11x09 - Battle Plan

[bunniefuu]

♪♪

Narrator:
now on "bering sea gold"...

Shawn: finally bringing
the washplant to the barge.

They get to be one massive
piece of equipment.

About a half-million dollars
rolling down the road right now.

Ken:
any day could be the last.

That bet with shawn
is making my sweat.

We're in pay dirt right now,
but we gotta dig it up.

My season depends on us
getting some gold

In this box today.

Come hell or high water,
that's what we're here to do.

You go on out there and get
a lick off sledge island!

Jeff: all right,
all right, all right!

The bering sea goes from this
to insanity.

Whoa!

Shawn:
it's gotta be precise.

Yeah!

[ Laughs ]
that's the stuff, yeah!

I hope to hell this wasn't just
a long dupe for nothing, gary!

Do not go in there!

No!

-That's a lot of gold.
-Right there!

Whoo!

The forecast right now is for
gold, gold, and more gold.

--Captions by vitac--
www.vitac.com

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

♪♪

Narrator: the frigid endgame
is quickly closing in

On nome's
hard-charging captains.

But in the waning days of
a grueling summer mining season,

The clash of the titans
looms large.

Shawn pomrenke has
been top dog for years,

But now ken kerr
is nipping at his heels.

With $130,000 on the line,
is this the year

The reigning king loses
his crown?

♪♪

Off the coast of nome...

♪♪

The weather messed us up
all year,

Plus all the repairs we've had
to do and the breakdowns, so...

We gotta get it while we can.

I'm gonna dig right here
for awhile.

Narrator: for captain ken kerr,
the frosty skies

Serve as a warning to
strike harder and dig deeper

To fill the box with gold,

Or risk coming up short
against his rival

For the second summer in a row.

Been some hard diggin' here.

The freeze-up's comin'.
It's the run to the finish line.

Every minute,
you gotta make it pay.

That 100-ounce bet with shawn
loomin' over my head

Is makin' me sweat.

Think we're close to
overtaking him.

Narrator:
despite getting a late start,

Ken and the myrtle irene
have been crushing it

With supersized paydays.

But time is running out

To hit his aggressive


Ken: hard stuff to get through.
We're gonna be here awhile.

Crappy weather.

But the north winds are blowin',
so we can get out

A little deeper than normal.

That's nice.
You hit some virgin ground.

We gotta make hay.

Narrator: today,
ken's caught a lucky break.

The bering sea's
notorious north winds

Have pushed water levels
just low enough for the captain

To tap into previously
inaccessible virgin ground.

Ken: yeah, we just broke
through a little bit,

Maybe got into the clay.

We're in pay dirt right now,
but we gotta dig it up.

There's a bucketful.

A bucket a minute's
what I'd like to do.

The myrtlestacks up
to be the biggest barge

With the biggest excavator
on it,

And nobody can dig out
in deeper water than we can.

Yep, picking up some black muck.

I wanna get a pan of that stuff
and see how it looks.

Look at how hard it is
right here.

Bam. I'll dump it out
and get a quick pan.

I love seein' that black,
cobbly stuff in the bucket.

Usually that means
we're on some good gold.

Gold is always sittin'
with the heavies --

The garnets, the black,
heavy sands.

We better get on some gold.

We're gonna do 1,000 ounces yet.

[ Laughs ]
that's the stuff! Yeah!

Cobbly, loaded with gold.

We got a nice little secret spot
out here.

Front of all that rock,
there's gold in that rock.

Narrator:
with the test pan showing signs

Of a honeypot below...

Good.

I'm getting back to diggin'.

...it's time for the myrtle
to feast,



Ken: exciting times right now
for the myrtle.

Close to the end of season

And it feels like it is
do or die.

Gotta dig, baby, dig.

Keep pushin' to get
that box loaded with gold.

Every ounce, get it all.

Yeah, there's some clay
in there.

Look at how hard this stuff is.
See that?

We need some really good days
at the end of the season

So we can pack it in.

♪♪

Narrator: 5 miles north...

♪♪

Shawn: today's the day!

Another piece to the puzzle.

