After the Catch - EMERGENCY
Wednesday, August 20 2008 | Comments (0)
The guys are once again in Gloucester, MA to talk to Mike Rowe about the injuries, close calls, and fatal accidents they've all witnessed and experienced on the Bering Sea.
The guys are gathered in Gloucester again to talk about emergencies at sea. Sitting with Mike Rowe are the Captains Johnathan and
Andy Hillstrand, Sig Hansen, Phil Harris and Keith Colburn . They start the conversation with the loss of one of the fleet's boats last season, the Alaska Ranger. 47 men went in the water, and 42 made it out. The captain and a few of his upper crew members didn't make it. Phil comments on how the captain of the Ranger was so selfless; he made sure that his crew was OK first. They roll a clip of the times that the Northwestern lost it's anchor, the Time Bandit lost all power, and Wizard had a major leak in the engine room.
To discuss their anchor story, they bring out Edgar who was a major player in this particular event. Their anchor caught another anchor, and it began to put a lot of pressure on their boom, and there was a danger that they could have snapped their boom, or the cable itself, which could have violently reacted to a snap under that kind of pressure, with power large enough to take off someone's leg or head. Edgar was able to hook their anchor with a makeshift anchor and pull it up. The whole time he was rescuing the anchor, however, his brother, Sig, had to be steady and careful, as the slightest shift could have turned the situation dire for his brother.
Keith talks about the leak on his boat last season. He said that not only was it a concern for electrical issue, and also it was an issue because he had 400,000 pounds of crab on there. Phil's take on it was that you are in real trouble wen two of these close calls happen at the same time. His biggest fear is that his boat cap sizes and he has to go down into the engine room to find an air pocket so he can breath.
John remembers a time when he nearly lost his son. Scott was re-wrapping the cable on the hook, making sure it was tight. A wave hit them and threw him through the air. Mike comments that even though the press and media only cover those emergency events, out there, every moment on these boats can be a close call, and every close call can be a true emergency.
The Gloucester guest star this week is Russel Sherman, captain of the Lady Jane, named for his mother. He tells a tale of 1978, where the East Coast fishing industry lost many men. His story takes place on his five man, 50 year old boat. The boat started bucking, and a huge Southwestern wave hit them, and it broke the back of the boat. He went down to the engine room and found a lot of flooding. When he came up, his skipper asked him to help him with his life jacket. He went up on the roof to see if he could help his friend and mentor, Roy. But the boat was sinking fast, and when he looked back and saw his Skipper was in the life raft.
He made it into the aluminum skiff, but a wave flipped them over. He ended up under it, in an air pocket. When he made it up on top of the boat, his friend was gone, never to be seen again. He righted the boat and waited for the coast guard. The coast guard picked up the three men in the life raft, and decided to not try to save one of the crew men who had been face down for a few minutes. The helicopter had to leave because it was taking up too much spray. They left him in the skiff until the next morning. Russel says that he just had to keep telling himself that if he could make it till morning, they'd be back. It was the most beautiful sunrise he'd ever seen.
Next, they welcome in Mike Fish to talk about injuries. The clip shows some favorite injuries from last season, including Moi's broken finger tip. Moi was in a lot of pain and had too much blood built up in the tip, of his finger. Captain Keith helped Moi relieve the pressure by getting a sewing needle white hot, and then poking it into the nail. As soon as he poked it, the built up blood squirted out, brining some relief to Greenhorn Moi. that Captain Keith had to help him poke through the nail to relieve the pressure.
Then they showed clips of when Norman, of the Northwestern, got knocked down by a runaway picking hook. As crewmen pull pots on deck, one deckhand has to grab the picking hook as it swings by. In that one instance, Jake Anderson missed as it swung by them. And it clocked Normon right in the top of the head, knocking him to the ground. It's amazing that he didn't suffer a major concussion.
