[narrator] tired of missing
out on record-breaking
bering sea gold prices?
Looking for a mining claim
to call your own?
Then come on up
to nome, alaska
where we've got
more claims for sale
than we've had in years.
Finally, all that chunky gold,
acre after acre
can be yours.
Don't be left in a cloud
of gold dust.
Demand is through the roof.
So, act now while
supplies last.
[kris] beggars cannot
be choosers.
So, I'm loving it.
[shawn] our gold recovery
is gonna sky rocket.
Can you guarantee it?
If you'll throw
a half a million at it.
[brad] shut your mouth!
[kris] you shut
the *bleep* up. All you do
is sit in your truck.
O mighty
and great ruler of the sea.
[vernon] and see what
the bottom looks like.
I don't see any cobble.
The soviets are coming
what's it looking like
down there?
[daryl] there is hundreds
of pieces of gold
[imitating drum roll]
[zeke] shawn,
don't drop the sailboat.
Oh, boy!
[kris] four year plan
is finally happening for me.
And this is
the crowned achievement
[people screaming]
[narrator] nome, alaska
is in the midst of a turf w*r.
As gold prices continue
to hit all-time highs,
dozens of the most
coveted claims
on the bering sea
are suddenly up for sale
sending potential profits
to new heights.
Now, every miner is relying
on their own ingenuity
to get a piece of the pie
and cash in.
[waves splashing]
[shawn] the price of gold
is sky rocketing.
It's kicking a*s.
Good time to own
some mining ground
especially 2000 acres.
[narrator] but
one mining titan
already has a claim
everyone is after.
[shawn] 2000 acres
of the best off shore ground
it's gonna pay off.
It will be well worth it.
[narrator] mr. Gold,
shawn pomrenke,
has the richest claim in nome.
A $1.6 million tomcod
under his control.
[shawn] I had the opportunity
and I jumped on it.
Now, I just got to
come up with enough gold
to pay for it all.
I gotta get to work.
[shawn] the summer is simple.
I'm taking over nome.
I'm taking no prisoners.
[shawn] I got
the christine rose
in the tomcod
turning up gold
to pay off what I owe.
I gonna try buying out
the inland mine
from my old man.
But that's nothing
compared to what
I'm trying to pull off.
[shawn] I'm gonna
add in another
I pitched to dave young
that we should partner up
on the myrtle irene.
I feel like I'm
the guy to make
the myrtle irene reach
its full potential,
but it's not gonna be easy.
Dave's definitely interested
in the idea
but he's not
fully convinced yet.
What's going on, cody?
[cody] making the plans up
for the myrtle?
[shawn] mmm-hmm.
Where's dave with all this?
He doesn't want to put
any more money into it.
He's got millions into it.
Hopefully, dave signs off.
[shawn] hopefully, dave sees
what I see here.
It's a huge potential
of doing really good here.
[cody] what do you wanna do
to this thing?
I wanna tear it all into
a bunch of little pieces
and start over.
I mean, we know, we've
been kicking a*s with our
little tiny christine rose.
You know, all the foundation
is there but it seems like
all the gear on it is...
-Hodge-podged together.
-Uh-huh.
[shawn] makes
a big difference on how
productive the dredge will be
and for the myrtle irene
being five times larger
than the christine rose
it should produce
five times as much
but the way it was set up,
it would never do that.
I'm gonna add in
another sluice box.
I like that idea.
It's all about efficiency
of catching this fine gold is
what we need.
[shawn] the key to mining
is efficiency.
That's what I focus on
when I construct my dredges.
The myrtle irene is
a big dredge,
but it's not bringing in
the gold it should be.
That's why I'm stepping in.
It was hard for the operator
to see what was going on
in the wash plant.
Without being able
to see what's going on
in the wash plant,
you don't know how fast
to feed it
and so, I'm going to have to
drop everything down.
Then you'll be able to see
from the excavator right
into the plant.
First step is to lower
the wash plant
where the operator can see it
and be able to
control it better.
Second step is upgrading
the water system
for higher pressure to wash
the gold out of the dirt.
The third thing we're gonna do
is add a second sluice box.
One to catch
all the chunky gold and one
to catch the fine gold.
If I implement all three steps
this means three or four times
more gold than
they have been getting.
It's all a plan.
[cody] I know, I like it man.
Job security.
We get this thing going.
We're going for
the next five years.
It's a big project.
[shawn] yeah and we don't have
a whole lot of time to do it.
To redesign a whole dredge
and get it all done
is a huge undertaking.
But with the price
of gold where it's at...
[clears throat]
yeah, it's higher than
I've ever seen it.
Now we have the tomcod.
It's a no-brainer.
Redesigning the myrtle
is the key to absolute fortune
I'm certain of that.
Now, the only thing left to do
is convince dave.
[cody] good luck
with your meeting.
Let me know how it goes.
[shawn] yeah, I will.
Talk to you later cody.
Go make some gold now.
[narrator] shawn isn't
the only miner looking to
break new ground.
Five miles east,
far off the beaten path...
You know, sometimes when
you have an acid trip
where you feel like
you have been doing
the same thing
for, like, multiple lifetimes?
I feel like we've been
jacking up this boat
for multiple lifetimes now.
[narrator] zeke tenhoff
and his crew
are on the verge of taking
a trip to the dock
with their one of a kind
sailboat dredge.
It looks like the boat's
hitting in the cribbing.
I don't see it that it's gonna
able to tip either way.
