S12.E04: Swedish Twins

[thewhiteowl]

Josh Harris is forced to take over the Cornelia Marie. Sean Dwyer gets his first taste of the angry sea. Greenhorns on the Cape Caution are slapped to attention. Weather, mechanical failures and inexperienced crews complicate matters across the fleet.

 

 

[HoodlumSheep]

Boo. Sad that Josh hit the crab. At this point I'm actively rooting against him.

Can we keep Captain Sean forever???? He's just so calm.

Ouch. That head smack from Bill was harsh. That kid looked like he was frozen in fear. Also, the music and camera shots were kind of creeping me out. They were straight out of a horror story.

And Swedish Twin #2 kind of freaked me out with the sleep walking. Wasn't expecting that.

There seems to be a flu going around the fleet. Although Casey's case looked and sounded more like what I had for most of winter 2014. He probably has a lot of phlegm built up in his lungs.

[millennium]

Somebody alert the media!   Josh Harris set a successful string!   I'll inflate the balloons, you go pick up the cake.   Somebody cue up "Let's Give the Boy A Hand!" 

 

What's that you say?   Josh has been crabbing for years and this should just be business as usual instead of an OCCASION?   That Josh shouldn't be mugging for the camera like a 5-year-old who just learned to ride his bike without the training wheels?  "I did it, mommy!   I did it!"

 

But .. but it's Josh Harris.   Do you want him to be serious/humble/grateful (pick any adjective that conveys an admirable quality) like that new guy on the BrennaA who also loaded his pots with bairdi but didn't break his arm patting himself on the back?   Well of course you do.   But like I said, it's Josh Harris.

Edited April 20, 2016 by millennium

[Lamima]

Well, I am not quite going to sing the praises of the NEW guy. He left the wheel when that big wave hit...why was there nobody at the wheel? We saw how serious that is with Wild Bill and we have seen that season after season that they NEVER leave the ship unmanned. Sean should have been on close watch, especially in such bad weather. Also, we have seen all the big boys fish in that kind of weather and we didn't hear of any of them stopping for 2-3 days like Sean did. Did you see the leader board, Sean has very little crab on his boat. Nice calm chill guy is great but maybe not for fishing in the Bering Sea.

 

And does anyone else wonder if maybe Josh got the wrong crab and they were too dumb to realize? Maybe we'll see next week when they go to unload?? One of them was pulling up wrong crab, Wild Bill I think. He mentioned that he could tell because of the color. But I didn't pay attention to the color he said. 

Edited April 20, 2016 by Lamima

[pally]

The BrennaA crab count includes on Bairdi...everyone elses includes Kings.  I can understand his caution...he is a young captain with a young crew and he righfully felt he didn't have the experience yet to deal with the storm.  Casey looked awful..it looks like he had influenza moving towards pneumonia.  The guys on the Time Bandit looked like they had some kind of stomach virus.   Its actually a wonder they don't have more minor epidemics on the boats considering the close quarters of living space.

[terrymct]

Well, I am not quite going to sing the praises of the NEW guy. He left the wheel when that big wave hit...why was there nobody at the wheel? We saw how serious that is with Wild Bill and we have seen that season after season that they NEVER leave the ship unmanned. Sean should have been on close watch, especially in such bad weather. Also, we have seen all the big boys fish in that kind of weather and we didn't hear of any of them stopping for 2-3 days like Sean did. Did you see the leader board, Sean has very little crab on his boat. Nice calm chill guy is great but maybe not for fishing in the Bering Sea.

 

And does anyone else wonder if maybe Josh got the wrong crab and they were too dumb to realize? Maybe we'll see next week when they go to unload?? One of them was pulling up wrong crab, Wild Bill I think. He mentioned that he could tell because of the color. But I didn't pay attention to the color he said. 

 

 

I think Sean is still learning about the Bering Sea.  He's fished successfully further south where, while it's dangerous, it's not quite on the razor's edge as it can be in the Bering Sea.   He seems fully capable of learning, however, and it will be interesting to see if he does.

 

Regarding Josh and the wrong crab, I was kind of getting that feeling since they showed Wild Bill mentioning the obvious difference in color.  Wouldn't the deck guys know that, though, even if Josh is a complete idiot?   Josh seems to be the kind of person who really loved getting trophies for participation when he was a kid.  I also can't decide if he keeps bringing up his father because he knows Phil was beloved by the fans...or...if Josh still craves love and acceptance by a father who was never around even though the father has passed away.  I suspect it's both, depending on the circumstances.

 

Oh, and vomiting out the window of the bridge and continuing to fish is the definition of one tough fisherman.

Edited April 20, 2016 by terrymct

[terrymct]

This website pulled together a lot of questions and answers from Jonathan Hillstrand's Facebook page.  His page is run by a woman named Sheryl with, I assume, his input when he's not at sea.

 

http://starcasm.net/archives/347707 

[CN42]

 

Oh, and vomiting out the window of the bridge and continuing to fish is the definition of one tough fisherman.