Mike tells a story about a time he was fishing in Russia. The 160 foot boat was taking 30 - 40 foot waves. In the middle of the night he hears commotion, and he sees one of the guys stuck underneath two anchor pots. He moves these 1200 pots, and as they got the guy free. Just after he got him free, they took another 35 foot wave that picked up the pots. One caught his thumb, and took most of his thumb off, leaving just the front of his thumb and the nail hanging. He says that his glove was somewhere floating around the deck with his thumb in it. All they had was frozen vegetables to ice his thumb. A half hour later, they found his thumb and he was able to have it reattached. It turns out several of the guys have lost partial digits at sea. Mike Rowe gives Mike Fish's story "two thumbs up."
Next up, the Hillstrands are alone with Mike Rowe to tell a couple of their great stories. They were fishing halibut in Cook Inlet. They were pulling their line along, and it pops out of the gurney, and the line wraps around him. He had been gaffing the halibut and coiling the line at the same time. When the line wraps around him, he has hooks on each side of him. The line starts pulling tighter and tighter around him. But if the line wasn't cut correctly, he could have been caught by the hooks, which would have pulled him overboard. Luckily, John was able to cut the line safely, freeing his brother.
John laughs about a time he almost drowned in the tank on their boat. He had kicked at a crab, and slipped, and had to dive into the tank. It's just as cold as the water in the ocean, and eight feet deep with lips on either side that you could be stuck under. even the little hole that was shown in the footage, with a deckhand losing his foot in it, could be dangerous. If someone fell in that little hole it would be like falling under the ice, and having to try to find the small hole to make it out. There are many hidden dangers on the fishing boats.
When they return from the break, the other captains have returned. But Andy is Hogtied. They try to see how fast he can get himself out of the rope. He does it quickly, but Mike Rowe reminds them that it would even harder if they had been in the icy water. They then run the clip from Halloween when Captain John fell in the water between the boat and the dock. He says that because he had a wig and sunglasses on, he missed his step. Phil comments that falling like that comes with the added danger of not only drowning in the water, but hitting something on your way down.
Luckily John had his brothers and, apparently, Spiderman, there to save him.
The next clips that they roll is of the Coast Guard saving a man's life, and making quick, tough decisions to assure that he is brought to safety. It was supposed to be a routine pick up, but when they got him, they received orders to go to cold bay, which was further away from them than St. Paul. As they traveled, their chopper starts taking ice. Executive Producer Jeff Conroy comments on that event. He remembers hearing from his producer, Kyle, who was on that chopper. He recalls how calmly they are able to report on situations and make decisions, while the rest of them would have been freaking out.
Next up they replay a scene from Season 1 of After the Catch, when Morris Hansen and his two deckhands were swept overboard by a huge wave, and then successfully rescued by the coast guard. Their entire deck was flooded with waves and slush. Over half of the boat was under water, as huge waves came up and over the rails. The Coast Guard chopper flew in the pull the deckhands off the deck, but as they got closer, a huge wave came up over the deck and washed the three men right overboard. They floated in the water for a few moments as the Helicopter adjusted and dropped the basket over the men in the water. They were able to quickly roll into the basket, and were then lifted to safety, as the waves and slush continued to beat their boat beside them.
hey then welcome former Coast Guard pilot, Laura Guth. She says that she had always wanted to be a pilot, and had flown in the Navy prior to joining the Coast Guard. Phil comments on how talented pilot she is. Mike Rowe asks how they can keep so calm in stressful situations. She says that pilots compartmentalize their emotions. When she has a job, she focuses on what they have to do; the stress, the adrenaline, the storm, the waves. All of that is behind them. She recalls that great save that they just recapped, and says that the engineer that she had saved wrote her a letter afterwards, telling her that when he saw the chopper above them, he knew that if he did his job and stayed alive, that she would do his job and save him.
To that, Mike Rowe toasts Laura and the Coast Guard, for saving thousands of lives on the Bering Sea.
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