Narrator: ...shawn pomrenke
is going big.

Shawn: we only got
a short window to do it in.

Narrator: today is mr. Gold's
next step toward the future --

The installation of
the custom-built washplant

For his mega dredge.

Shawn: not only do we gotta
get the base

For the washplant down there,

We gotta get the hopper
down there,

We gotta get the screen decks,
the sluice boxes,

The skid steer, the crane,
the mechanics truck.

I've been building
the mega dredge in my head

For years.

Now I'm close to pullin' it off.

The washplant's
the heart of the mega dredge.

I'm lookin' to do


$150,000 Per day,

Minimum.

I'm not gonna let anything
stop me.

Narrator: while shawn focuses
on the future

Of pomrenke mining...

♪♪

...his crew works
the christine rose

Around the clock...

Man: that's pretty, guys.

...to keep the gold flowing
on the tomcod claim.

Man: there it is.

Narrator:
but mr. Gold himself

Is still short of nailing
his 1,000 ounce season goal

And besting rival ken kerr.

Shawn: it's a race.

I need to bring in
a whole lot of gold

In a short amount of time
if I wanna beat ken.

I don't like losin'
and I don't plan on losin'.

♪♪

Narrator:
shawn will need to hurry,

As the oncoming winter
will bring high winds

That will make installing
the washplant impossible.

Shawn:
all right, let's do it.

♪♪

Beautiful sight. Here it comes!

It's time to get that washplant
up on the mega dredge.

We don't have time
or the money to screw around.

About a half-million dollars
rollin' down the road right now.

Keep a eye on the washplant,

That thing has gotta
make it down here.

Here they come!

We had to get five or six semis
to come over

And help us get all the stuff
down to the barge

Before the snow starts flyin'.

Finally bringing the washplant
to the barge,

Which has been sittin' there,
all lonely,

For the last two years.

One last corner, here she comes.

They get to be one massive
piece of equipment.

It's coming together,
it's, uh, "you complete me."

It's here!

We made it.

One step closer to bein' done.

One step closer
to bein' a millionaire.

Pretty good feeling getting
everything down here,

But it'll be a lot better once
it's all sittin' up there.

Narrator: the mega dredge's
extra large washplant

And four sluice boxes will
process 9,600 cubic yards

Of gold-rich ground every day,

Filling the equivalent of


That's seven times
the gold-getting power

Of the christine rose.

Fire up the tractor!

Narrator: but first, shawn has
to work the 81-foot crane

To move the massive steel
washplant onto its new home.

So that'll be a scary pick.

A precision pick
is nonnegotiable.

That's gotta be precise.

We don't get it perfect,
we're screwed.

It's about 80,000 pounds.

If I drop it on the deck,
it could smash

And cause some major damage
to the barge.

♪♪

Man: here we go!

Watch it.
[ Metal creaking ]

If we're off by a couple feet,
it could screw up

The whole layout of everything.

Once it's in place, we don't
wanna have to pick it again.

[ Metal continues creaking ]

Yo! Yo!
Yo! Yo! Yo!

That a*s end's
gotta go that way!

[ Shawn groans ]

[ Metal creaking ]

[ Thud ]

It's up there.

That was a big pick.

Love it when a plan
comes together.

[ Dramatic music ]

Little bit tougher than what
I thought it was gonna be.

But it's up there.

Beaut.

You got the biggest piece
of the dredge on there,

The most important piece.

Now she'll start
comin' together.

By the end of the day,
it's gonna looking really good.

♪♪

Narrator: coming up...

Emily: how's it going down
there, jeffrey?

Yeah! Look at that!

I have my reputation
on the line.



Ooh, here we go.

Narrator: as winter
creeps closer every day...

♪♪

Emily: all right,
you're good, jeffrey.

We're in grout mountain.

Narrator: captain emily riedel
is racing

To the eastern edge of claim 14,

Hoping an ancient riverbed
holds the key

To unlocking a big finish.

You know, we don't have
a lot of time left,

But it's not over yet.

And between now
and the end of the season,

We're really gonna have to
push it and get it done

And get ounces goin' because,
you know, up until this point,

Season's not what we wanted,
what anybody wanted.