It'll be good to go.
Sounds good.
[horn honking]
[zeke] here comes don.
If this sailboat dredge
works out, it would
definitely be game changer
from everything I'm doing.
I'll be able to sail
way out into the distance
to investigate claims
where there might be a lot
of gold that nobody
has ever found before.
I'll have an advantage that
absolutely no one else will.
Now we just gotta get it down
to the water.
Yeah!
-Hell, yeah!
-Finally, I have the sailboat
out of my yard.
It's been in my yard
for ten years.
Thinking about it.
Imagining.
I'm still mid process.
But it's nice to have it
out of my yard.
[sam] I am a little
bit worried about it
bouncing off the back.
[zeke] no, wait. Don't...
Don't drive too fast
in front of the power line.
[zeke groaning]
-[crew laughing]
-*bleep*
[zeke laughing]
wow, dude!
Yeah... Yeah, yeah,
yeah, yeah, yeah.
Hell, yeah!
[cheering]
we got
the sail boat to the harbor.
It's a big step.
Yeah, we'll
-thank you so much, don.
-Okay, no problem.
Totally appreciate it.
You really helped us out here.
Hope you make money, man.
Yeah, that's the plan.
[sam] the price of gold
is coming up about
$100 a day.
I checked the price of gold
just now. I'm like...
On the scroller
and it was like...
-It went up again.
-It goes up every day.
[zeke] I mean
the world economy--
the price of gold
goes up every day.
Every day.
[stammers] we gotta
get some gold.
I've been
really hustling to get
the sailboat dredge
ready to get gold.
Now, we just need to find
a crane to lift this boat up
and put it in the water
and then we're ready to go.
[zeke] I'm gonna go check
and see if he's back.
And I know just
the guy to ask. I know
that he has a crane.
It's sitting right over there.
[zeke] this looks like
a huge project.
[shawn] yeah another
big project.
[zeke] dude, just makes
my head spin.
-How you doing man?
-Doing real well.
How about yourself?
-Good, good.
-Anyway, you wanna check out
my sailboat?
-You got a sailboat?
-I got a sailboat, yeah.
Yeah.
-Have you ever
done any sailing?
-No, not much.
Me neither.
Zeke is building
a sailboat dredge
but knows absolutely nothing
about sailing.
That's zeke.
[zeke] anyway,
here is the sailboat.
I think it's gonna work.
Everything is
in pretty good shape.
But uh...
I still have a lot
of question marks
about my design.
I don't know how
it's gonna sit like
weight balance and everything
I've never had this
in the water.
Yeah, it's gonna be
the moment of truth for me
sitting it down in the water.
[laughing]
it's a...I mean...
I don't think anything
is gonna fall apart
and I don't think
it's gonna sink.
[chuckling]
[shawn] what you gonna do?
Just back her in?
No, I don't think
it's gonna...I don't...
The trailer is not long enough
-uh, I heard you
might have a crane.
-I do have a crane.
Do you think your crane can
pick up this sailboat?
All day long.
[zeke] will you sling
my sailboat into the harbor?
Yeah, I can probably do that.
Nice. That's what I wanted
to hear.
I'm checking specs
on the myrtle irene
trying to figure out
what I can really do with her.
Sure
it's time sensitive but there
is a code amongst us miners.
Everybody helps
each other out.
Unless, it's the kellys
and then they can rot
but, zeke is trying to do
something really big
so I respect that
and I'm gonna try
to help him out.
-[zeke] you ever picked up
a sailboat before?
-Nope.
I'm really stoked that shawn
is willing to take the time
to help out.
He definitely gives me
a little bit of pause because
shawn's never picked up
a sailboat with his crane
and I'm not even certain,
the sailboat
is gonna float right.
Let me know when you're
ready to drop it in.
We'll throw it in for ya.
-I'm stoked. Thank you.
I appreciate it.
-No problem.
Okay, zeke.
All right!
Been a long time coming
and I can't say I'm not
a little bit nervous about it.
Yeah, it's gonna be
the moment of truth for me
sitting it down in the water.
[kris] the only way we're
making it to elim is with
the proper boat.
So, this is it.
Not exactly what I would call
custom accommodations, but
beggars cannot be choosers
so I'm loving it.
[narrator] as they prep
the vessel of their dreams,
the kellys are thinking
outside the box.
Way outside the box.
120 miles east to elim
where captain kris believes
a fortune is waiting.
It's probably
the greatest adventure.
People would have to pay to go
on this kind of adventure,
really you know
it's like going
to climb mount everest.
This stuff is similar to that,
except we're going down
to where no man
has gone before
*bleep* we better change
the name of this boat
to the enterprise.
[kris] this is almost
the perfect boat for my set up
we have a sink which is great.
We have a stove
which is awesome.
We have somewhat
of a fridge which...
Whatever.
So, the boat is not
something you'll find
in the greek isles,
but it's perfect for what
we're gonna try to pull off.
It's got all
the equipment we need
plus space to transport
our portable dredge
and luckily I have
one of those. I built it
a couple summers ago.
Trying to create
a dredge.
Very small, very fast.
[narrator] in a prior
failed effort to go up
the coast...
[kris] hey, look how easy
it is.
Andy can move it
with his hands.
...Kris created
a small portable dredge
he dubbed "the sickle."
sickle pound for pound is
a bad little mofo.
Oh, there it is.
[kris] it was crazy of me
to think that I was gonna take
that little vessel
all the way to elim.
