S11.E06: Wasted Talent

[Galloway Cave]

 

I just saw Josh posted on the DC twitter account that they did not have the money to fish tanner crab. He also stated Keith was right but since they had no money they could not do it.

Then why didn't he say that to Keith during their discussion? Why did he strut around his galley bad-mouthing Keith to his crew? Oh, that's right, he had to perform for the cameras. Rock star is right. I wonder who the other two people are who bought into the CM. I'm betting they are associated with Trident in some way. 

 

When Elliot snapped at the relief captain to "do his job" (when Elliot was directing poor Wade all over the deck from job to job), I expected the captain (spacing on his name) to tell Elliot he WAS doing his job, which was to tell the crew what to do, including Wade. I really wished the captain had overruled Elliot. What was Elliot going to do, try to take over the boat at that point? I think it was clear the Disco crew was not allowing that to happen.

 

 

The difference between Elliott and Jake Harris is Jake was stopped, taken to police headquarters, and searched with nothing found on him before he was permited to leave by police. Elliott fled before any of that could happen.

I think Derrick called the police on Jake, where as Disco did not call the police on Elliot. Maybe they didn't want to risk their relationships with the captains by turning in one of them to law enforcement. They did do enough damage to his career by airing his behavior, so they figure that is good enough.

 

I guess Elliot's girlfriend from last season wised up and left. And of course he heads right back to Val (despite the tweet mentioned above about a 20 year old girlfriend). I wonder how Val feels about her name constantly being mentioned by this whacko. She should have included something in the paperwork about a no-mention on national TV.

Edited May 21, 2015 by Galloway Cave

[NEGirl]

If I remember right, elliott's Dad tried to have Wade go back to doing the bait but Elliott freaked and pretty much told his Dad to stay out of it and told Wade to get back to the hook. His Dad should have set Elliott straigt but I guess he was afraid that would send him over the edge.

 

[Galloway Cave]

I wish we would have seen Mutiny on the Saga. Dad, the Relief Captain, Dirty and the Disco Producer banding together to tie Elliot to his bed with his pipe in hand and stash close by, then let the crew run the boat the way it needed to be run. Or just put him on the chase boat. Safety first, crab second.  Let Elliot go bat shit crazy. If he got too out of hand, call the CG and let them fly out and arrest him. Disco had a HUGE anvil over his head. The only reason that egotistical asswipe got out of the captain's chair at all was because Disco threatened to call law enforcement on him. Nothing else would have budged him. Like I said upstream, I'm just surprised the other captain allowed Elliot to endanger the others with Wade throwing hook and running the hydros. There was no reason for that. Hopefully it was just for a few pots (and Elliot flexing for the camera) and Dirty took over again once Elliot retreated to his heroin haze.

[Neurochick]

I wish we would have seen Mutiny on the Saga. Dad, the Relief Captain, Dirty and the Disco Producer banding together to tie Elliot to his bed with his pipe in hand and stash close by, then let the crew run the boat the way it needed to be run. Or just put him on the chase boat. Safety first, crab second.  Let Elliot go bat shit crazy. If he got too out of hand, call the CG and let them fly out and arrest him. Disco had a HUGE anvil over his head. The only reason that egotistical asswipe got out of the captain's chair at all was because Disco threatened to call law enforcement on him. Nothing else would have budged him. Like I said upstream, I'm just surprised the other captain allowed Elliot to endanger the others with Wade throwing hook and running the hydros. There was no reason for that. Hopefully it was just for a few pots (and Elliot flexing for the camera) and Dirty took over again once Elliot retreated to his heroin haze.

 

Correct.  That's why Discovery aired the footage, over the past couple of weeks.  They don't want to look like the bad guy, they don't want Elliot to accuse them of beating him up.  No, they've got the proof right there, and Elliot was so stupid and stoned that when the cameraman said he wasn't going to use any of that footage on TV, the idiot believed him.  

 

Did you notice when Elliot told Dirty to take the mike off?  Even though they both had their mikes off, you could still hear what they were saying.