Narrator: all summer,
emily's gone round after round

With mother nature,
and at this stage in the fight,

She's still far short of
reaching her 400 ounce target.

Emily: it's been
a slow season for us.

Just having really inconsistent,
unpredictable weather.

I mean, it seems like the entire
fleet has been struggling.

I don't give up easily.
I'm really stubborn.

You know, you can't give up.
You have to stay focused.

You have to move past
the obstacles

And hope for a win.

Hopefully get some hours in
and just play catch up.

All right, jeffrey,
what are you thinkin'?

So this is where we were
workin' earlier,

And so this spot
right here, I think,

Is the where I wanna go.

-All right.
-Cool.

♪♪

At this point in the season,
with the way it's been,

Every -- every minute counts
and every minute helps.

Gonna see if we can make it
pay off.

And we do know we're better

Than what we've been
doin', and...

I think we can make it happen.

Right now all we can
do is what we know

And what we know is that
there's gold out there.

And what it's gonna
take at this point

Is 100% every hour
that we're out there,

'Cause there's just
not enough time.

Narrator:
first diver to punch in...

Emily: come on, jeffrey!

Narrator: veteran gold hound
jeff orzechowski.

All right,
all right, all right!

Here we go.

Let's see if we can
find this riverbed.

Yeah, roger that, we're up.

♪♪

Jeff: yeah, let me try to
poke a hole right here

And see what I can do.

Emily: roger.

♪♪

♪♪

How's it goin' down
there, jeffrey?

Yeah, that swell is probably

Murkin' up the water
pretty good.

♪♪

♪♪

This is not a...

♪♪

Em, I got this real
crazy fish down here.

I don't know what, uh...

♪♪

Let's see what
I got here.

Emily: standing by.

Yeah!

Look at that!

Right there!

A pile of g!

[ Laughs ]

That thing was
hidin' it from me!

Taking him home with me!

[ Laughs ]
so it is a goldfish.

Bet your a*s
that's my goldfish!

I mean,
there is just a pile

Underneath these rocks
over here.

This is crazy!

Sounds like
we're makin' money.

Five minutes into the dive,
and we're makin' money.

All right, jeff, don't try
to take all the credit.

You know that goldfish
put you there.

Yeah, look. [ Laughs ]

Yeah, let's put some hours
on this pocket.

Hell yeah, brother.
That's what we need to hear.

♪♪

Narrator: 26 miles west...

♪♪

Sledge is out there
calling for us.

This is our golden opportunity.

Get back out there and get
a lick off sledge island.

Narrator: vernon adkison
captains his gold ship,

Wild ranger,back to
mighty sledge island.

There's supposed to be
a big blow comin' in tonight.

But we get out there,
we get a lick,

Come on back in
before the weather hits us.

Narrator: with sledge facing
the front lines

Of the winter storm...
-sh**t on out there

And check out the east side
of that island.

...vernon makes
a last-ditch bid to prove

That his untapped claims
hold big gold.

Sledge island, here we come.

Hang on.

These are my claims
here and here.

Narrator: on vernon's previous
tangle with sledge...

Man: it's a big a*s rock,
just to show.

All right, we're up to full rpm.

Narrator: ...the islands won
the first round...

♪♪

[ Men shouting ]
-hey! Pull him in!

...as the rocky south shore
dealt a knockout blow

To vernon's equipment
and his crew.

-Look right behind you.
-[ Labored breathing ]

No, I'm okay, I'm okay.

[ Birds calling ]

I still remain confident
that there's good gold

Around sledge island.

Seems like every time
I try to work out here

At sledge island,
something goes wrong.

But I've got claims all
the way around this island

And I know there's gold here.

I'm gonna find it
before winter hits.

I don't know, kinda looks
a little gnarly.

Wind's blowin',
waves are rollin'.

We gotta be careful.

This coastline along here,
it's riddled with sunken ships.

So we don't wanna be
one of 'em.

Narrator: despite high winds,

Vernon plans to prospect
to the east,

Hoping to set himself up
for success next season.