With the norpac,
I'll easily get to elim
with that dredge.
So, we gotta pull the sickle
out of storage right now
but thank god
I over built everything.
I know it's gonna be
turn key ready to go.
[kris] let's look at
this *bleep*
really, what I like
about it is is we haven't used
it in about two or three years
and it's still
in great condition because
I made it, that's why.
And this is what it's gonna
be like on the water.
[exclaiming]
-[kris] look at it.
It's stable.
-I know.
-Let's grab it.
-Look at that.
It's quality made
the first time.
Grab that corner.
Andy'll grab the middle.
[all groaning]
[kris] the sickle is in
a great shape
but it still needs some tlc
right now, all my money
is tied up with the norpac.
So, I'm really gonna have
to macgyver this thing
to get it going.
We gotta go to the car next,
grab some rope.
I grabbed rope.
-Okay.
-It's around here, somewhere.
We gotta go get
a high pressure line.
[kris] high pressure line
like eight feet long.
Hopefully, we can make
this work, you know.
[kris] really, you have
to have everything
dialed in 100%.
We have one shot at this.
We can't go 130 miles away
and then realize that we need
something small
that could stop everything.
So, we need to get this
put together properly.
We need to get this tested
in the ocean.
We need to have
an actual strategy
for getting it off the boat
and on the boat.
Just put it there.
[andy] wow!
[kris] so far so good.
-[brad] ready?
-[kris] that's
all ready to go.
-[kris] that's
all ready to go.
-[brad] let's go. Andy!
Ready to sluice.
[andy] hold on my leg.
Be careful.
Whoo! We're getting closer.
[kris] we usually have those
little pontoons on there
except andy gained another
so we can't use them.
The guy is just getting
so big.
He better.
Has he seen the show,
mutiny on the bounty?
So, we got another thing
we got going on today.
We got chris mccully
putting together
a real frankenstein operation.
So, it's chris mccully
that's scooting me over trying
to get to elim this year.
Now, I'm stuck in a bad deal
with dave mccully
and there is nothing I can do.
The only good thing
at this point
that chris mccully is bringing
to the table is
he's building a backup dredge
that we really need.
[kris] how is it going
over here chris?
Pretty much see
what my vision is now.
I can, I can see your vision.
[chris speaking]
-[chuckles]
-[chris] and that's it.
He's calling this frankenstein
mess of crap bones.
It's basically a sluice box
that we can dangle over
the side of the boat...
-Then we'll put it right on
the deck next to mine.
-Cool.
Who knows if
it's even gonna work.
It's definitely going
to be work in progress.
So far so good.
One stop closer to the mission
he's got a lot of *bleep*
to do still. Let's keep going.
[narrator] while kris preps
for an epic journey,
on the other side of
the harbor...
[vernon] all right,
good morning guys.
...The dawn of
a new era
is beginning for skipper
vernon adkison
[vernon] let's have
a little conference here.
Okay, I finally got my permit
on 56.
Right on.
So, we'll go out
and reconnoiter
to start out with.
It's gonna require
a bit of prospecting
and then we'll pick a spot
and go dredging.
Throw it up.
This is
a big day for me.
I'm not gonna lie.
I've spent everything I've got
on 56.
According
to my research,
I think this is one of
the best claims in nome.
It's loaded with gold.
a thousand ounces an acre.
Today is the day,
I find out if I'm right
or if I'm off my rocker
which some people claim
I am from time to time.
I can do a real mistake.
Damn,
it always feels good
to shake off that dock dust.
Right now, we gotta lay out
the perimeter of the claim.
We'll get this thing
mapped out and dialed in
so, we'll know exactly
the nature of the beast.
Today we're gonna use
some technology.
I got a new underwater drone.
I got three different corners
marked
on the claim and we gotta do
some surveying of the bottom
and see what we come up with.
We'll use the hand line.
Check the depth here
at our northeast corner.
Right there.
Let me see.
I think that's 15 feet.
Fifteen feet.
Okay, break out
the drone.
Let's go down
and fly this thing.
All right. Here we go.
We've got visibility.
We got about five feet
of visibility.
We know that for sure.
What we're
looking for is cobble.
Usually, that's where
the gold is.
We don't want too much sand.
If we get out there
and find out that this claim
is loaded with sand...
Well, that might be good for
kindergarten sandbox but
it's not good for mining.
[vernon] definitely, sand.
I don't see any cobble.
That looks like sand with
just gentle ripples, I mean
ripples in it.
[bryan] yeah, that's sand.
I would not dive this spot.
Northeast.
Sand... Just, that right here.
Yeah, we're taking notes
on our dinner plate.
It's gonna be a treasure map
by the time we're done with it
the whole secret
to our fortune is
on a paper plate.
[vernon] no matter what claim,
there is gonna be places
where there is no gold
and that's called prospecting.
And it's disappointing,
but you gotta
keep prospecting
until you hit the hot spots.
Southeast corner.
Let me just pull over here
to the right a little bit
and we'll drop
the anchor right quick.
Just gonna make
that bing, bang,
boom. Quick.
Okay, that's two fathoms.
Twenty-four feet of water.
[bryan] well, first time
we saw sand.
I got my fingers crossed.
I wanna see some cobble
down there.
That looks like sand
to me.
*bleep*
[vernon] I've got
a lot of money invested in
this claim.
It just wiped me out as far as
liquid cash is concerned
and if I just keep seeing
sand, sand and more sand,
I'll be busted
yet once again.