 

I heard the retching before I knew who was doing it and smirked to myself, Oh, it's one of the greenhorns that's not used to being in rough seas. Then I saw it was Johnathan; he earned his sea legs a long time ago, so that's a whole different, uh, kettle of fish. He was really, really sick but kept fishing. One tough fisherman indeed. 

[kassa]

What's that you say?   Josh has been crabbing for years and this should just be business as usual instead of an OCCASION?   That Josh shouldn't be mugging for the camera like a 5-year-old who just learned to ride his bike without the training wheels?  "I did it, mommy!   I did it!"

 

Surely you meant "I did it, Daddy!" [cut to shot of Phil Harris Memorial Wheelhouse plaque] "I did it!"

 

Very good point.  It also wasn't lost on me that Casey specifically asked "that was our zig zag string?" - Josh didn't put down and pull up those pots all on his lonesome.  

 

I think he was just giddy that the cameras caught him doing something other than checking facebook and avoiding apologizing for something or other.

 

It's new guy's boat, new guy's money and reputation at stake, and his decision to waste the fuel and time if he's not comfortable with the weather.  Presumably he knew there was clear weather coming up and he preferred working the crew overtime in better weather to  scratching out the minimum he could manage in the present conditions.  Can't wait to hear the Captains' takes on him.  I remember they were much more lukewarm about Junior than I expected based on his first season (the parts we saw).  I'm sure they won't dispute that he has more composure than Jake A (as much as I like Jake A).  

 

Given Bill's demonstrated temper, I'm surprised he didn't go further in abusing those greenhorns.  Maybe he was just too sleepy.

[eskimo]

Jake A wasn't shown this week, or last IIRC (aside from the Captain's Cut at the end).  Is he not fishing Bairdi?  We didn't see the Northwestern this week either.  Also, while the other captains may fish in stronger winds and seas, Sean and his crew are not seasoned as are the rest of the crews.  It would have been foolish for him to go too far out from what his experience has trained him to handle.  I hope the other captains aren't too hard on him for that.  I think in many professions the veterans forget what it was like when they were the inexperienced guy.  If he would have kept fishing and someone got hurt, the same people who might complain that he was too cautious would likely be saying it wasn't smart for an entire green crew to be fishing such weather.  Speaking of a green crew, does anybody know where the term 'green', in relation to new mariners comes from?  Is it from being seasick?

 

I was also surprised to learn that it's common to put a greenhorn in charge of the boat while everyone was sleeping.  Seems like a huge responsibility to give someone when you don't really know just exactly how responsible they are when not supervised.  Or if they have any sleep disorders.  I really don't think that blond guy even realized that he fell asleep, I think he really thought he just closed his eyes for a second, and I don't even think he meant to do that much.  That's exactly how people fall asleep while driving.  And the second guy?  He didn't even wake up when his equilibrium was off.  He was all over the place before he even began sleep walking.  It would have seemed more reasonable to have a reliable deckhand take the first watch and let the newbies get a little sleep first.  Then you can learn a little about how they function in a dark quiet room while fatigued, before putting everybody's lives in their hands.  But according the the Time Bandit article, that's what they do.

This website pulled together a lot of questions and answers from Jonathan Hillstrand's Facebook page.  His page is run by a woman named Sheryl with, I assume, his input when he's not at sea.

 

http://starcasm.net/archives/347707 

Thank you for this, I had a lot of these same questions myself.  It was an interesting read.

Edited April 20, 2016 by eskimo

[peppergal]

Speaking of a green crew, does anybody know where the term 'green', in relation to new mariners comes from?  Is it from being seasick?

It's not specific to mariners.  This guy has a pretty good explanation of why green is used to describe new or inexperienced:  https://www.quora.com/How-did-the-word-green-become-synonymous-with-new-or-inexperienced  

 

Specifically greenhorn is addressed:  "Finally there is greenhorn, a novice, an unsophisticated person, a new immigrant or a new arrival in the city from the country, which comes from SE greenhorn, a young animal, specifically an ox with ‘green’ or young horns. The term was first used in a military sense, describing a new recruit. "

[terrymct]

I was also surprised to learn that it's common to put a greenhorn in charge of the boat while everyone was sleeping.  Seems like a huge responsibility to give someone when you don't really know just exactly how responsible they are when not supervised.  

 

 

I think the boat is on auto and the guy standing watch is supposed to keep an eye out for indicator lights, alarms, or...say...a big ship right in front of them.  I've stood watch on boat before and you're basically looking for reasons to wake up the captain or other officer.

Edited April 20, 2016 by terrymct

[pally]

I heard the retching before I knew who was doing it and smirked to myself, Oh, it's one of the greenhorns that's not used to being in rough seas. Then I saw it was Johnathan; he earned his sea legs a long time ago, so that's a whole different, uh, kettle of fish. He was really, really sick but kept fishing. One tough fisherman indeed. 

They've said before that Edgar gets seasick on every trip so its not restricted to tge greenhorns.

[NEGirl]

Well, lets all celebrate Josh's first successful haul by himself ! He has been at this for almost 10 years and acts like he just started yesterday. I felt sorry for poor Casey, he looked and sounded really sick. I was surprised to see the CM second in the crab count.

