The biggest storm of the season has Deadliest Catch Captain Jake Anderson concerned he and the rest of the Saga crew won’t make it back to shore.
In Tuesday’s all-new episode of the Discovery docuseries, the Saga captain and crew were hit time and time again with dangerous obstacles amid an “unrelenting” storm as they struggled to cross the last 200 miles back to land.
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With 30-ft. waves beating the Saga from every side, Anderson on high alert after the 2-ton forward crane came loose, swinging violently from side to side, damaging equipment and threatening the lives of everyone on deck.
As the crew managed to dodge the swinging arm to eventually secure it with ratchet straps, Anderson wasn’t feeling optimistic this would be the last of their problems when it came to weathering the storm into port.
“The poor guys, they’re gonna get their asses handed to them tonight,” Anderson says of his crew. “I hope it holds. I’m just so glad it’s holding on.”
Rounding up his crew into the wheelhouse to keep them from being pummeled by the powerful waves, Anderson said of his gut feeling, “It’s always right before you’re done that something happens. It’s highly, highly dangerous.”
Not long after, Andersoon notices the entire 150,000-lb. stack of crab pots appears to be shifting side to side.
“It’s going to be deadly here pretty quick,” he told the camera wearily.
Narrator Mike Rowe explained of the danger, “When a stack is not properly tied, large waves can shift the 150,000-lb. mass, creating an unbalanced load. This instability is one of the leading causes of fishing boats capsizing.”
Calling his crew in for another emergency fix, the deckhands are battered by the massive waves as they work to tighten the chains and save the entire boat from a potential watery death.
“The weather is just getting worse and worse by the minute,” Anderson said to himself, calling to the crew on the deck, “You guys are so f—ing close!”
As they finally get the stack tied, Anderson says to himself, “I was scared s—less. Thank God.”
It’s only the boat reaches the bay, with land in sight, that the young captain can breathe a sigh of relief.
“You know how lucky we are? One more mile would have cost us — who knows?” he said. “I’m just glad nobody got hurt.”
Deadliest Catch airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Discovery.
Photo credit: Discovery