I think we ought to make
our way out to
the southwest corner
and see what
the bottom looks like.
I got a feeling
the bed of gold is on
the western end of it.
We're here.
-Put that camera down.
-Here we go. Going down.
[dramatic music playing]
[vernon] here we go.
[man] miles of cobble.
[vernon] all right,
all right!
-Hey, we got the cobble.
-[crew] all right.
-[vernon] and the visibility
looks good.
-[man]yeah, pretty good.
We got good vis
and good cobble.
I've known about
this claim for years
and it's one of
the richest ones in nome.
and it belongs to me.
So, uh...
We're gonna get out there
and carry it up.
We're gonna do it.
[narrator] throughout nome,
the fight for turf is on
and at the harbor...
Let's go back in
the bearing sea?
All right, let's go mine
some gold.
[narrator] emily riedel
is looking to get in
on the action.
[emily] the ice is gone
which is great.
Love having no ice around.
Love having
survivable temperatures.
Good to be back on a boat.
My goal this summer is
to own a claim of my own.
Simple.
There is six
and I'm already starting
to research claims out east.
But claims,
especially the good ones
tend to be pretty expensive
so I'm gonna need
at least 75 ounces
to purchase a lease.
We ended the ice season
on a good spot.
So, first thing I'm gonna
take my ten-inch
to those coordinates
and pick up what's left there
and look for more.
It's our first day out
in the 2020 gold
mining season.
Price of gold
is 2,000 an ounce, so...
We'll make it happen.
I got my number one
guy daryl.
He knows how
to find and follow gold.
He knows how to read
the ground and hopefully
we can get on some nice g
right off the bat.
Couldn't ask for more
for today.
Whether I do well or not
this season depends entirely
on my team.
And I happen to have
some of the best divers,
gold divers in the world
working on my boat.
Daryl is coming back.
Daryl is like my star diver.
He's always produced
a lot for the boat
and I get bob hafner
bob hafner is like
one of the founding fathers
of gold diving in nome
so, if this season is going
to be a success,
it's because of them.
We found this spot
during ice mining.
Got some pretty sick gold
in the six-inch.
So, daryl is gonna pick up
where he left off.
Hopefully, today we're gonna
make some money.
[engine whirring]
you ready to get some?
Pound it! Whoo!
Hey, daryl.
[over radio]
how is the visibility
down there?
[daryl] it's probably about
four or five feet.
[emily] I'm gonna
give you a minute
to get your bearings.
[daryl] all right,
I'm looking for a...
A place to start
okay-dokey.
[emily] hey, so you
found some gold
down there?
[daryl] oh, nothing yet.
I haven't seen
any uh...
Where it really
light things up.
Daryl is down there
looking for something
that's hot, you know,
it's uh...
Things change,
the bottom changes as
the ice goes away so...
I don't know. We'll keep
looking for the spot
we found over the winter.
Sometimes, after
the ice pack moves out,
the topography on
the ocean floor can change
and it's important
to have people like daryl
who really know how to read
the ground and prospect.
He is a gold hound.
So, I trust daryl
to pick up that hit streak.
I just hope he can because
we really need
to put ounces in
the box right away.
[daryl] gotta find some
working ground.
Okay, it's starting to, uh...
Oh!
There we go.
There is hundreds
of pieces of gold
just right here.
[emily] all right!
[daryl] not even an inch
or two down. Bingo!
Wow! That big gold sounds like
what we found during ice.
Found some nice chunky stuff.
[over radio]
is the gold chunky?
[daryl] there is
lots of volume right here
through the stone,
all through this material.
[imitating drum roll]
[daryl] yeah, we could
work this for several days.
[emily squealing]
we're on it, baby!
Ow!
[daryl] yeah, not so bad.
We're making money.
Can't complain.
It's a good day to be
a gold miner. Whoo!
[narrator] while one riedel
gets on the gold,
back on land...
I think this road
goes to the nome river.
I saw it up here.
But the river is way
far away here.
I don't think it goes
down to the nome river.
[narrator] the senior riedel
is on his way
to owning his own claim
and mining operation.
You know, I don't have to park
right on the river.
As long as I find a place
that's hidden...
[narrator] but for nome's
most notorious free spirit,
that road is very, very long.
I had this plan
coming to nome.
Price is up,
get some stuff from the dump
for free.
I got the first part
of my plan taken care of.
Now I gotta find a place
to live on the nome river,
set my tent up for free,
and then I gotta
look for work.
I just can't find
the nome river,
it's somewhere around here.
[tires screeching]
hello.
Okay, I'm not gonna
run off the road now.
Don't worry about it.
[chuckles]
the price of gold
is through the roof.
There's claims available.
So, yeah.
This is the best time
to be a gold miner.
And I'm here again
to ride that gold horse.
Whoa! Jiminy cripers.
Man! I was hoping to find
a better trail than this.
I don't know. Holy...
Hold it.
I can't afford to be here.
But the price of gold,
I can't afford not to be here.
Woo-hoo.
Yeah! Oh, yeah.
Free rent city, right here.
Man, what a beautiful place.
That's the river.
Got a place to hide.
This is it.
This is steve's oasis.
This is where I'm setting up
shop for the summer.
And it's not gonna
cost me a dime.
[exclaims] oh! Oh!
[grunts]
[groans]
I just have to clear out
all this brush
and assemble my abode.
Whoo!
My tent's 12 by 8 feet.
So...
