List of Deadliest Catch episodes – Wikipedia

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season Title Original air date 51 1 “Everything on the Line” April 14, 2009 ( ) The season opens with medical issues for Captain Keith Colburn of the Wizard; a biopsy standing between him and the season. Captain Phil Harris returns to the bridge of the Cornelia Marie after being away for eight months, but then immediately spends $5,000 on new bait sacks after Jake and Josh lost the sacks from the previous season. The captains gather at the traditional burn barrel and bar where they make the year’s captain’s wager for $4,000. This year’s wager is for the most keepers caught from five specially designated captain’s pots. On the Time Bandit, the Hillstrands re-hire deckhand Mike Fourtner, who has aspirations of running the boat when the Hillstrand brothers retire. The Hillstrands play a prank on him as a welcome back by dumping two bins full of water and flour on him. On the Wizard, Captain Keith receives a call from his doctor that the biopsy came back negative for cancer, but positive for epithelial dysplasia. During the traditional blessing of the fleet, Captain Phil receives a call from his doctor that the blood clot condition has not completely healed. Reluctantly, Phil decides he must relinquish the captain’s chair to Murray Gamrath. The Time Bandit is the first to reach the southern crab grounds where Captain Johnathan drops two 10-pot prospect pots in a spot that was productive last year. Just as the Wizard is to drop her first pots of the season, Captain Keith’s wife calls with news that the $400,000 in repairs during the off-season has drained his bank account leaving him with a zero balance. The prospect pots return nearly empty and Captain Keith decides to move on. On the Northwestern, Captain Sig Hansen draws the short straw, though actually a short zip tie, to do the traditional biting off the head of a herring. On the Wizard, a pot is lost when the line snaps. Captain Keith suspects a jagged edge of zinc anode is cutting the lines, and the only way to be sure is for Captain Keith to dive under the boat or return to port. Captain Keith made the decision to do the risky dive, but as he is ascending from under the boat, the boat rolls; he sustains a head injury, and has to be lifted back aboard in a life sling. Last year’s hot spot for the Time Bandit is just as hot this year when the first pot of the prospect string hauls in 96 keepers; seeing such great results, Captain Johnathan blankets area with all of his pots. 52 2 “Red Skies in the Morning” April 21, 2009 ( ) The crew of the Wizard tends to Captain Keith Colburn, but it is too early to tell if he is seriously injured from bumping his head on the underside of the boat. After another test string results in a full pot, Captain Johnathan Hillstrand of the Time Bandit drops his entire load of pots in the hot spot from last season. After getting eight hours of sleep, On the Wizard, Captain Keith takes over the helm even though he does not remember most of what happened during his accident. The skippers notice the red sky in the morning and the leading edge of a monster storm reaches the fleet at 10:00 AM with the Northwestern getting hit first. Her crew continues to fish through the leading edge of the storm, when Captain Sig Hansen’s wife calls with a weather report of approaching 40-knot (74 km/h; 46 mph) plus winds from the east. Captain Sig decides to push as hard as he can before the storm hits. The Time Bandit consolidates her entire 197 pot load in a 0.5-square-mile (1.3 km2) area. Relief Captain Murray Gamrath steers the Cornelia Marie to pick up a 15-mile (24 km) long string of 90 pots after a 48-hour soak, but instead of the 60 average keepers he was expecting, he gets only a few crab per pot. With such low numbers, Captain Murray orders the crew to stack the gear and heads off to a second string 20 miles (32 km) to the north. He also receives a phone call from Captain Phil Harris asking him how the fishing is going and providing Captain Murray with a report that Captain Johnathan of the Time Bandit was averaging 80 to 90 keepers per pot. On board the Northwestern, a broken pot catches the line while being dropped overboard, causing two pots to get tangled, but the crew slowly works to clear the problem. The Cornelia Marie hits the southern edge of the storm and where 60 pots were dropped to the north, but while the pots look good at first, most of the crab are females or juveniles. The crew grumbles about the lack of crab and Captain Murray has no plan on where to go next. The Time Bandit continues to pull up good numbers, filling up their tanks with nearly 30,000 pounds (14,000 kg) of crab, but the 36-hour grind causes the tension to rise between Mike Fourtner and Russell Newberry. The fleet gets hit by the post-tropical remnants of a typhoon from Japan that produces 35-foot (11 m) seas and 60-knot (111 km/h; 69 mph) winds. At 12:37 AM on October 22, 2008, the crab fleet hears a mayday call from the Katmai, a cod fisher with 11 men on board, that she is sinking, but the ship is 900 miles (1,400 km) west of the fleet and the skippers are too far away to assist. The United States Coast Guard launches an MH-60 Jayhawk and two C-130 Hercules from USCG Air Station Kodiak to the location of the Katmai ‘s EPIRB. After a seven-hour flight, the MH-60 Jayhawk arrives on scene and locates the EPIRB, a flare, debris, and an empty life raft, but no survivors. At 1:00 PM, the Jayhawk crew spots a survival suit in the water, but the rescue swimmer reports that the crew member is deceased. 53 3 “Stay Focused or Die” April 28, 2009 ( )

