Season 20 of Deadliest Catch has been full of shocking medical emergencies, weather challenges, clashing personalities, and a race against time. After a grueling six weeks on the unforgiving Bering Sea, the captains looked to finish strong during the Season Finale. Read on to see who had the biggest haul of crab.
Northwestern
Captain Sig Hansen ran into massive issues when the power went out on the Northwestern. The panel with flipping the breakers and not having any luck. Thankfully for viewers, the producer said their cameras also ran on battery so they were still able to chronicle how the crew gets out of this situation. The 40-year captain was forced to turn to manual steering.
In total darkness, they had to sit and wait until daylight to decide what to do. Imagine that are no modern electronics like GPS with them still 130 miles out to sea. The crew had to find a way home. Hansen’s son-in-law Clark Pederson needed to get home with his wife ready to have a baby. They had to use the tools they have, which meant everything had to be done by hand.
With the primary generator down, Sig hauled his last string of 15 pots into a two-man formation. Clark muscled through, steering with Sig on the throttle. The goal then became getting the pots on the boat. Their method worked as they retrieved the last pots of crab. It was mission accomplished on that end, but then they were faced with getting the vessel to shore in time. Helping get the Northwestern there was a good old-fashioned magnetic compass and an idea of estimated distance on their search for the familiar coastline of Dutch Harbor. Hansen used his instincts to find and get to his destination. All the struggles were worth it when the captain got to meet his grandchild for the first time.
Titan Explorer
Discovery Channel
Bad weather and more than 20-foot seas were not making things easy for Jake Anderson aboard the Titan Explorer where it was a sink-or-swim scenario. He had to get his last bit of Golden King crab and make it back or risk losing his job. At least that is what his employer heavily implied if he didn’t deliver the goods. Further issues came when his autopilot and steering stopped working. He thought on his feet by repurposing a smaller engine normally used for low-speed docking maneuvers to fire off the vessel’s remaining 20 pots.
The boat held steady with the bow thruster. Anderson was determined to get to the finish line successfully. Thankfully, he was able to hit a hot streak of pots loaded with crabs. But then another issue cropped up with his gauges broke. There was a leak that Felipe needed to seal and fix the problems they were facing with the boat, which will take hours. The tide was running hard and the waters would become even more violent. With five more pots left, Anderson hauled it in reverse. The hard work paid off and the light was at the end of the tunnel to the tune of 140,000 pounds of crab. A job-saving moment!
Time Bandit
Discovery
Finally, Jonathan Hillstrand and the Time Bandit were looking for a big hit in the form of 5,000 pounds before the deadline. The crew saw it as a sign that they were in a good spot when they witness a killer whale and some seals around. Their instincts were right as they hit a jackpot to the tune of six digits of crustacean goodness. They managed to get to land in time, but there was some worry that the product may have died in transport due to the slack tank problems. There ended up being just a small percentage that went bad, ending the season on a high note.
The Results
The crab count winter season gross was as follows:
Titan Explorer $1,021,010
Time Bandit $724,990
Northwestern $658,395
Wizard $549,945
Aleutian Lady $325,900
Pacific Mariner $228,405
Summer Bay $125,015
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