I think I got
a pretty good space here.
But I need some blocks,
and then I'll put
pallets on it,
level it up.
And then I can
put my tent on it.
Rent free is turning out to be
just a lot of hard work.
So I got a list of things
to do.
I need some stuff.
Zeke's place right here.
Oh-h*-h*. Oh!
Woo-hoo.
-Perfect.
-[timber thuds]
yeah. Nome is...
Nome is about 500 miles away
from the end
of the supply line.
So...
You know,
if someone has something,
and they're not using it,
then it's okay to borrow it.
It's sort of...
It's sort of an alaska thing,
to share.
There we go.
Okay, that's a load.
I'll write him an iou.
And six blocks.
Okay. Let's see...
Uh-huh. Okay.
Thanks. We're out.
Hello, and welcome to
another episode of secret...
Uh, gold mine...
What are we calling it?
Today we're gonna talk about
mining on a budget.
Hot water system.
You know, right here is
the hot water exchange system.
We use the exhaust
of our engine
to heat up the water
that pumps down to the diver.
All free.
You know, a lot of people use
other systems
to create hot water.
Those burn about
two gallons an hour.
So I save about
when I run this.
That's the way it is.
In order for this
to work properly,
you have to exchange the
copper coil every season.
Can my lovely assistant
handle it?
Yeah, I'm gonna close my eyes,
I'll be fine.
You can't be a *bleep*
when you do this job.
[screams]
yeah, baby!
Bam!
The, uh, hot water system.
[kris] so,
it's a pretty easy design.
The bar in the center,
that's the exhaust.
That's actually
pumping through.
So you wrap the coil
around the exhaust,
and then you have water
flowing through the coil.
So, pound for pound,
this is probably the best
*bleep* idea around.
Oh, when you idle down
the engine,
you get cold water.
Well, don't be a *bleep*,
you won't have a problem.
-[andy] oh, I don't...
-Okay, there you go.
Next thing we're gonna do,
we're gonna go get
another copper coil,
and we're gonna
string it around,
and then this is exactly...
We're trying to make this
look brand new.
Bam! Copper coil.
That's perfect.
Shazamo!
Free hot water.
So now we have to
insert the coil...
It's not fitting in
with those pipes.
Okay, now we got to get this
*bleep* thing to fit in there.
It needs finesse.
-[andy] I got it, dude.
-Okay.
That's exactly what I didn't
want to do.
[andy] shut up!
No, mine was easier.
[kris] I hope we didn't
kink that.
Stop. It's not gonna work.
I think the engine is gonna
blow up on me.
Well, let's take that out.
The editing team,
edit all that *bleep*
out at the end.
We're done.
Now what we have to do
is weld this together.
So that's pretty much
how you get
free hot water
on demand forever,
as long as you follow this
simple little process.
Not that simple.
Super big moment here
I've been anticipating.
Getting ready to drop
zeke's sail boat in.
Sail boat, dredge.
Uh, not quite sure
what it is.
[narrator]
after years of envisioning
a trailblazing
sailboat dredge...
I think we got
all the holes plugged.
I'm pretty sure.
...It's now sink or swim
for zeke tenhoff
and the black swan.
[zeke] I've put suction
dredges together before,
but there's a lot of reasons
why the way
I'm trying to do it
might be kind of sketchy
and it's experimental.
I'm not a, like,
maritime engineer
or anything like that at all.
I'm just a guy who has been
like bolting aluminum
in dredge parks
onto the sailboat.
So I've got to
cross my fingers
and hope for the best here.
Been a lot of build up today.
I've been working on this
sail boat for months.
I can't say I'm not
a little bit...
I have a little trepidation
about how
it's all gonna hook up.
Well, we're gonna see
if it even *bleep* picks it.
It if picks it, it picks it.
If it don't, it don't.
Whoa.
[crane whirring]
lift off.
Hey.
[zeke] keep it straight.
Keep it straight.
Little bit windy today.
I have to hold on
to this rope.
Super important.
Otherwise the sailboat
is gonna go spinning around.
Oh, boy. Oh, buddy.
Shawn,
don't drop the sailboat.
[zeke chuckles]
[creaks]
[whirring]
[zeke] are we floating?
You're floating.
We are floating. Yeah!
[laughs]
[all] yeah! Yeah!
-[all exclaiming]
-yeah!
-Thank you, shawn.
-[shawn] yeah.
You guys gonna check for leaks
before we unstrap it?
[zeke] I can go
check for leaks.
Oh, that's good. I was just
checking the water lines
and seeing how we look
on the balance.
It looks pretty good.
We are this close
from going sailing.
Very excited.
Looks good. No obvious leaks
at this time.
All right.
Let's cut this thing lose
so I can get out of here.
[zeke] ladies and gentlemen,
I present to you
the black swan.
It really feels great.
I've had this idea
kicking around in my head
for years now.
Sail boat dredge, that's cool.
So that's given me
a lot of motivation
to just keep going with it.
No matter like,
what the conclusion
ends up being.
It's super cool to look out
of the...
Look out
of the windows here.
You can see water
instead of
tree tops and tundra.
I had a lot of trepidation
over the years
that I wouldn't be able to
hang a dredge off
the side of this boat.
Because it would make
everything tip over too much.
So I didn't do it for years.
Because I thought that would
be a big problem.
And it's proving to be
not a problem at all.
We got the mast stood up here.
I want to go
for a little boat ride.
See how fast she goes.