Seventeen hours after Katmai ‘s EPIRB went off, a second MH-60 Jayhawk arrives on scene and picks up four survivors from a life raft: Captain Henry “Joe” Blake, Deck Boss Guy Schroeder, and Greenhorns Harold “Ryan” Appling and Adam Foster. Captain Joe, Ryan, and Adam recount their survival story aboard the life raft. Facing the worst of the storm, the Wizard is low on fresh bait and pulls a string of cod pots in 25-foot (7.6 m), 75-mile-per-hour (121 km/h) (Force 12) seas. On board the Northwestern, Captain Sig Hansen keeps news of the Katmai tragedy from the crew. After going 36 hours without sleep, Captain Sig hands over the helm to Deck Boss Edgar Hansen and he steers the Northwestern on setting a string. After a 27-hour soak, the string pulls up good numbers, lifting the spirits of the crew. On the Cornelia Marie, Deck Hand Corey Eisenbarth recounts his experience when he was a greenhorn aboard a fishing vessel that went down 26 years ago. Nineteen hours after the Katmai sinks, two Good Samaritan vessels, the Courageous and the Patricia Lee pull the bodies of two crewmen from the sea.[4] Four days after the sinking, the United States Coast Guard suspends the search for the two remaining missing crewmen.[5] 54 4 “Put Up or Shut Up” May 5, 2009 ( ) While on a 45-minute run to another string, Captain Johnathan Hillstrand of the Time Bandit receives a call from the cannery that his delivery deadline has been moved up three days, leaving 36 hours to fill the boat. On board the Wizard, Monte Colburn is upset that Greenhorn Josh Warner had posted a picture of him and his girlfriend near the bait station. Monte smears bait over the photo, which prompts Josh to leave the deck and complain to Captain Keith Colburn about the issue, but he receives no sympathy and is told to get back to work. Captain Wade Henley and the Lisa Marie arrives at the southern end of the fishing grounds two weeks after the rest of the fleet because she was fishing for cod for a month. The smallest boat in the fleet at 78 feet (24 m) long can only carry 40 pots, which she drops overboard for a prospect string. On the Northwestern, steady but mediocre numbers make Captain Sig Hansen happy, but his mode changes when the cannery calls to tell him that they have moved his delivered day up a day, leaving less than 72 hours to catch 50,000 pounds (23,000 kg) of crab. His mood continues to darken when the fatigue of the deck crew, who have been working for 17 hours non-stop, causes them to slow down and make mistakes. The Time Bandit pull up a 75 pot string with low numbers putting their push to fill their quota in time for delivery in jeopardy, but two large pots push them over their 117,000-pound (53,000 kg) full load and they head back to port. On their way to pick a cod fishing string, Deckhand Jake Anderson of the Northwestern receives permission from the crew and Captain Sig to man the hydraulics for the first time. When Captain Sig comes out of the wheelhouse to caution Jake about going too fast, Edgar Hansen becomes unhappy about Captain Sig stepping across the line of responsibility from the wheelhouse to the deck. After dropping her 40 pots overboard, the Lisa Marie anchors at Amak Island to take cover from the storm where she is joined by the Cornelia Marie. Captain Murray Gamrath of the Cornelia Marie is relieved from the wheelhouse after being on duty for 39 hours straight. Deckhand Corey Eisenbarth notices that the boat is drifting due to the 8-foot (2.4 m) swells and 60 miles per hour (97 km/h) winds and wakes up Captain Murray so that he can captain the boat while they pull up the anchor. The anchor line gets caught on the outside of the pulley. Corey manually works the line free while Captain Murray engages the engines to relieve the stress on the line. 55 5 “Long Haul, Short Fuses” May 12, 2009 ( ) After a 30-hour grind and with 8 hours to spare, the Time Bandit sets their final 35 pot string before heading to Saint Paul to offload. The crew gets a reminder on complacency when a rogue wave knocks a pot off the launcher, nearly crashing into Deckhand Russell Newberry before it goes over the side. After seven days of fishing on barren grounds, Captain Keith Colburn of the Wizard makes a major move by baiting heavy and moving to new fishing grounds, but his plans are delayed when he discovers that the boat is low on bait. Captain Keith decides to call out to Captain Sig Hansen of the Northwestern to ask for bait, hoping that Captain Sig follows the unwritten rule of “whenever somebody needs help, regardless of who it is and what is, you help them out”. Continuing to haul up low numbers and with only 150,000 pounds (68,000 kg) out of 200,000 pounds (91,000 kg) for a full load, Captain Murray Gamrath calls the crew to the wheelhouse that he is going to take the Cornelia Marie up north 80 to 95 miles (129 to 153 km) in search of better numbers. Despite their low numbers, Captain Sig of the Northwestern decides to not move and stick it out. Deck Boss Edgar Hansen calls out Deckhand Jake Anderson