S12.E08: Winter Is Coming

[thewhiteowl]

Quote

As the fall season is coming to an end, a massive arctic storm blasts the fleet with hurricane force winds and monster seas. Every captain will be tested when they must decide how much their boats and crew can handle.

[brini]

Monster storm.   These guys all have my respect for being able to do this work.

REALLY enjoying rookie Capt. Sean and the Breanna A.   Smart & ambitious 23 y/o.   You could tell he was dreading making that call to Sig to let him know he was 20,000 pounds short of his promised quota - so happy that Sig was cool and seems to recognize the hard worker that Sean is and wants to continue their working relationship next season.   (it helped that Sig knew how bad the weather conditions were b/c he'd been in communications with Edgar after the Northwestern deck hand made his whiny call to tattle about Edgar).

[HoodlumSheep]

I was happy that Sig was okay with Sean coming up short. I was worried he was going to murder Sean over the phone. " I don't want your money; I want crab!" 

What happens now that they're 20,000 lbs short? Does that just mean Sean will get smaller quotas or is it no big deal (for some reason?)?? How did Sig manage to stay so calm about it?

that was an interesting look from Edgar after he said the season's over...hmm...

[merylinkid]

Yeah, I am not buying Sig was all cool about not having quota met.   First of all, in last year's "Monster" storm, Sig stayed out and fished.   They barely made it to safety.   So I don't buy he is all "oh yeah, weather's bad, don't fish, don't do what you promised me."   Heavens, Jake is less than deferential and Sig blows a gasket.   This kid that Sig barely knows is able to 1) get quota from Sig and 2) Sig is okay with him not delivering as promised?   And where does Captain Sean get the money to write a check for 20K pounds of crab?    They are still paying for all the upgrades to that boat.   This was Disco shenanagins from Day 1.   They didn't have Elliott as the youngest boat owner any more, they didn't have Josh living up to the "carrying on his father's legacy" storyline so they had to go find a new young Captain with a dead dad.   Sean was not going to fish king, he was set for opies.   Disco needed him for the entire season so voila, we get Sig signing over quota.  I like Sean.   I think he is a great captain.   I wish him all the best.   But it was still Disco manipulation.  

But, awwww, Jake's little boy is walking.   Just too damn adorable.

[pally]

Sig has known Sean for a long time.  He and Sean's father were friends.  I think he was ok (as much as you can be) with missing the quota given to him because Sean was upfront with him and immediately offered to pay him for the difference.  He likes Josh but Josh also is whiney and would have made up excuses.
All that money they supposedly poured into the Saga during the off season and they still had a major mechanical failure?

[CN42]

14 hours ago, brini said:

Monster storm.   These guys all have my respect for being able to do this work.

REALLY enjoying rookie Capt. Sean and the Breanna A.   Smart & ambitious 23 y/o.   You could tell he was dreading making that call to Sig to let him know he was 20,000 pounds short of his promised quota - so happy that Sig was cool and seems to recognize the hard worker that Sean is and wants to continue their working relationship next season.   (it helped that Sig knew how bad the weather conditions were b/c he'd been in communications with Edgar after the Northwestern deck hand made his whiny call to tattle about Edgar).

I haven't heard Sean say even once that he's "the youngest captain in the fleet!" and repeatedly asked us to glorify him for that fact. Elliott was a great engineer and probably a pretty good skipper, but a wreck of a human being. Maybe it helps to have an involved mother who bakes cookies for your voyages and still says she's worried about you at 23, even if you're THE YOUNGEST CAPTAIN IN THE FLEET!

[kassa]

14 hours ago, HoodlumSheep said:

I was happy that Sig was okay with Sean coming up short. I was worried he was going to murder Sean over the phone. " I don't want your money; I want crab!" 

What happens now that they're 20,000 lbs short? Does that just mean Sean will get smaller quotas or is it no big deal (for some reason?)?? How did Sig manage to stay so calm about it?

 

Sig stayed calm because it just as easily could have happened to him.  It would be ideal to finish in December, but the season is still open in January, so while it might affect the fiscal year bottom line, in the grand scheme of things, 20k out of 200k is not an enormous deficit.  He knew when Sean left how much time he had before the canneries closed for the holidays, and he knew what the weather was.  Sounds like he did just as well as any experienced captain would have -- we've seen all of these guys have extended seasons because they couldn't find the crab.  Sean's problem was that the cannery was closing, not that he couldn't have wrapped it up if given a few more days.