 

I too wish there had been a mutiny.  I think they didn't do it because of the cameras, just in case something got out of hand, they didn't want it filmed.

[walnutqueen]

The Disco cameras (and possibly his father) may well have saved Elliot from having an "accident" at sea.

[Galloway Cave]

 

The Disco cameras (and possibly his father) may well have saved Elliot from having an "accident" at sea.

If he was the type to fish no matter what, then I agree. But if he wanted to be on the boat because of the cameras (a la Josh), regardless of his addiction, then it was a case of cameras + drugs + ego = disaster. 

 

I still feel bad for his father in all of this. Poor man.

Edited May 21, 2015 by Galloway Cave

[walnutqueen]

If he was the type to fish no matter what, then I agree. But if he wanted to be on the boat because of the cameras (a la Josh), regardless of his addiction, then it was a case of cameras + drugs + ego = disaster. 

 

I still feel bad for his father in all of this. Poor man.

 

I was actually thinking he would have been worse without the cameras around, and the crew could be fed up enough to arrange said "accident", old school style.  ;-)

[kassygreene]

Correct.  That's why Discovery aired the footage, over the past couple of weeks.  They don't want to look like the bad guy, they don't want Elliot to accuse them of beating him up.  No, they've got the proof right there, and Elliot was so stupid and stoned that when the cameraman said he wasn't going to use any of that footage on TV, the idiot believed him.  

 

Did you notice when Elliot told Dirty to take the mike off?  Even though they both had their mikes off, you could still hear what they were saying.

 

I too wish there had been a mutiny.  I think they didn't do it because of the cameras, just in case something got out of hand, they didn't want it filmed.

I'm pretty sure that no mutiny, no matter how good an idea it might seem to us landlubbers, could work.  Anyone on that crew doing that would very likely never have worked at sea again.  And he didn't actually cause injury or death, which maybe could have been grounds to confine him (the guy with the crushed arm seemed to be more of a "normal" fishing injury).

 

Mutiny is one of those things that is zero tolerance at sea.  

[breezy424]

Ok.  I have to defend Josh a bit with his conversation with Keith.  I think Josh has been getting a lot of 'advice' from the other captains about what he should be doing. And although he could appreciate it, sometimes you just want them to leave you alone and let you do your thing.  Secondly, Keith comes on the boat and criticizes the deck as being a shit show.  When someone does this, the other person can easily go into a defensive mode.  Third, it sounded to me that Josh didn't want to go for tanners because of money.  He wanted to play it safe.  Because he was in a defensive mode at this point, and he may not wanted to say this on camera or feel he owes Keith an explanation, he blew Keith off.

 

As for Josh's comments after Keith left: Most people don't enjoy being criticized and Keith did that.    Sure, he offered Josh help but the criticism is what tends to stick in your head. 

 

Now, I know Josh has a huge ego and loves the cameras and the 'fame'.  But I have to give some validity to Josh's point of view as well.  I would be interested to hear Casey's point of view on this, which unfortunately we didn't hear. 

[NEGirl]

I see Casey left a kind of angry comment on the twitter account of Deck Watson, who I believe was a camera man on the boat. Casey was angery because he was left out of the conversation on tv and his comment/answer was not included. Josh left a tweet saying they could not afford to do both tanner and opies due to cash flow. Therefore, they had decided to just do opies. He should have just stated this to Keith, which I can not remember him saying. God knows if the whole truth will come out. I'm sure knowing both disco and Josh it is somewhere in between.

Edited May 22, 2015 by NEGirl

[Curious5]

It was interesting to read the pros and cons on Josh's actions and attitude.  After weighing both sides, I'm coming down on the juvenile actions of Josh - maybe for the whole season but certainly on last week's show.  I would accept he had a rough childhood - so how many people have experienced the same or worse and come out on top?  Many.  They work hard to achieve their goal. But he DOESN'T care.

 

Any young man who wants to succeed will work and work hard to reach his goals.  Josh only provides excuses and whines about his life.  He is totally self-centered and that is displayed by his total lack of concern for the crew's safety through the storm.  He DOESN'T care. His lack of knowledge of mechanics of the ship is another sign of his immaturity.  He has no shame in the fact he relies on others to fix the hoses, engines, etc.  He DOESN'T care.