about how he is prepping the crab pots. Jake takes the criticism personally and his attitude annoys Edgar. The Time Bandit offloads 121,000 pounds (55,000 kg) of crab worth $609,000 at Saint Paul. Also experiencing miserable fishing, Captain Wade Henley considers moving the Lisa Marie up north, but the boat’s small deck would mean multiple trips which would eat up fishing time. Captain Wade decides to move up north 50 miles (80 km) instead of 80 miles (130 km) where he was told over the radio that there was good fishing. Later that night, the crew pulls up a test pot after a 7 hour soak that results in no crab. The lack good fishing causes tension among the crew to rise, culminating in Deckhand Robert Christensen shoving his brother Greenhorn David Christensen to the deck after Robert’s toss of the hook gets caught in a shot line that David was coiling. Working on an 80 pot string with two days before having to make a delivery and on a 36-hour grind, the crew of the Northwestern gets careless. Jake Anderson handles the crab roughly on the sorting table, causing Edgar to call out Jake once again. When Deckhand Matt Bradley joins in on calling out Jake, tempers flare between the two. On the Cornelia Marie, the crew drops 141 pots on new grounds. Tensions are also high among the Harris brothers, with Jake and Josh arguing over Josh’s filling of the bait jars. The Time Bandit continues to pull up full pots. Another close call on deck happens when a bridle breaks while pulling up a pot, but a quick reaction by Deckhand Mike Fourtner to throw out the line from the coiler prevents anybody from getting caught in the line and pulled overboard. Mike’s luck doesn’t hold when he loses two hooks overboard. The crew manage to retrieve the second hook with some luck and jury rigged hook made of two shackles. With only 2,000-pound (910 kg) of bait on board, Captain Keith leaves his brother Monte Colburn at the helm while on a run to pick up some cod pots. Monte spots a herd of walrus and Keith is upset that Monte did not wake him as the superstitious Keith sees the walrus as a good omen. Keith drops a string of pots exactly where the walrus herd was spotted. After a 24-hour soak, the walrus herd turns out to indeed be a good omen as the crab pots are full and the Wizard fills her tanks full. The Cornelia Marie ‘s move 100 miles (160 km) north does not turn out when she pulls up a disappointing string of pots. 56 6 “Deadline” May 19, 2009 ( ) The Wizard is being helmed by Monte Colburn as she fishes in 35-foot (11 m) seas, 100,000 pounds (45,000 kg) short of her quota. At first pots in the string are full, but the count quickly drops off. The Northwestern drops 86 pots on a third string in new fishing grounds. As she heads back to the other end of the grounds, Deck Boss Edgar Hansen needles Deckhand Jake Anderson, which upsets him. The bad feelings chill when a wave crashes on deck, hits Edgar and Jake, and knocking Edgar off his feet. The Cornelia Marie ‘s bad luck continues when she only gets 45 keepers out of 25 pots. Hoping to change their luck, Deckhands Josh Harris, Jake Harris, and Freddy Maugatai try their new tradition of shaving their heads into a mohawk. After pulling up mediocre numbers for the past three days, the Time Bandit heads to their last string of the season. The string starts off good, pulls up a blank on the third pot, but the last few pots have good numbers, allowing the crew to meet their quota of 270,000 pounds (120,000 kg) of crab. Captain Johnathan Hillstrands plots a course back to Dutch Harbor to offload. On board the Lisa Marie, crew morale sinks when a string after a 20 hour soak pulls up mostly female crab. The crew must stack and move their 60 pots for the third time in two weeks. Deck Boss Robert Christensen berates Deckhand Brandon Williams. Brandon then goes to Captain Wade Henley to tell him that this will be his last trip on the boat because he feels that he is not getting the respect that he deserves. After the mediocre numbers that Monte Colburn picked up through the storm, Captain Keith Colburn packs five strings in a 2-square-mile (5.2 km2) area back where he saw the herd of walruses. The plan works out when the crew pulls of pots with large numbers of crab. At Dutch Harbor, the Time Bandit offloads her catch. Captain Johnathan has caught over $1.7 million worth of crab. The crew celebrate the end of the king crab season by smashing several whipped cream pies in the face of Andy Hillstrand, who will be captain during the upcoming opilio crab season. 57 7 “Down to the Wire” May 26, 2009 ( ) The final week of the king crab season sees the crew of the Wizard pushing to pull up their last 20 pots of the season. They get good numbers of keepers and head to Dutch Harbor to offload. On board the Northwestern, Captain Sig Hansen is radio fishing in English and Norwegian, but Deck Boss Edgar Hansen is skeptical of any advice received over the radio. The Cornelia Marie is finally on the crab, but their long trip makes Relief Captain Murray Gamrath worry that the crab in the tanks might be towards the end of how long they can survive. Deckhand Jake Harris has an injured back, but when brother Josh tries to help out, Josh ends up injuring Jake’s pride and they argue over their duties on deck. The brother soon make up when the boat averages 30 keepers per pot. With 