You know, gary, let's get
that camera going.

There's some cobble.

Some small material.

It's pretty big right there.

Oh, wow, look at
that boulder patch.

You see any holes
down there?

Yeah, it definitely
dropped down into a hole.

You guys see that [bleep]?
That doesn't look too bad.

No, that looks real good.

There's a lot of rocks
but there'll be big holes

With a lot of good material
in the bottom of the hole.

Let me ease in
around 20 feet, gary.

So as the gold travels with
the ocean currents and whatnot,

It's gonna drop down
and it's gonna end up

In the bottom of these holes.

Yeah, seems like there's
a heck of a current

Right now though.

There is significant
current along here.

The current is taking us
towards the island.

And to get the anchor down,
if the front's dragging,

Next thing you know, we'll be
over there in the rocks.

We could dive in 22 feet.

Narrator: vernon has to thread
a dangerous needle,

Angling the gold ship
close enough

To get on
the projected money pit

Without being driven onto
the shoreline's jagged rocks.

Got us about as close
as I wanna come.

Okay, let her go.

♪♪

How's the anchor line
leadin'?

The chain's goin' up
underneath the boat

Because it's up off
the ground right now,

But there's so much current
that it's even pulling

That heavy-a*s anchor
under the boat.

I just think the current's gonna
overpower that hose and me.

Yeah, I think you jump
in there with that hose,

And that current's
gonna whip your a*s.

♪♪

So let's check it out
on the other side.

We'll check it on
the north side.

-Pull the starboard!
-Okay.

Vernon: that was a kick
in the head.

I really wanted to do
the east side of the island

And the current...
No, current says no.

We got a full 5 knots of current

Alongside the island here

And there's no way in hell
we could put that hose down

And expect anybody
to control it.

I mean, gary, if
we drop them down

They'd be just like fish bait
on the end of a fishing line,

Flapping out there on
the end of the boat

And we'd have a hell of a
time pulling 'em back in.

Gettin' dragged behind.

We don't want that happening.

[ Gary laughs ]

We're gonna check out
the north side of sledge.

We'll have protection from
the wind and weather over there.

♪♪

Narrator:
off the coast of nome...

♪♪

Emily: hey, jeffrey.

How is it diving down there?
In this swell?

Narrator:
emily riedel and her crew

Have overcome murky waters

To see the sparkle of
gold shine through.

Emily: the wind's shifted.

It's borderline, you know?

Well you let me know

'Cause, I mean, if there's a
bunch of this down here--

But with the clouds
gathering on the horizon,

It might not be
sparkling for long.

I think this is
really gonna pay off.

We're on good ground,
but it's kinda to the point

Where it's down to the wire
and we have to be

Running around the clock,
you know.

There's really
not any time to waste.

♪♪

We're holdin'
pretty well right now,

And if you're okay,
then I'm okay.

Just be careful.
-Roger that.

♪♪

It's getting pretty
swelly right now.

It just makes me nervous
because sometimes

Out in the bering sea,
it goes from this to insanity

In a matter of minutes.

Hey, you okay in there?

He's earning that
gold right now.

We're takin' the waves
head-on here.

Man: whoa!

♪♪

Holy [bleep]!

Like, pushing myself
and my crew harder.

If there's a three knot
current and you can't see,

That's pretty scary situation
down there,

And it's hazardous, too.

[ Jeff sighs ]

I feel it about
every two seconds.

But I'm only taking
as many risks

As my crew is willing to make.

And ultimately he's the one
that needs to decide

Whether he wants to stay
in these conditions.

Yeah, roger that, dude.

I think it's probably time
to call it here.

Jeff:
I'm almost to the top.

Narrator: mother nature may have
won this round.

Got a little bit frisky out.
Are you okay?

Oh I'm good, I'm just--

-To the box?
-Yeah.

Oh, damn.

Looks a little
chunky down there.

Ooh yeah, little quick pick.

But there's still
gold in the box.

We won't know till we weigh it,

But I think we're
on the right track.

It's at the end of the year

And you're just happy
to see gold in your box

And know that
you're making money.