 

I'm sure that Casey was the one who prepared the ship, supplies, food, etc for the trip.  All Josh can do is talk about Phil - I'm sick about hearing about Phil (drinker, smoker, financial failure) like the kid was by his side all these years.  What Josh did was watch all the old shows and repeat sayings and phrases Phil and the rest of the captains said on camera so he thought he sounded like an experienced ship's Captain.

 

Though Keith is on the bottom of my respect list, he did have some good points.  I'm sure Disco's team had him go over to the ship to get some good  snips of film on Josh.  My guess is they got more than they dreamed of when Josh mouthed off at Keith.  Josh's stupidity was clear even to a twelve year old.  He was rude and arrogant to Keith and certainly showed a high degree of disrespect. he DOESN'T care.

 

What we don't see but I'm guessing is that all these Captains spent a lot of time with Jake and Josh after Phil's death trying to help them with fishing and personal lives but Josh DOESN'T care. Josh has climbed into one of his own crab pots and went overboard.  And I say good riddance.

 

Now I feel better!

Edited May 22, 2015 by Curious5

[kassa]

I understand the issue of cash flow on a business.  I do.  But captains have, in the past, explained that the boats LOSE money every time they're in port.  They have to pay port/docking fees, and if you're not fishing, it's not being offset by anything.

 

The only thing I can think of is that the other fishing grounds are distant enough that they quite literally couldn't afford the fuel.  Except Disco covers the fuel (or a part of it), last I heard.  

 

I'd be interested to know if Disco was surprised they were skipping out after King crab.  That would account for a little of the sledgehammer approach they're giving this year (as opposed to the velvet gloves in previous years)

[walnutqueen]

Josh could have applied himself to learning about every aspect of the boat and fishing, much like Jake A did on the Northwestern.  Jake A overcame many personal issues, including addiction, homelessness and the untimely deaths of his sister and his father, yet he went the extra distance to learn from Sig and the crew while still working the deck, and to educate himself during his down time.  Josh chose not to do any of these things.

[NEGirl]

I'm going out on a limb to say I do believe that Josh probably did not have the money/cash flow to fish both the tanner and opies.  The tanner are apparently from what Sig had said much further north than the king crab.

I would guess that is why there are the two new partners which equal more cash flow.  He did state that next year they would do all three fisheries, which leads me to believe the partner thing was in the negoation stages when they fished kings. According to the tweet from Casey the partners were brought in right after they finished opies in March. Like I said, Casy was mad that disco did not show him on tv regarding what he had to say.  The whole rebuilt of the CM has taken place since April after the partners entered the picture. They not only probably brought an influx of money but more quota to fish. Accoring to the CM FB page they got two new engines, a new galley, sleeping quarters and a new deck-almost a complete overhaul.

 

However, Josh's bitchy response to Keith who was only trying to help was totally uncalled for. His lack of desire to learn anything goes back to his days on the TB. That and his refusal to work full-time on the TB led to his firing from that boat. Josh has never shown too much of a desire to learn the workings of the boat other than captaining it. I can understand he is probably tired of all the advise from everyone but most was well intended to help him. I think Josh is, so to speak, a chip off the old block from Phil  - he could be very bull headed too. The only difference was Cornelia Devin called the shots concerning financial matters because she controlled 75% of the interest in the boat and Phil was, for all intensive purposes, her employee.  If Josh keeps the CM it will be becasue of Casey and the two partners and not anything he has done.

Edited May 22, 2015 by NEGirl

[walnutqueen]

However, Josh's bitchy response to Keith who was only trying to help was totally uncalled for. His lack of desire to learn anything goes back to his days on the TB. That and his refusal to work full-time on the TB led to his firing from that boat. Josh has never shown too much of a desire to learn the workings of the boat other than captaining it.