I was surprised when Wild Bill put the "Swedish Twins" on watch. Usually they put more experienced people on watch.

I like the new kid Sean - no dance when he filled his pots. He shows much more maturity than both Jake A. and Josh and will probably do well.

[kassa]

I was thinking about Josh as a deckhand and as much of a goofball and he and Jake were, I do remember him working, and doing it well.  Maybe it was just on camera, but he HAS been on deck and he HAS done the job.  He also seems like a pretty restless, high energy kind of guy.  Which makes it weird to me that he's not on deck at least a token part of the time now.  I mean, he could go down in nice weather, throw the hook for the camera, sort crab and talk about how as captain he will never forget the glories of working on deck and how he's risen above it, he's not too good to get his hands dirty, it's important to see to the nitty gritty when you're the King of the High Seas, etc. 

[NEGirl]

Kassa - I think Josh feels he is above workin on deck and would probably only do it if disco asked him to or Casey demanded it. I think he was ok on deck.  He was lazy while on the TB and it was one of the reasons he was fired. However, I believe he knows most of the jobs on deck, is capable of the work, but just does not want to be there.

Watch - your story line will be shown on tv next year !

[eskimo]

I didn't know Josh was fired from the TB!  How did I miss that?

 

[FishyJoe]

Well, I am not quite going to sing the praises of the NEW guy. He left the wheel when that big wave hit...why was there nobody at the wheel? We saw how serious that is with Wild Bill and we have seen that season after season that they NEVER leave the ship unmanned. Sean should have been on close watch, especially in such bad weather. 

 

I'm not sure if he did leave the wheelhouse. You can see that he is filling out the log book next to big windows, which I assume are only in the wheelhouse. He was probably just out of the camera frame. You can even see the weather instruments hanging next to the window. 

Edited April 21, 2016 by FishyJoe

[SRTouch]

I didn't know Josh was fired from the TB!  How did I miss that?

I have to admit my recollection is kind of foggy. For awhile I thought that after they lost the boat Josh went to work for Sig while Jake went to rehab. Now, I understand that it was Jake that was a disaster working on the Northwestern, while Josh did a half a$$ job on the TB. I don't know if Josh was actually fired, but he spent most of his time talking about getting the CM back.

Really too bad about Jake and his demons. In the beginning, IIRC, it was Jake who was the better fisherman, but then the drugs got the better of him - to the point where he was stealing his Dad's pain pills. I really hope that, as I read recently, he's doing better now.

[kassa]

I definitely think Josh was fired from the Time Bandit, at least in the "we're not going to subsidize your storyline any more so find yourself another place next season" sense.  He and John and Andy were drinking buddies for a while there, when Andy went off the wagon.  Maybe Andy resented him for that, or something else, but you could tell for years that Andy didn't care for Josh while John still made efforts to pretend that he was going to get the CM back and be a big time crabber.

 

It seemed like Andy was sniping at Josh on every episode of the Bait that they appeared together, asking challenging questions, rolling his eyes when others talked about how he was stepping up, etc.  I don't know how Neal felt about him (do we know how Neal feels about anything?) but as we've learned, once Andy's not on your side, your days on the TB are numbered, even if you're a Hillestrand.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

I don't want to hear one, single, solitary, word from any Bait captain that remotely shames, or suggests blame, for Sean's decision to shut it down.  If I've heard it once, I've heard it a hundred times:  "The only priority a captain has is the safety of his crew and vessel.  If he thinks there is a problem, there IS a problem."  But, I';d bet everything I own that we will see and hear precisely that.  And probably a few chuckles at Sean's expense, as well.

 

This was a great ep.

 

As other smart posters have written, Josh was a young boy who had finally accomplished something.  Allll the years as a poseur were exposed.  Of course, it was also in the context of his claiming credit not due himself, but another.  Who set the pots?  Who decided on that zig pattern?  Who knew where the crab were to begin with?  Casey.   STFU, Josh.  Please.  Just STFU. (Yes.  Josh was "fired" by the TB.  Andy made it known to him he would not be asked back.)

 

Awesome Bill made yet another appearance.  He set the horns up to fail.  On purpose.  Why do you think he went up to check on them?  He was not his customary righteous self when he caught them.  He knew he asked the near-impossible of them.  I also detected genuine concern when he saw the sleepwalking.  That is not something voluntary/willful.  That guy instantly owned up to sleeping, too.  No excuses.  I guarantee that went a long way with Bill.  So...no yelling.  Just a very firm teaching moment.  I felt like I was witnessing a time-honored situation that most all horns must endure.  It's just the type of thing I most love about DC.  Yeah, I know...the Bait will rip Bill even though they all have done the same thing - entrusting the watch to a horn.

 

The hydraulic leak on the TB was no joke to me.  Yikes.  Ghost in the machine!  I thought the gash in the hose was a bit much given where it happened.  It was part of a bundle which was well protected and would not have been jostled/moved very much.  The hole looked like it was at least three inches long.  Disco Shenanigans?