If Sean's doing opilio, it's going to affect him more than Sig, unless Sig gives him opilio quota, too.  Because he's promised to wrap this up in January, which means a trip out and back before he can start opilio.

The offer to pay was an empty gesture, but appreciated, I think, because it enabled Sig to be gracious about it and invite him to finish the job.  

Jake's joy at his son's walking was sweet.  Those little fat socked feet!  It's the best age.  I bet it was REALLY hard to go back up in January.  His poor wife flying into that airport with an infant!

My biggest shock of this episode was Wild Bill's calm over the disastrous episode with the tangled line.  Maybe he really is somebody who loses his mind over trivia but holds it together when things are dire?  Or he's just mellowed in some fashion.  I hope they do a post-season show (with Mike Rowe) so we can get some updated insight into these guys.

Edited May 18, 2016 by kassa

[HoodlumSheep]

I think Wild Bill handles himself pretty well as long as it doesn't involve the crew/greenhorns. Greenhorns/crew problems seem to be his kryptonite. 

Like, if it was somehow a crewmembers's fault that they managed to run over a buoy and get line tangled in the rudder...you know Wild Bill would be screaming his lungs out and be on the verge of murdering whoever's fault it was. 

Also it helps that the crew knew how to handle the situation too, so there wasn't any stress caused by them not knowing what to do.

[kassa]

Yeah, but it seems like Old Bill (and Old Sig, and Old Phil, and both Old Hillestrands) would have blown a gasket at having been told the lines were clear when they weren't.  The deckhand didn't say "I don't know, Bill, I can't see the bags off in the distance, but I also don't see or hear anything going on from the deck."  Instead, he said "it's clear" which I would take as an assertion that he had seen them clear of the boat.  Had he said he didn't know, Bill might have done more investigation instead of full steam ahead.

[NEGirl]

I also thought Bill handled it well. I thought he was going to blow a gasket too.  It seemed like it was hard to tell where the lines were because of the storm and I think Bill knew this.  More Jake freaking out and whining on and on. His baby is adorable and I am sure it is hard to leave his son but he knows that is the crabber life. Sig was calm but this of course was all staged for tv, and like Kassa said, 20,0000 is not that big a loss. The CM underwent a complete overhaul and they have problems with the lights !  I am getting very bored with the show this year. The stories seem to be getting very tired after 12 years.

[brini]

5 hours ago, kassa said:

Sig stayed calm because it just as easily could have happened to him.  It would be ideal to finish in December, but the season is still open in January, so while it might affect the fiscal year bottom line, in the grand scheme of things, 20k out of 200k is not an enormous deficit.  He knew when Sean left how much time he had before the canneries closed for the holidays, and he knew what the weather was.  Sounds like he did just as well as any experienced captain would have -- we've seen all of these guys have extended seasons because they couldn't find the crab.  Sean's problem was that the cannery was closing, not that he couldn't have wrapped it up if given a few more days.

 

Agree.   In fact if my memory is correct from last nights show I believe the #'s that Edgar/Northwestern brought in for this trip were about the same # of pounds that Sean caught.

I'll pay closer attention when I re-watch this episode,  but I think the numbers that Mike Rowe quoted when going thru "pounds per ship" at the end of the show that he said The Northwestern had a total of 170-180K pounds for this catch.  Very close to what Sean was able to bring in to process on time too.    

[millennium]

Is Casey contractually bound to stroke Josh's ego in every episode?   To tell him how far he has come, how he has grown, how much he has learned and all that other masturbation?

When the ship went into distress, it was Casey down below handling things while Josh stayed up in the wheelhouse, peering down into the darkness where the men were.   I thought Josh was going to call down to Casey, "And I can't access my Facebook either."

Edgar isn't looking good.   Something seems wrong there.

[brini]

About Edgar Hansen.

Does anyone else remember a few weeks back one of those 5-10 min "after the catch" (or whatever the small one-on-one interview shows after the main hour long show are titled)that featured Edgar?   I've looked for it online and can't find it now.