 

Josh's desire to sit in the wheelhouse shooting the shit for the cameras goes back to the days of Phil - he was up there every chance he had, rather than on deck or trying to learn anything about the boat or crabbing.  People called him a TV famewhore way back when, and he still hasn't cleaned that slate in many eyes.  If anything good comes of the CM, it is probably due to the investors' and Casey's involvement, moreso than Josh's.

[breezy424]

I don't know what the CM's quota was for tanners but it may have made more financial sense for them to do the sure thing and lease their tanner quota if they were having a cash flow problem.

[SanLynn]

I hope Elliott's passages stint has helped him kick this for good but I'm not sorry to see he won't have cameras on his boat anymore. I never liked watching him and this season has been the worst yet. I don't understand how he gets quota. It's astonishing.

 

As for the Josh situation I could understand why he'd bristle at Keith's offer of help and advice, especially since he's given all the captains the cold shoulder when they try to help. I truly wish Josh had gone the Jake A route and actually learned all parts of the business before just diving into captaincy head first but now that he's a captain all that matters is what he and Casey decide. The other captains would be better served to let him float or sink (not literally) on his own. I just wish Discovery wasn't spending time on it.

 

Now that Elliott's gone I'll only have to fast forward through the CM. Which is a shame because I actually like Casey.

[SandyToes]

 

I truly wish Josh had gone the Jake A route and actually learned all parts of the business before just diving into captaincy head first but now that he's a captain all that matters is what he and Casey decide.

 

Absolutely. For as painful as Elliot was for many of us to watch, I think he really understood his boat, his job, and every part of the process.  Something breaks? HE was usually he one down there with the fix. Alarms went off on the CM, and Casey heads down below, Josh lights up. As I recall, Josh wasn't even that much into working the deck the seasons he did that. I remember Phil being surprised that it was his son Jake that showed such an interest, and there was conflict between the boys later when Josh did show up and had less seniority than little brother. A sign then, to me, of "entitlement."   But that may be my faulty memory.

 

When I worked at a restaurant many years ago, new managers had to to learn and work every job in the joint for several days. They bussed tables, they ran the dishwasher, worked as bar backs, tended bar, cooked, waited tables, every job for several days. If they were going to lead, they had to know how everything worked. They were generally well-respected for it, and the bonus was when things got really rough, if needed, there was an extra hand who could REALLY help, not just bark, "Hurry Up!"  I always enjoy the DC shows where the old-timers are challenged by the crew. Was it Phil who did the rope coiling? He showed them young whipper-snappers he still had the goods.  Can't see the same kind of respect/admiration for Josh at this stage. Maybe in time, but he'll have to earn it.

 

As for Jake A - just love that kid. Do you remember way back, when Sig gave him the jacket? All he wanted was that jacket. He did every awful, horrible thing they threw at him in order to prove he was worthy of that jacket. I hope when Sig and the brothers finally hang up their hats, Jake takes over. Mandy can run the business end, but let Jake run the boat.

[thewhiteowl]

I don't know what the CM's quota was for tanners but it may have made more financial sense for them to do the sure thing and lease their tanner quota if they were having a cash flow problem.

 

 True, there are a lot of details we don't know but I know I saw Keith trying to give help and advice and Josh being a dick.

So long Elliot, I hope I never have to see your drugged up face on this show again, I do hope I see Dirty Wilson, I liked him.

[walnutqueen]

I would be SHOCKED if that "rehab" known as Passages helped Elliot, or anyone else, for that matter.  It is a well worn joke in the SoCal celebrity rehab milieu. 

 

But I don care, so long as Elliot is gone for good from my TV screen (and so long as his addiction nutfuckery doesn't endanger another crew member ever again).

[NEGirl]

Before the last couple of years on the show when Jake was having his drug issues, he was always the one who was more willing to learn. In fact, I remember one show when Josh was the greenhorn and he said Jake was training him and helping him with his job as well as whatever else Jake did on deck. Josh had always said he never wanted to be a  crabber for liife. That was before all the money and  tv fame took hold. I think he does not know anything because he never planned to fish full time. However, when you have no hs diploma, fishing is one few jobs to make that kind of money.

Edited May 25, 2015 by NEGirl

[walnutqueen]

However, when you have no hs diploma, fihsing is one few jonbs to make that kind of money.