But I feel like we have
a lot left to accomplish,

So we're making the most of it.

We gotta get outta here.

This weather's not jokin'
around so we gotta go.

♪♪

Narrator: 3 miles west...

♪♪

Vernon: we're gonna set
the last screen deck.

And then set the last
two sluice boxes.

Narrator: shawn pomrenke's
having his own battle

With mother nature.

Installing his


In the teeth of howling winds.

It's cold, it's windy.

I've been doin' stuff like
this my whole life, so...

But is it a little
nerve-racking?

Yes.

You can't just call up
somebody and say, hey,

I need another sluice box.

It's all custom-built.

One step closer.

We set the main body
of the screen deck down.

We get the screen decks
on top of the body,

Get the sluice boxes
hooked to the washplant.

That's the last sluice box
almost in.

Narrator: after eight hours
on the crane...

Yeah!

...he's nearly completed
installation

Of the four sluices
that will one day process


Per day --

More than double the capacity
of ken kerr's myrtle irene.

Shawn: all seasons come to this.
Startin' to look good, though.

The last part is the hopper.

Narrator:
there's still one final step --

Installing the hopper
to cap off the washplant.

It's the highest piece,
and in this wind,

It's like a big kite.

Narrator: but the winds are
starting to pick up.

Shawn:
oh, are you kidding me?

Last piece and we're done!

Here we go!

When you're pickin' with
a crane, winds are a big deal

Because they add a lot
of weight to your load.

♪♪

And the winds start
blowin' things around.

It's like a big wrecking ball
flying through the air.

If we lose control of the hopper
and smash it in,

We could end up
costing us thousands.

Oh, you son of a b*tch.

♪♪

Gettin' there, gettin' there.
[ Metal creaking ]

Don't go in there!

[ Metal creaking ]
comin' in hot!

♪♪

[ Laughs ] it's up there.

Now we have a washplant.

It feels really good to
see that thing

Sittin' up on the deck
of the barge

And seein' it as I imagined it
in my head.

Mega dredge is finally
comin' together.

It's startin' to
look like somethin'

Instead of just a barge.

Great way to end the season.

It looks exactly the way
I thought it would.

Look at what we built.

We got the start
to a nice washplant,

A lot closer than we were
this spring.

This thing's gonna bury
the myrtle irene.

Narrator: coming up...

[ Gary groans ]

I been lookin' for that
money pit. Maybe this is it.

♪♪

Narrator:
off the coast of nome...

♪♪

Ken:
come on, baby, dig, dig, dig.

'Round and 'round we go
for another stab at the hole.

Narrator: after eight hours
on the controls,

Ken kerr's still grinding away
on a pay streak,

And the captain is showing
no signs

Of packing it in any time soon.

Ken: this spot right here
is the honey hole.

♪♪

♪♪

Rockin' 'n' rollin' now!

Rockin' 'n' rollin'!

I'm gonna have to get shawn
over here to run this thing.

Just enough to make him cry,
runnin' this.

Then he has to go back
to that little thing.

If we keep runnin' like this,

Tomorrow morning, it's gonna
be ready for a cleanup.

♪♪

Man...

Ken: all right.

I don't know, let's see.

For the number of hours
we got, we're lookin' all right.

A little bit there.

Little bit there, little
bit there, little bit there.

All that fine gold
adds up to a lot of gold.

Oh, there's a nice,
little picker.

I sure would like
to see a lot more.

But ya always want more
when it comes to gold.

Never enough gold.

We haven't got near enough hours
on the box.

I'm seein' a lot of gold,

But we need a hell of a lot more
than what I'm seeing.

Narrator: with gold piling up
in the box...

Me, I'm on 7 days a week,


...there's no rest
for the wicked.

We're not out there to sleep,
we're out there to work.

You can sleep when you're dead.

I got about


I'm tired. We gotta work
every hour we can.

Narrator: 27 miles west...

♪♪

Yeah, I don't have any fear over
here of getting in too close.

There's no current.

Narrator: after missing out
on promising ground,

Thanks to high winds
and dangerous currents...


We're in 19 feet now.

Yeah, 19 feet!
We're hittin' cobble!