200,000 pounds (91,000 kg) in their tanks, the Cornelia Marie begins the 30-hour trip back to Dutch Harbor to offload. Captain Sig on the Northwestern makes a gamble by dropping three 50-pot “Hail Mary” strings on the radio information he received, but the pots bring up lousy numbers and the crew has to continue to grind through the season. With their season completed before the other boats, the Hillstrand brothers of the Time Bandit go fishing in San Carlos, Mexico. Just outside Dutch Harbor, Captain Keith Colburn of the Wizard calls Greenhorn Josh Warner up to the wheelhouse to congratulate him on a good job during the season and to offer him a job during the upcoming opilio season. First Mate Gary Soper initiates Josh to the crew by playing a practical joke on him. As the Wizard is being offloaded, Engineer Lenny Lekanoff surprises the Colburn brothers by telling them that he is retiring after fishing for 25 years. The Northwestern picks up their last “Hail Mary” string and the crew celebrates by shooting off fireworks, but Captain Sig is worried that the Coast Guard will interpret the fireworks as signal flares. At Dutch Harbor, the Cornelia Marie offloads their crab. The crew is dismayed to find a lot of dead loss due to the boat being out too long. The crew makes one final trip out to dump the dead loss over the side. Captain Sig of the Northwestern barely makes his delivery deadline and the cannery haggles with him over the price of the crab. Two weeks after the season ends, the captains gather to settle the Captain’s Wager. The wager comes down to a single pot between the Time Bandit and the Wizard, with the Time Bandit winning. Captain Johnathan Hillstrand splits the winnings with the crew. 58 8 “Payback Time” June 2, 2009 ( ) The beginning of the 2009 opilio season is greeted by an ice storm in Dutch Harbor. On the way to the fuel dock, the Wizard loses power and drifts east of Hog Island. She regains power before drifting into the rocks of Hog Island and heads back to her dock to diagnose the problem with her fuel system. Captain Phil Harris returns to the helm of the Cornelia Marie after an 11 month break from fishing due to this blood clot from last season. The ice storm has delayed Captain Sig Hansen’s, of the Northwestern, arrival at Dutch Harbor for two days. Before the start of the king crab season, Deckhand Jake Anderson of the Northwestern pulled a prank on Captain Johnathan Hillstrand of the Time Bandit by stealing Captain Johnathan’s signature U.S.A jacket. The Hillstrand brothers seek revenge upon Jake at the start of the opilio season. Jake decides to spare the crew of the Northwestern from possible retaliation by going on board the Time Bandit to return the jacket. However, the Hillstrand brothers still decide to punish Jake by taping him to the Time Bandit ‘s crane and dipping him waist-deep into the sea. The weather clears enough for Captain Sig to fly into Dutch Harbor on the day that the opilio season starts. Captain Sig and Captain Andy Hillstrand visit Captain Phil on the Cornelia Marie to discuss the ice situation on the fishing grounds. Captain Phil hires mechanic Jeff Whited to check over the Cornelia Marie. He finds a leak in the fuel tank that needs immediate repair in a drydock. While drydocked, a problem with the propeller is discovered. Steve Ward replaces Murray Gamrath as engineer after Murray decides to retire from fishing. Steve finds a water leak in the hydraulic system that needs repair. The three repairs total up to a $100,000 bill. With the impending ice storm, the captains of the Northwestern and Time Bandit decide to offload some pots to make for a safer boat and then head off to the fishing grounds. The Wizard ‘s loss of power is traced back to a leak in the fuel tank. The tank is drained and ventilated to allow Monte Colburn to weld the leak as a temporary fix to get the boat through the opilio season. Instead of taking off pots like the Northwestern and Time Bandit, Captain Keith Colburn decides to take a full load of 235 pots and rig up a tarp across the front of the stack to prevent freezing spray from building up on the stack. The Time Bandit arrives at the same fishing spot in the northern area of the fishing grounds as last season and drops her first strings. Captain Andy has four days until his delivery date to fill the boat and wants to launch his pots as fast as possible. The Hillstrands hire on new Deckhand Jon Jorgenson even though they still need to cut one crew member at the end of the season. The extra hire means that six crew members are competing for five spots. The Northwestern drops her pots further north than the Time Bandit. Deckhand Jake Anderson does the traditional biting off of the head of a herring to start the season. Captain Sig drops three 40-pot strings just 70 miles (110 km) south of the ice and hopes that the ice does not cover his pots before he can retrieve them. Captain Keith of the Wizard decides that 235 pots is too many and departs Dutch Harbor with 225 pots. After three days in drydock, the repairs on the Cornelia Marie are complete and she heads off, but not before Captain Phil decides to give his son Josh a full share. Brothers Jake and Josh Harris argue while they load the pots onto the deck. After a nine-hour soak, the Time Bandit ‘s first string pulls up low numbers, which forces Captain Andy to scramble for a new plan before the ice arrives at the fishing grounds in two days. The Cornelia Marie arrives at the fishing grounds with Captain Phil planning to fish near the ice pack. In 50-knot (93 km/h; 58 mph) winds and 30-foot (9.1 m) seas, the crew of the Wizard works on the bow of the ship to lash down the tarp. Captain Keith calls for an abort of the work, but the crew does not hear him and the boat takes a big wave which engulfs the crew. 59 9 “No Second Chances” June 9, 2009 ( )