I know I have a lot
of work to do
in order to get
all the dredging systems
to work right.
[engine revving]
but we gotta take it
for a little victory lap
out of the harbor
and see how it feels.
What! [laughs]
dude, it's really fast.
[laughs]
[all laughing and exclaiming]
[narrator] two miles east...
We're gonna do it.
Went through all the trouble
while going through
the damn bidding process.
[narrator] the moment of truth
has arrived
for vernon adkison.
[vernon] today,
we're out here,
we're getting ready
to nail this claim down.
Good show, guys.
We're finally gonna get going
on 56.
And I gotta admit,
I got some jitters today.
I don't know for sure
if there's really good
gold there.
We're diving on a new claim.
A very expensive claim.
But it looks like we found
a good spot with the drone,
so I'm cautiously optimistic.
Get to diving.
Bing, bang, boom.
[narrator] today, the first
small step for vernon-kind...
Belongs to diver
gary simpson.
[vernon] gary, do you read me?
[gary] yeah.
Just do it.
[gary] all right.
[vernon] okay, here he goes.
[gary] all right, let's search
around here for a little bit,
guys,
see where we're at.
All right.
[gary] actually,
I couldn't see much
with the drone.
It still looked good.
But being down here
it even looks better.
All right.
We're gonna make some
gold today, buddy.
[gary] I'll start right here.
This hasn't been worked
for a long time...
If ever.
Yeah, yeah.
It sure looks good to me.
I mean, there's a lot of
marine growth on it.
Looks like it's
tightly packed.
I'm hoping we're on some
virgin ground here.
Untouched ground,
that's music
to a prospector's ear.
There's been mining
all around nome
for well over a century.
And to find some ground
that has not been hit,
we could be sitting
on top of a jackpot.
Come to daddy.
You know what I'm saying?
[gary speaking]
big rocks, big gold.
[gary] it's a little slower...
Than normal.
[gary speaking]
yeah, it looks like
you might be getting
close to it now.
[gary speaking]
so...
[vernon] all right.
Seeing gold already?
[gary] whoo! How's that?
Wow. That's some
good looking material.
[gary] do you see it?
Do you see it?
Yeah, yeah, I see it.
[gary] I'm seeing the gold.
Nature's going right on top
of the black silk layer.
[vernon] all right.
Hammer it.
[gary] yeah, yeah,
looking good.
Now this is what
I'm talking about.
This is a bull's-eye
and then some.
Maybe we don't hit
the target every time,
but when we do, yeah.
It's yippee-ki-yay.
This is what I've been
waiting for for years.
We've taken the icing
off the cake.
[gary] yeah.
[vernon] you can tell from
the look of that cobble,
it hasn't been disturbed.
This is the first time
I've worked on 56.
There's a lot of gold
laying right on top.
This is damn good ground.
We're gonna have
a nice day.
[narrator] throughout nome,
the fleet is bringing
their a-game
to the turf w*r.
And on the water.
[emily] back to work.
Just doing a little patch.
[narrator]
emily and her a-team
prep for the second half
of a mining double header.
[emily]
bob's gonna be diving.
He's a veteran
of this business.
I mean, he's been diving
offshore, for like,
since the '80s.
Always excited to go diving.
[narrator] as veteran diver
bob hafner
steps up to the plate.
[emily] daryl got into
some nice chunky gold.
He got a good dive in.
Bob's great.
He knows the ground.
He knows what he's doing.
Awesome attitude.
And he's got
a lot of experience, so...
Got a good team.
[bob] water temperature
looks pretty good.
Let's do this.
[emily] daryl went down
for four hours
and got on the pay streak.
And we're making money.
And bob's the next diver,
and hopefully we can
keep this momentum up.
Conditions are good
right now,
but wind is
starting to pick up,
current's starting to pick up,
so hopefully we can stay
on the spot.
Hey, bob, you got me on comms?
[bob] yes.
[emily] hey. Hey, bob,
first dive of the year.
How do you feel?
[bob grunts]
[emily] nice, that's awesome.
That's really good news.
[bob speaking]
[emily] strong currents
can really escalate
the danger for a diver.
Veteran or not,
current's still gonna
mess with you.
Like, as much experience
as bob has,
like, once that current
gets going,
like, he's not
a freaking superhero.
But it's also important
to get a lot of nice
gold in the sluice box.
So hopefully bob can hang out
through this.
[bob speaking]
[groans]
if we need to call it
for current,
we can call it.
[bob speaking]
roger, sounds good.
That current...
It keeps on building,
it keeps on picking up
down there.
He's definitely
earning every ounce.
It's gonna wear him out
eventually.
[bob groans]
we're not long,
but we're in the gold
so we're gonna keep mining
as long as we can.
[narrator] back in nome...
Well, got my plans,
time to go see the man.
Either dave's gonna like it
or he won't.
[narrator] mr. Gold is looking
to strike a deal
with the competition.
[shawn] right now,
dave's the only unknown.
I know my design is solid,
but I don't know
if dave's gonna
want to partner up with me
or tell me to take a hike.
Hell, me might even
try to steal
what I'm trying to
pitch to him.
I guess we'll see.
[horn honks]
[young] what's up?
[shawn] how's it going, dave?
Oh, you got them done, huh?
-Yeah.
-Let's check them out.
[shawn] I can see it
coming together.
Chicken scratches but...
Basically moving the plant
from where it's sitting here,
putting it down
the center of the barge,
dropping it, lowering it.
What's this right here?
