeting with the crew and lashes out at them as well as their work ethic.  The crew continues back to work but then the greenhorn makes a huge mistake and returns to the wheelhouse to confront the Captain in an episode he would soon regret.

Over on the Time Bandit, Capt. Andy had taken the advice of his brother Jonathan on where to drop their first strings.  The results are not overwhelming as they average only about 175 crabs per pot.  He decides to think for himself and moves the pots over to an area known as “Maggoo”.  After a full soak the crew is delighted to find much more crabs per pot, many as high as 1100 per pot.  Meanwhile luck on the Northwestern is almost as good as the weary crew as been pulling pots for 24 hours straight, while managing an average of around 675 crabs per pot.  Although the crew is tired they know they are far on their way to filling their tanks and cashing in on the thousands of dollars of “opillio” gold up for grabs.

It’s the start of the 2008 Opilio season, which only makes the job even more dangerous as the threat of ice???????? build up only leads to an even more hazardous situation. Before the boats even leave Dutch Harbor we hear about a deckhand falling off a stack of pots from a height of about two stories, landing on the rail and killing himself without even leaving the dock. The captains take a moment to reflect on the loss and are reminded of their own mortality before heading out to face the brunt of a powerful Arctic storm.

Before getting underway the Wizard has to take on some more diesel fuel at the fuel dock. With hurricane winds accompanying the storm this is no easy task for the 156 foot long boat as the winds hit her broadside. This pales in comparison, however, to what the boat will face later on in the open sea. Before the season started Capt. Keith decided to fish the boats maximum number of pots. Now facing heavy seas of 20 to 30 feet, the extra weight on board leaves the boat very unstable, a captain’s worst nightmare. Luckily they are able to press on and steam through it.  Their luck changes soon afterwards as they lose their hydraulic systems, leaving them without any working machinery and no way to start fishing their pots.

Over on the Northwestern, Capt. Sig and most of the crew has a bad case of the flu, making a tough job even more miserable.  Regardless, they soon leave port and steam towards the approaching storm.  Making good time, they arrive on the crab grounds ahead of the powerful storm.  So, in Norwegian tradition (Or at least Northwestern tradition) deckhand Matt takes his turn at biting the head off a raw herring for good luck to start the season.  Meanwhile the Time Bandit, with Capt. Andy Hillstrand taking his turn in the wheelhouse, in already pulling up their pots.  The numbers at first are relatively small so Andy instructs his crew to start stacking the pots on deck to be dropped in a another location.  The instruction seems to turn their luck around as the pots begin coming up fuller and fuller.

The luck isn’t as good over on the Cornelia Marie.  After spending around $50,000 to overhaul the engine back in port, it isn’t long when the system begins to overheat.  With few options while out at sea, it appears Capt. Phil will have to make the long trek back for repairs.  Lastly we hear of a worker on a processor having seizures who desperately needs medical attention.  The only option is a rescue by a coast guard helicopter and a transport back to be medivacked to an area hospital.   The only problem is they will need to fly directly through the storm, risking icing and low fuel, putting their patient and entire crew at a great risk.