Captain Keith Colburn of the Wizard calls to his crew on the bow after a big wave crashes over the bow engulfing the crew. After not hearing anything, Captain Keith rushes down from the wheelhouse to find that Monte Colburn has injured ribs from being thrown against the drag anchor, Deckhand Lynn Guitard with a contusion above his left eye and lower back, and First Mate Gary Soper with a contusion below his left eye. With half the crew injured, the Wizard turns back to Dutch Harbor. The Hillstand family fishing ground nicknamed “Mr. Magoo” does not produce any crab unlike last season. The crew of the Time Bandit rail dumps the pots dropped on “Mr. Magoo” and head to their northern strings 60 miles (97 km) away. After offloading 152,000 pounds (69,000 kg) worth $258,000, the Incentive is fishing on the southern fishing grounds 80 miles (130 km) from the sea ice in the middle of an arctic squall with 20-foot (6.1 m) seas, 70 miles per hour (110 km/h) gusts, and −10 °F (−23 °C) temperatures. While pulling up full pots after 18 hours of work, a pot slips from the launcher, but the crew avoids injury. Captain Keith of the Wizard agonizes over his decision to send his crew out on the bow. On the Cornelia Marie, Captain Phil Harris plans a short soak strategy in order to beat the ice. With two new crew members on deck, the crew has yet to get into a good rhythm. When new Engineer Steve Ward is slow stacking the pots on the deck, the Harris sons push him to work faster. This results in a dressing down by Captain Phil to his sons about working together. With three days to go until their delivery date, the Time Bandit arrives at their northern family fishing ground nicknamed “butt cheeks”. Trying to break their bad luck, the crew set fire to the Jake Anderson, of the Northwestern, dummy they made when paying Jake back for stealing Captain Johnathan Hillstrand’s jacket. The crew’s luck changes as the crew pulls up three-quarter full pots after a 21-hour soak. Captain Andy Hillstrand decides to concentrate all of his gear on the “butt cheeks” fishing grounds. The Northwestern is on the crab, pulling an average of 400 keepers per pot 55-mile (89 km) from the sea ice. A 40-foot (12 m) wave crashes over the port side of the boat, snapping the pot tie downs at the stern of the boat, causing the pots to shift to the starboard side. On board the Cornelia Marie, the crew finally gets into a rhythm and their short soaked pots pull up good numbers. Captain Phil must decide on whether to stay and fish and risk being caught by the ice or make a run to St. Paul to offload while the weather is clear. While launching a pot, Jake Harris gets his leg caught in the line after it pops free from the block. Quick work by his brother, Josh Harris, frees Jake’s leg before the descending pot pulls him overboard. After a 20 hour steam, the Wizard arrives back at Dutch Harbor and the injured crew receive medical attention. 60 10 “Sea of Misery” June 16, 2009 ( ) Six hours after offloading $352,000 worth of crab, the Northwestern is hauling up a 100-pot string after a 48-hour soak. The ice pack has moved 20 miles (32 km) south in the past 36 hours, putting the ice 40 miles (64 km) away from the Northwestern ‘s northern strings. The crew rush through hauling up the southern string before moving 15 miles (24 km) to haul the northern strings. Captain Sig Hansen has the Northwestern on the crab, getting an average of 500–600 crab per pot, and wants to move west .75 miles (1.21 km) before resetting the pots to keep the fishing fresh and ahead of the crab, but the crew questions Captain Sig’s decision not to set back on the same spot like previous seasons. Still docked at Dutch Harbor, Captain Keith Colburn of the Wizard has second thoughts about his decision making process regarding the accident that injured three of his crewmembers. The boat heads out with a full crew with retired Engineer Lenny Lekanoff and injured First Mate Gary Soper rejoin the crew. The Cornelia Marie is picking up the last 120 pots of her northern string, getting 500 keepers per pot, when Captain Phil Harris receives a radio report of an approaching storm with 41-foot (12 m) seas. Captain Phil puts the crew into overdrive to finish picking up the string and head to St. Paul for offload before the storm arrives. The Time Bandit arrives at St. Paul an hour ahead of her scheduled delivery time with approximately 90,000 pounds (41,000 kg) of crab on board. The tired deck crew hits their racks during offload, but nobody is assigned to take notes of the offload to check the cannery’s numbers. The cannery reports that they have taken off 85,000 pounds (39,000 kg) of crab and the crew can not confirm that the cannery is short two brailers. The discrepancy and lack of attention earns the crew a dressing down by Captain Andy Hillstrand. The Wizard finally