[shawn] that's the feeder.
-[young] shaker...
-[shawn] shaker.
Rock chute, then this will be
another sluice box here.
[young] this is a sluice?
What's this right here?
[shawn]
that's another sluice box.
A secondary box.
This is gonna look
really pretty through this
first sluice box.
But then, whatever
doesn't get caught there,
we'll catch it all through
in this secondary box.
Looks complicated.
It looks complicated,
but really it's not.
Our gold recovery is going to
sky rocket.
I don't know.
I think we'll have a winner.
I think we'll do, you know,
if I can keep up to you...
Keep up with it the way
it's set up now,
with the christine rose...
Well, after we redo it.
We should blow
the christine rose
out of the water.
-We'd be--
-you sure it'll all fit?
I'll make it fit.
We got some good welders,
they'll cut and chop
and make it work.
[young] I mean,
what's this gonna cost?
Million? Half a million?
I can't even tell.
It's looks expensive.
-Looks expensive, but...
-[laughs]
it is expensive.
You know it's gonna...
It's gonna be *bleep*
expensive, but you know what?
In one week,
we'll make it all back.
You think?
-I...
-Can you guarantee it?
I'm not gonna guarantee it.
But I'll put my word on it.
-And I'll make--
-will you put
your money on it?
You know...
I'd be willing to do it.
I've got millions
into this already.
-And I'm not--
-with gold prices
the way they are,
it'd be stupid
not to do it.
No, I'm game, you know?
We gotta pick it up.
You kicked their a*s
last year
and we got
a one-yard bucket.
So I know we got some issues.
I just...
You know, we have no money
to do this.
You know,
if you have the money,
if you'll throw
half a million at it...
I think it's gonna cost
at least that, if not more.
[shawn] the worst thing
I thought
dave could say was "no."
I didn't think he'd ask me
to pony up
some of my own money
for this.
I'm stretched a little thin
going into this,
with the cost of the tomcod
and the inland mine.
The myrtle irene is not
gonna be a cheap project.
It may stretch me too thin.
It's a tough call.
Well, I'll throw
Okay.
Well, write it up
and I'm in.
Let's give it a shot.
But you got...
You got three weeks.
We'll be cutting it close
but...
I think I can do it.
I got the myrtle,
but it didn't come cheap.
I gotta put in $350,000.
And I have to do
in three weeks
what they couldn't do
in years.
I'm pretty much gonna get
half of everything
we mine off the tomcod.
So I'll get my money back
in no time if I pull it off.
It's a big "if."
you know, this is my
third time of refitting this.
Just think about it.
-It ain't been cheap.
-Well...
You know what?
We're gonna make
all that money back
and then some.
-I hope.
-I know how to make gold.
Okay. It's a deal.
Let's do it.
[narrator] in nome...
At arctic sea headquarters,
[ken] how long we been
running that barge?
-Five years?
-[young] four, five.
[ken] five years, yeah.
[young] there's not
too many people
that can handle that thing.
That's true.
-It's a mammy.
-Yeah.
[narrator] dave young and now
former captain ken kerr
discuss the big shake-up
with the myrtle irene.
Well, I'll tell ya...
Are you sure you're okay
with shawn running it?
Oh, I wouldn't...
-Huh?
-I'm...
I'm very excited about...
[clears throat]
...Shawn running it.
Very excited.
[exclaims]
yeah! We're digging!
We're digging!
[narrator]
for several summers...
[ken] hammer down.
...Ken kerr
piloted the myrtle.
[ken] the biggest rig in nome,
right here.
If we get a couple thousand
ounces this year...
Yeah, I think
a couple thousand ounces...
Would be pretty good.
...Attempting to rewrite
the record books.
[man] 270...
Shawn, look out,
buddy, now.
[exclaims]
[ken] I'm gonna have to get
shawn over here.
Show him what
a real excavator is.
We're gonna fight it out.
[narrator] while he and shawn
ran neck and neck,
exchanging the top spot.
No hard feelings?
Yeah.
-[man over radio]
mayday, mayday.
-[woman] no!
[narrator] the beast proved
too unwieldy
to live up to her potential.
I like the idea of shawn...
[narrator] now, it will be
shawn's turn at the helm.
You know, shawn's here,
he's here all year long.
When we're out of the water,
he can work on it.
Yeah.
You know,
he'll be there 24-7.
-You know? It's perfect.
-Yep.
What are you gonna do?
-You don't run the barge.
-Um...
I'm building those machines
called the golden goose.
-The trawlers?
-Yeah, the beach miners.
I'm ready to go out
on my own and...
And run a beach miner, baby.
I'm gonna go prospect
the beaches of nome
with a trawler.
Go find a mother lode
in nome.
I mean, god put a lot of gold
out here...
And I'm gonna go find it.
I hope you find it.
Then let's do it.
-Start on
the trawlers, brother.
-[laughs]
-get some gold this year.
-Yeah.
[narrator] on claim 56...
So, gary, all systems go.
How're you feeling down there?
[gary speaking]
all right.
The material
looks really good.
I think we're gonna do
okay today.
[narrator] vernon adkison's
lead diver gary simpson
is batting 1.000.
Hey, gary.
You've been down
a few hours now.
Why don't you
come on up?
You did a hell
of a good job.
I think you put gold
in the box.
We'll send
the next man down.
[gary] all right, vernon.
I'm heading up.
Heading up now.
I got a new guy.
But they won't
stay new forever.