I've only seen it air once.  Edgar seemed kinda burnt out on Bering Sea crabbing and lamenting that he knew on the Northwestern he would always be 2nd in command/business decision making to #1 Sig.   He wasn't putting Sig down or anything, just sounded like he was re-assessing his life and which direction he wanted to proceed.   Wanted more family time, less long hauls away from them.

Edgar mentioned wistfully that as soon as that trip was over he was very much looking forward  to returning to Florida and his multiple investment properties there.   I think he also mentioned he has a charter fishing biz in FL.

Just doing a quick google and twitter search ... Edgar's name does come up connected to rental properties in Key West, Siesta Key, and others.  

Edgar just doesn't seem as into crabbing As he used to be portrayed on the show .... JMO.   Sounds like he does have some interesting business and investments in FL.  If so,  I wish him well.

[kassa]

He should definitely go for that and profiting from whatever pull/publicity the show is giving him while it's still going.  It's a young man's game -- let them play it.  Rotate easy going tendering summers with your brothers, have a life, preserve what's left of your body.

[SRTouch]

21 minutes ago, kassa said:

He should definitely go for that and profiting from whatever pull/publicity the show is giving him while it's still going.  It's a young man's game -- let them play it.  Rotate easy going tendering summers with your brothers, have a life, preserve what's left of your body.

With his back/neck problems, I agree the smart thing may be to head south. No reason to stay on deck, which may soon be a physical impossibility, or in the wheelhouse listening to Sig browbeat him about how untrustworthy he is. I wonder if the whole crew phoning Sig/ Sig second guessing him long distance might be manufactured drama used as an excuse to leave.

[SRTouch]

18 hours ago, millennium said:

Is Casey contractually bound to stroke Josh's ego in every episode?   To tell him how far he has come, how he has grown, how much he has learned and all that other masturbation?

When the ship went into distress, it was Casey down below handling things while Josh stayed up in the wheelhouse, peering down into the darkness where the men were.   I thought Josh was going to call down to Casey, "And I can't access my Facebook either."

An alarm goes off and Josh sounds like a little preschooler whining "What's that noise?" Perfect way to inspire crew confidence in their illustrious "captain in training".

[SRTouch]

On 5/18/2016 at 11:51 AM, CN42 said:

I haven't heard Sean say even once that he's "the youngest captain in the fleet!" and repeatedly asked us to glorify him for that fact. Elliott was a great engineer and probably a pretty good skipper, but a wreck of a human being. Maybe it helps to have an involved mother who bakes cookies for your voyages and still says she's worried about you at 23, even if you're THE YOUNGEST CAPTAIN IN THE FLEET!

Continues to impress. Fishing in rougher weather as he learns the boat, but still willing to stop fishing when he feels he's pushing boat and crew to near the edge - despite knowing he'll have to make that dreaded call to Sig saying he hasn't made the weight. I imagine it was especially tempting to cross the line when fishing was good. Sure, a more experienced captain and crew may have kept going, but putting crew safety first is not just lip service, it means something to him. 

[Lonesome Rhodes]

I can not believe that Bill did not go off on the fool who told him the buoy had cleared.  The one guess I have is that he knew better than to not take a look himself.  That's what he got for his lapse in judgment.

The whole issue with Sean and the 20K pounds of Tanner encapsulates the very worst of this show.  I have little doubt that he haaaaaaated to have to admit defeat to Sig.  That was fine because that was organically real.  The problem is they made the mistake of having him do a V/O stating he would love to go out in January to harvest those crab.  But, for Disco, that would not be enough.  Oh, noooooo.  We need to pretend that 20K of quota was lost forever!  What rot.  

Yes.  The Brenna A would start out behind the 8 ball for Opies.  But, Sig would be made whole and there was no suggestion whatsoever that the Brenna would not be able to go out and harvest its Opie quota.  

Sorry.  That storm was not an all-timer.  Give me a break.  I fully support that some captains decided to ride it out with secured decks and crews inside.  But, those waves were very manageable to navigate.  There was zero discussion about heading for a safe haven to ride it out.  None.   The fleet may have lost a day or two of fishing, but there was no outrageous peril shown.

So.  Who came up with the filter idea to get the Saga asea?  It may have been Jake, but I have my doubts.  But, Disco was sure to show us that he had the Eureka! moment.