drops the first pots of her season on the southern end of the fishing ground. Captain Keith notices that the Northwestern and several Trident Seafoods boats are in the area and he becomes concerned that he may be dropping on areas that have been fished out. While steaming for an hour to their northern strings, the Northwestern builds up 6 inches (15 cm) of ice on her deck and the crew spend the next four hours breaking ice. The Wizard crew offload their 204 pots in 60-knot (111 km/h; 69 mph) winds and 25-foot (7.6 m) seas. Captain Keith is still having doubts on the decision to fish and his confidence is shattered when Lenny is knocked off his feet by a wave. Even though Lenny is okay, Captain Keith calls off launching of the remaining pots on deck. The Time Bandit crew pick up right where they left off when their first string of their second trip of the season averages more than 700 keepers per pot. 10 miles (16 km) out from St. Paul, the Cornelia Marie is inching her way through the sea ice. Below decks, Engineer Steve Ward notices a small leak in the port crab tank circulation pipe. While grinding away the rust around the leak to attempt a repair, the leak grows bigger, setting off alarms. The crew, who had been asleep on the run to St. Paul, wakes up and heads below to help Steve apply a temporary patch to the pipe. 61 11 “Lockout” June 23, 2009 ( ) Working three consecutive 30-hour shifts, the crew of the Northwestern is pulling their northernmost string of 25 pots in a 4 miles (6.4 km) line before the ice arrives. However, before the crew reaches the end of the string, the boat encounters the leading edge of the ice pack. The first buoy in the ice pack has moved 3 miles (4.8 km) from where it was dropped. Captain Sig Hansen decides not to press his luck with the ice even though the pots are getting good numbers and moves his pots further south away from the ice. The Cornelia Marie is 2 miles (3.2 km) outside of St. Paul when Captain Phil Harris decides that he can wait no longer and to push his engines to the limit to get through the ice blocking St. Paul. Only .75 miles (1.21 km) from the dock, oil begins to pour from the port engine and Captain Phil is forced to shut down the engine and use only the starboard engine. After two hours, the crew ties up at the dock. Captain Phil makes a call to his mechanic in Dutch Harbor to see if he is willing to fly out to St. Paul to fix his engine so that he can go back out to retrieve his pots before the ice pack swallows them. Twenty-one days into the season, the Wizard pulls up her first prospect string of the season, resulting in good numbers. Captain Keith Colburn receives a call from his brother, Monte, updating Keith on Monte’s injury suffered at the beginning of the opilio season. The ice filled the harbor at St. Paul and trapped the Cornelia Marie against the dock, but Captain Phil’s mechanic has caught the last flight into St. Paul and began work on the engine. The Incentive fishes into the night in 70-knot (130 km/h; 81 mph) winds and 40-foot (12 m) seas with not very good results. A line breaks free of the block, snapping the line against Deckhand Doug Dawson’s arm, but he escapes serious injury. After 11 hours of work, the mechanic determines that the number six cylinder of the Cornelia Marie ‘s port engine is the cause of the failure and it will cost $67,000 to repair. Fishing is back to normal on board the Wizard, but the pace takes a toll on the greenhorns. Josh Warner leaves the deck to take a nap, and later goes up to the wheelhouse to tell Captain Keith that he is thinking of leaving the boat due to feeling humiliated by the veteran crew members. Captain Keith encourages Josh to stick it out for the rest of the season. The Northwestern has moved south onto new, untested fishing grounds. A 30-hour soak results in good numbers. Captain Sig feels momentary tightness and acute pain across his chest, but he chooses to keep it from his crew and he continues on at the helm. After five days trapped at the dock in St. Paul, the Cornelia Marie ‘s engine is repaired and there is an opening in the weather to allow her to leave. After receiving an observation on the harbor ice conditions from a United States Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk that was overhead, Captain Phil cautiously steers the boat clear of the ice in the harbor and plots a course to retrieve their northern strings before the ice pack arrives. 62 12 “A Slap in the Face or a Kick in the Butt” June 30, 2009 ( ) The Northwestern has 10,000 pounds (4,500 kg) to fill her tanks before her offload in 24 hours. Suffering from a cough, Captain Sig Hansen decides to try to quit smoking for a day. An arctic front approaches from the north, bringing 30 feet (9.1 m) seas which make for a very wet deck. Captain Sig gives up on quitting smoking after three and a half hours. The Time Bandit continues to bring in good numbers after the fourth set back of pots in “butt cheeks” fishing grounds. Her crab tanks are packed full of crab and she heads back to St. Paul to offload. Two days after leaving St. Paul, the Cornelia Marie arrives where her pots should be, but does not find them. Captain Phil Harris must run around in circles to locate his pots. On board the Wizard, Captain Keith Colburn’s nerves are still frayed from the incident earlier in the season and