 

That, and TeeVee.  ;-)

[merylinkid]

I just had the most horrible thought.    Compared to the scandal going on over at a TLC show (Discovery owns TLC), Elliott's drug addiction is almost tame.    Oooh he was hopped upon heroin, oh dear.   That's bad.     FIVE TLC/Discovery shows have had sexual molestation scandals.    That is horrible.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

Josh and the ownership group went in horribly undercapitalized.  It was blatantly obvious to anyone who spent more than two seconds looking at it.  Josh did not care as all that mattered to him was being taped this season on DC.  He would keep his gig as a "star" for another year (which is exactly what has happened) and his risk was very low as the ship would be worth something in the event they had to sell.

 

He was so full of it when he said he could only use his cash to fish opies.  No.  He could have chosen to spend his cash on a Tanner harvest, cashed his check from the cannery, and then gone out for Opies.  You telling me that Keith would not have out him on to some serious crab?  A starving man refuses not any grub.  Josh was handed a golden opportunity at almost no risk to bank some money and reward his crew - a crew which made essentially zero on reds (hard to do!).  

 

I want to know the disposition of all those pots the CM left out in the Bering when they limped home with their pathetic red harvest.  They weren't even their pots.  They were entrusted to them!   Just when did the CM go out and retrieve them?  Pure cost to the CM, by the way.

 

I'm betting Edgar would never in his life have thought he would live to see the day when Sig would extol his virtues as an engineering God!   It was hilarious listening to Sig poke Jake as he exclaimed Edgar would never have made those mistakes and that Edgar would have fixed everything much more quickly.  Who knew?  Really great stuff.

[auntieminem]

Not fond of this episode.  Glad to see Jake doing  well and soon to be dad.  Over  Elliot . Also over Josh.  I remember Phil in the hospital talking about Jake taking  over for him and Josh ding something different.  I think he was right if only his sons would cooperate.  

Edited May 25, 2015 by auntieminem

[kassa]

I don't think Sig's ever held back on praising Edgar's mechanical abilities.  I think it's all the behind the scenes stuff that has created the tension; the ongoing history of the tantalizing prospect of Edgar really rising to the occasion followed by Edgar dropping the ball.   Of course he doesn't want Edgar to be hurting, and he knows what the years on deck have done to his body, but just as he thought maybe they were working out a new, profitable, life-changing (to the extent that they could each genuinely carve out more time at home) way of doing things, suddenly he's stuck in the chair for weeks picking up the slack.  I think there was some implication that while Edgar had absolutely done the damage fishing, his off-season activities had taken precedence over resting up.  

 

It's less fraught with Norman because I think Norman made it clear that he comes by x number of weeks a year for the paycheck.  Period.  And I think both Sig and Edgar are afraid of him ;)

[Curious5]

True - the LTC and Discovery have had both sexual charges on reality shows but it can not compare to a ship being controlled by the drug head.  We witnesses six men's lives being threatened and at the mercy of an addict.

 

I hope the Coast Guard was notified.  This has nothing to with a story line on a "reality" show.  There are felonies going on and what if that ship went down - or sinking and the Coast Guard had to try and rescue them in the middle of that storm?

[kassa]

It will be interesting to see if anything happens now that the footage has aired.  Seems like he's been out fishing since then, but it hadn't aired yet (and presumably had not been shared with them).  Ultimately I would expect his insurance company to be the most concerned.

 

Then again, we've watched the Northwestern guys lighting people on fire and lighting gigantic flames in the galley and cabins... perhaps maritime insurance agencies factor all that stuff in as normal?

Edited May 26, 2015 by kassa

[WilliamH]

It might be premature to say Neese "owns" the Saga.  My money would say he uses that phrase like we would say, "I just bought a house."  Banks will lend money to purchase boats, and they will also perfect a marine mortgage on the boat, same as they would for property on land.  The guy is clearly unfit to command a vessel of any size, and whomever ran him off the boat did the right thing.

 

I wonder what the people who own that "686" sportswear company think about plastering their logo all over him and his boat now.