...captain vernon adkison's
moved to calmer waters,

Desperate to prove his
untapped sledge island claims

Really do hold the promise
of golden riches.

Vernon:
we'll ease in on there

And I don't think there's
any current in here.

Yeah, yeah, I was
thinking if we could

Get in between, like,
right there and see where

Its sand and cobble mixed.

Maybe we can get into
something like that.

We could get in some good
gold right in this area here.

It's really a
perfect place to come

When the wind's blowing
out of the east,

As it often does, as it has been

For the last three
or four weeks.

But we could come right
here and just hammer.

We're going to get in here
at about the 19 foot line

And that's where
we've identified

As the interface between
the sand and the cobble.

Yo, come up,
stand by the anchor!

I'll turn it around
where we'll drop it!

This is the last chance
for major gold.

I've got high hopes
for sledge island.

Yet to be proven,

But according to the reports,

That's where the heavy gold is

And I'm gonna find it,
come hell or high water.

That's what we're here to do.

Narrator: with little daylight
left to burn,

...diver gary panos jr.
Takes the plunge.

♪♪

♪♪

Gary, gary,
you see anything?

♪♪

A lot of times,
we'll find gold

Right at the interface
of the cobble and the sand.

That's one of the things
we look for.

You can drop a diver
down to the bottom

Of one of these things and
soak up all that material

And then that's where
the gold is gonna be.

I hope to hell this wasn't just
a long jump for nothing, gary!

♪♪

Keep turning and burning buddy!
Keep turning and burning!

When it gets down
to crunch time like this,

You're just hoping
and praying that

There'll be a stroke
of divine intervention

And we'll just stumble onto a
juicy little pocket of gold.

That does happen.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

[ Gary groans ]

♪♪

♪♪

You're seeing glitter?

Gary: yeah, it's glitter.
All over me.

He's got glitter all over him.

All right, that's what
I wanna hear gary.

I've been looking for that
money pit. Maybe this is it.

He's in a hole.

He's moved a lot of material.

This is kinda like
watching gold porn.

Yeah, this could make
our season right here.

♪♪

Narrator: coming up...

-Let's weigh it out.
-That's a lot of gold, boys.

This may not be
catch-up anymore.

We may be going...
Whoo! Over the top.

Pretty damn nice.

♪♪

Help me! Help!

Gimme that can! Gimme that can.
[ Speaks indistinctly, laughs ]

Being around my kids

Kind of makes you feel like
being a kid again.

Seeing the life that they
see is pretty, pretty cool.

Stick that thing out
again, I'll get it.

I'll get it.

Gimme that tongue,
gimme that tongue!

I want it, I want it, I want
it, I want it, I want it!

I've always had to provide
for my family,

So that's...
-Help me!

...the whole reason
I work so hard.

♪♪

Attack!

Shawn: no! [ Laughing ]

-[ Shouts indistinctly ]
-yah!

Wouldn't have it any other way.

[ Shawn laughing ]

-Hey!
-Whoa!

[ Both laugh ]

♪♪

Narrator: in nome,
winter's chill settles over

The final days
of the mining season.

♪♪

And 26 miles west...

♪♪

He's in the gold,
so, you know, maybe,

Maybe we'll make this ship
pay for itself.

...prospecting his claims
at sledge island...

We've got a good spot.

This could make our season
right here.

Yeah.

...captain vernon adkison
has diver gary panos jr.

Swimming in a golden money pit.

Gary: [ speaks indistinctly ]
I'm done.

You're okay, gary?

How's that current
down there?

So, gary, at this point,

We oughta shut it short

And get on back
to town here pretty quick.

All right, well...
Yep, I'm comin' up.

Vernon: okay.

Narrator: as daylight fades

The temperature and visibility
fade with it.

Pull him in.

Narrator: and it's time
to turn the bow

Towards the comforts of nome.

Darkness is another
danger factor.

You know, when you start
getting too many danger factors,

It's time to call it.

But we got our good spot here.
We're gonna mark it.

Yeah, I got a good feeling
we got some gold

In the box today.

And it's about damn time.