he has been fishing in calmer waters which results in lower numbers of crab. Greenhorn Josh Warner is sleeping when the rest of the crew are eating and is slow coming out on deck. Captain Keith calls Josh up to the wheelhouse to give him an ultimatum to decide what he wants to work or quit. Before heading to offload at St. Paul, the Time Bandit makes a detour to look at the ice pack. Captain Andy Hillstrand finds that the ice pack is moving faster towards he gear that he is expecting and he must decide to either go move his northernmost pots or make a run to offload and hope that the ice pack does not reach his pots. Captain Andy decides to gamble and make the run in to offload. The Cornelia Marie managed to locate all 180 of her pots that were scattered by the sea ice. Moving to new grounds, Captain Phil claims that he can see bubbles and smell the “crab fart” in the water and drops a 30-pot prospect string. Headed to St. Paul, the Time Bandit finds that the ice pack is further south than Captain Andy expected. She must slowly make her way through the ice in St. Paul Harbor and use her crane to move the ice between the boat and the dock before she dock. The Northwestern has also found the ice pack on her way back to St. Paul. When she arrives, the St. Paul harbormaster calls to tell Captain Sig that the harbor is closed due to the ice. The Northwestern must drop anchor and wait out the ice. The Wizard ‘s numbers are picking up as she hauls up the last lots of her first trip. Greenhorn Josh’s work attitude is also picking up and he tells Captain Keith that he is ready to go for a second trip. Retired Engineer Lenny Lekanoff has only agreed to go on a single trip to replace the injured Monte Colburn. Captain Keith leaves a message for Monte to see if he is well enough to come back on board. After a 35-hour soak, Captain Phil Harris’ theory about the “crab fart” appears to be true as the Cornelia Marie crew pulls up good numbers on the prospect string. The Northwestern has been anchored off St. Paul for the past three days and the crew is beginning to worry about dead loss from the crab being on board for ten days. 63 13 “Ends of the Earth” July 7, 2009 ( ) Anchored 2 miles (3.2 km) outside of St. Paul harbor, Captain Sig Hansen decides that the four days he has already waited is long enough, heads into the harbor and pushes his way past the ice. Safely docked at the pier, Captain Sig hopes that he can offload before the harbor ices up again. The Incentive pulls up full pots of “dirty” (barnacle-encrusted) crab and must rail dump them overboard as the cannery will refuse the dirty crab. With three days until a delivery date, over 70,000 pounds (32,000 kg) left to go, and no keepers in the string, Captain Harry Lewis decides that he must move north. As the Wizard offloads 411,000 pounds (186,000 kg) of crab worth $560,000 at Dutch Harbor, Captain Keith Colburn drives to the airport to pick up his brother Monte who has returned against doctors orders with five broken ribs and new Greenhorn Jon Lawler. With the new crew and Engineer Lenny Lekanoff back into retirement, the Wizard heads back out. In 30-foot (9.1 m) seas and −30 °F (−34 °C) temperatures, the Incentive arrives at the northern fishing grounds and sets her pots before a storm arrives. When ice builds up on deck to dangerous levels, the crew must stop setting pots and break ice. At the southern fishing grounds, the Wizard picks up her gear to head north 5 to 10 miles (8.0 to 16.1 km). While Monte may be back on board, his broken ribs limit him to manning the wheelhouse and Captain Keith must go out to work the deck. Captain Keith has not worked the deck in over 15 years and shows the crew that he is still capable of working the deck. His time on the deck shows to him that he starting to get over the incident with his crew at the beginning of the season. Captain Phil Harris of the Cornelia Marie returns to the “crab fart” fishing grounds. High tides make for difficult conditions hooking the buoys, but the crew manages to pull the pots on deck with an average of 600 keepers per pot. Captain Phil decides to set back on the same spot. Captain Phil notices that Captain Keith Colburn of the Wizard has set his pots in the middle of the Cornelia Marie ‘s gear. The Incentive ‘s first northern string averages 500 keepers per pot. With the temperature dropping to −40 °F (−40 °C), the crew begins to suffer Stage 1 hypothermia and crab begin to drop their legs when they freeze. After hauling up 45 pots, the temperature continues to drop, but the crew must grind on with another 150 pots to haul. The Northwestern has returned to the finishing grounds after being stuck in St. Paul harbor for two days and the crew rushes to pull pots before their next delivery deadline. The twenty-hour grind with poor numbers makes the crew grumpy, but Captain Sig shows no sympathy. Captain Phil Harris of the Cornelia Marie calls Captain Keith Colburn of the Wizard over his view that Captain Keith set his gear over the top of Cornelia Marie gear. Captain Keith’s view is that he did not intend to set his gear over the Cornelia Marie gear and that the tide moves the Wizard ‘

s gear. A storm generating 60-knot (110 km/h; 69 mph) and 30-foot (9.1 m) seas hits the Wizard as she pulls up the 60 pots in the area. A 40-foot (12 m) crashes over the bow, knocking Greenhorn Jon Lawler from the sorting table and wedging him under the launcher. Relief Captain Monte decides that the conditions are too rough and calls the crew inside. 64 14 “Bitter Tears” July 14, 2009 ( ) After three consecutive 25-hour shifts with poor numbers, dirty crab, and 400,000 pounds (180,000 kg) left in their quota, the crew of the Northwestern begins to think of home. On deck, a slip by Greenhorn Jake Anderson nearly causes him to be crushed under a pot being brought on board. On board the Wizard, Greenhorn Josh Warner tells Captain Keith Colburn that he will be getting off the boat at the end of this trip so that he can see his brother who is shipping off to Iraq. Captain Keith decides that a distracted Josh is a liability on deck and pulls him off the deck. The Cornelia Marie is back to averaging 600 keepers per pot now that she is no longer sharing fishing grounds with the Wizard. Greenhorn Ryan Simpson accidentally steps into the crab tank, earning the rest of crew a case of beer when they get back into town. The crew of the Wizard is working a 15-hour grind with big numbers. A radio call alerts them about the approaching ice pack, forcing the crew to stack their pots on deck and move to different grounds. The Time Bandit has returned after two days to the pots she had dropped 2 miles (3.2 km) from the ice pack before running to an offload. However, at the designated spot, the pots are nowhere to be found. After some searching, Captain Andy Hillstrand locates their pots and gets good numbers from them. He decides to set back on the same spot. On board the Northwestern, Deckhand Nick Mavar, Jr’s wife calls with the news that Jake’s sister, Chelsea Dawn Anderson, has died. Nick tells the news to Jake and the Northwestern heads to St. Paul so that Jake can go home to be with his family. After a 47-hour shift, the crew of the Time Bandit hits the rack. Captain Johnathan Hillstrand is at the wheel monitoring the ice pack that is 5 miles (8.0 km) from their northern pots. When he receives a radio report on the movement of the pack, he rouses the crew so they can move all 80 of their pots before the ice pack reaches them. The 80 pots do not have enough crab in them to fill the boat and they must reset all 80 pots away from the ice pack. The Northwestern is 1 mile (1.6 km) outside of St. Paul when the crew transfers Jake to another boat that is heading into port to offload. Deck Boss Edgar Hansen tells Jake that they will not likely hire somebody to fill his spot and they will work a four man deck. 65 15 “Day of Reckoning” July 21, 2009 ( ) The Wizard is headed to Dutch Harbor to offload scheduled in 20 hours in heavy seas and with an iced over stack on deck. Captain Keith Colburn orders the crew to drop 40 pots from the top of the stack as the seas pick up to 35 feet (11 m) and 70-knot (130 km/h; 81 mph) winds. The Time Bandit has 80 pots to pick up to finish off the last of her 40,000 pounds (18,000 kg) quota before she heads to Dutch Harbor to offload. Captain Andy Hillstrand orders the crew to measure the remaining space in the middle tank, the crew ignores him. An angry Captain Johnathan Hillstrand goes on deck to do the measure himself and yell at the crew, in particular Mike Fourtner. After Captains Andy and Johnathan yell at the crew, the last pot of the season is hauled on board by a very subdued crew. After a 17-hour run, the Time Bandit arrives at Dutch Harbor where she offloads the last of her $900,000 quota. With too many deckhands on board, Captain Johnathan fires Deckhand Russell Newberry. Captain Johnathan makes a radio call to Captain Keith on the Wizard to see if he needs another deckhand. The Northwestern is trying to make up time lost from the run to St. Paul to drop off Jake Anderson. She has 72 hours to get the last 70,000 pounds (32,000 kg) of her quota. The pots pull up good numbers as the weather gets colder. The Wizard arrives at Dutch Harbor where she offloads 375,000 pounds (170,000 kg) of crab. Greenhorn Josh Warner asks Captain Keith if he could have a spot on the boat if he returns in September, but Captain Keith tells him that he will not bring him back on the boat and to pack his bags. With an arctic hurricane due to hit the grounds by the end of the day, the Northwestern crew is hurrying to get all 150 of their pots on board. Low numbers of keepers put their timeline in jeopardy. Captain Keith of the Wizard meets with Russell Newberry and hires him for the rest of the opilio season. Russell packs up his gear on the Time Bandit and heads over to the Wizard. The crew of the Northwestern works their 50th straight hour to bring up the last of 10,000 pounds (4,500 kg) of crab, capped off with the traditional flaming hook for the last pot of the season. With offload complete, the Wizard heads back out to sea. Captain Keith wants to drop all of his pots before the arctic hurricane hits with full force. As the hurricane hits, the radio comes alive with reports of fishing boats in distress, including one call from the Coast Guard that an EPIRB has gone off. 66 16 “Shipwrecked” July 28, 2009 ( ) It’s the final 24 hours of the 2009 Opilio crab season. A savage arctic storm causes multiple vessels to send out maydays. The Coast Guard is in a race against the clock to save four men before their boat is pounded into splinters against jagged rocks.