Went through all these trials
and tribulations,

And here we are, we're finally
seeing some significant gold.

All right, good one.

♪♪

Yeah, this has been
a long time coming.

We've put a lot of time,
effort, and money

Into building this rig,

Gettin' it down the river,
gettin' it to nome,

Gettin' it out here,
and puttin' it to work.

And finally,
we got into some gold.

Let's see what
your temperature is.





That's 86 degrees.

He's a little --
little on the cold side.

Narrator: the bering sea
may have gary running cold,

But today's find could have
vernon headed for a hot streak.

I've been dreaming about
sledge island for years.

If I hit the way I think
we'll hit in sledge,

That'll put me
at the top of the heap.

Good boat.
I'm proud of this rig.

I think it's gonna just
mortally kick a*s.

♪♪

♪♪

Shawn: we're gonna go ahead
and run it,

See how much we have.

Narrator: with the washplant
finally installed

On the mega dredge...

Looks pretty damn good
from here.

...it's time for shawn pomrenke
to run the gold

From his current moneymaker,
the christine rose.

It's been hard to divide my time

Between the christine rose
and mega dredge.

I know we're on good gold,
but is it enough?

♪♪

There's 5...





Whoo, here we go.



It's not bad.

Narrator: 21 ounces is worth
over $25,000 --

A decent windfall
for 20 hours on the box.

Man: not bad at all.

Shawn: we need all the luck
we can get

With a season like this.

It's good, but not good enough.

I need bring in
a whole lotta gold

In a short amount time
if I wanna beat ken.

I have my reputation
on the line.

Narrator:
just 3 miles away...

Ken: what the hell?!
Startin' out without me?

All this work, I've been
up four days, working.

We thought
you'd stay out workin'.

I wanted to get cleaned up
and come see the weight.

You know I gotta see
the gold.

Narrator:
captain ken kerr checks in

With business partner
dave young

And operations manager
george young

To see if the myrtle irene's
mining marathon

Will pay major dividends.

-Ken: feel that.
-I put it in the box.

-[Bleep].
-I know what's in there.

-George: how much you think?
-Whoo!

That's a lot of gold, boys.

We got on some
really good ground.

This clean up should be massive,

One of the biggest ones
we've ever had.

Let's weigh it up.

♪♪





-[ Chuckles ]
-hey, 90!

Well, you're already up to




That's a hell of a cleanup, man.

-Somebody's lookin out for us.
-170...

-Dave: holy cow.
-200...



-217.2.
-Whoo!

-George: 217.
-Ken: wow.

That's our best cleanup.

Narrator: 217 ounces
is worth over $260,000.

Pretty damn nice.

Narrator: a huge haul that
brings the hard-charging captain

Within reach of his summer goal,

And one step closer
to dethroning

The reigning mr. Gold.

After this clean up we just had,

I'm feeling pretty good
about whoopin' ol' shawn-o.

Makes you wanna go out
and get more, too.

You know, it just gives you
a little more boost.

It's not, uh, come easy.
-It ain't come easy.

When you get to see
a pile of gold

Over 200 ounces in one place,
it's pretty rare.

It's a neat feeling.

This may not be catch-up
anymore.

We may be going...whoo!
Over the top.

Kenny, you know what?
You stink a little.

Go home and take a shower,
buddy, okay?

What are you talking about?

I just turn these clothes
inside out and I'm good to go.

Narrator: well, folks,
as the final showdown looms,

This one is gonna be
a dog fight.

♪♪

On the season finale
of "bering sea gold"...

Shawn:
last push of the season.

It's time to show the bering sea
who's boss.

Yeah!

Ken: best buckets I've seen
all year.

I'm gonna have to
get shawn over here,

Show him what
a real excavator is.

-Holy [bleep].
-Holy [bleep] is right.

We did way better
than I thought we did.

Every ounce counts,

Especially at this point
in the season.

Got a good area right.
We're gonna dig all night.

I'm not throwing the white flag.

Shawn: keep going like this,
ken doesn't have a chance

Of winning that bet.

There we go.

Shawn: that's a lot of gold
in that jar.