We'll put
another diver down,
get a couple more hours in,
get it up and running
full choke.
[gary speaking]
I'll tell you what?
I'm proud of gary.
He knocked it out of
the ballpark with this one.
And now we got
our new man bryan.
We'll just see if bryan
can keep up the momentum.
I don't know. It's been...
Looks like some deep
overburden over there.
So I might have to go down
and punch a few holes.
And they both
need to be producing
every day at a high level
to make this pay.
[water splashing]
yeah, hey, bryan.
How is it looking down there?
[bryan] yeah,
there's definitely a lot
of rocks down here.
I just want to punch off
a new little section
right here
and see what happens.
If you're not
seeing anything,
then just keep on moving
around the boat.
[bryan]
oh, the clay is dropping.
It's dropping quick.
You may overburden
more cobble on top.
[bryan] yeah, I might have to
go back to that shallow clay
in a minute.
Yeah, yeah. If you're not
seeing it, keep moving.
[bryan] yeah.
[vernon] a lot of this game
is experience.
And gary had some experience.
He got down there,
he found some gold,
he got the ball rolling.
And now it's up to bryan
to get down there
and keep it rolling.
Sounds simple, but it is
easier said than done.
[bryan] there is
shallow clay on this side.
So I'm going to the right
right now.
Yeah, I can tell, over here,
it's a little bit darker.
The material looks excellent.
I'll go one more layer down.
See if I can find
some gold on it.
I see little flakes,
little tiny ones.
Yeah, that's all
a real good sign.
[bryan] oh, yeah.
This is good stuff
right here. Whoo!
All right.
That's what I want to hear.
[bryan speaking]
maybe number 56
will pay for itself.
[bryan] oh, hell,
look at this material!
-That has not been
worked before.
-[bryan] looks pretty good!
I think he just loves
to dredge.
He's one of those guys that
just loves to dredge.
I mean, he can't get
enough of it, you know.
He's really hooked bad.
[bryan speaking]
[vernon] well, I'll be damned.
Bryan is looking damn good.
Great gold, the first day.
Uh, I'm proud of bryan.
This might be my a-team.
All those people who were
doubting if I could get
on the gold...
Well, they can kiss
my gold rich a*s.
Yeah. Suck it up, man.
So far, so good.
Keep charging.
[narrator] and now it's time
to flex your bsg brain muscles
with another edition of...
[narrator reading]
this isn't the first time
vernon's welcomed a new diver
named bryan to his team.
Throw the stern anchor.
[brian speaking]
I need some communication.
I mean, what's happening
with the radio?
[narrator] after brian
lost the walkie...
[vernon] come up here.
[narrator] did vernon, "a,"
console his new recruit,
"b" institute protocols
to make sure the misfortune
never occurs again,
or "c" lose his *bleep*.
-[brian speaking]
-no, man.
I'm done with you, bryan.
When we get back,
pack your *bleep* and get off
the *bleep* boat.
[brian speaking]
*bleep* right.
That's it.
[narrator] if you guessed
"c", congratulations.
You know your miner.
[canned audience applause]
[vernon] exactly.
See, how about
if we start out with
uh, heading west
and do a starboard tack.
[zeke] okay, sounds good.
Let's get around the bend
and then we'll just hoist
ye sails.
-[laughing]
-[zeke] hoist ye sails!
Dad, just keep in mind
that I really know
very little.
You're the, you're the, uh,
you're the sailing captain.
[narrator] for the first time
in years,
zeke tenhoff is back
on the bering sea
in a mining vessel.
And not just any old ship,
but in his groundbreaking
sailboat dredge,
the black swan.
Starboard's here,
port's over there.
All right, dad.
It's a good first start.
[sam] it's a good first start.
Before we even think about
going dredging in this boat,
I need to get a little primer
on how to sail,
because when it
comes to sailing,
I'm a complete newbie.
I do not know how to
sail a boat.
Beautiful day for a sail.
There is one of the
pressing matter we need
to attend to.
[accordion playing]
we got a little ceremony
written out to
appease poseidon
and the four wind gods
to grant us safe passage.
We got to purge the old name
from all of these records.
Super important.
Pressing the new name.
'cause the sea god
and poseidon and whatnot
interact with the gold gods.
Yeah.
I'm a super
superstitious person.
And it's potentially really
bad juju to rename the name
of a boat.
So we're gonna perform
a ceremony to appease
the gods of the deed.
It's a tradition anytime
you change a boat's name.
I mean, we need all the help
we can get if we're going
gold mining.
I mean, if there's
gods out there
that can be angered,
we need to do whatever we can
not to anger them.
[accordion playing]
"o mighty and great ruler
of the seas and oceans...
To whom all ships and we who
venture upon your vast domain
are required to pay homage.
I implore you
in your graciousness
to expunge for all time from
your records and recollection
the name lady o,
which has ceased to be
an entity in your kingdom.
As proof thereof, we submit
this ingot bearing her name.
To be corrupted
through your powers.
And forever be purged
from the sea."
drop.
"in grateful acknowledgment
of your munificence
and dispensation,
we offer these libations
to your majesty
and your court."
and you're going to pour
from east to west.
[accordion continues]
"I implore you
in your graciousness
to take unto your records
and recollection
this worthy vessel
hereafter and for all time
known as black swan."
let's celebrate.
[accordion continues]
the black swan and that's it.
That's it?
All right. *bleep*
ready to sail.
-Yeah.
-Whoo-hoo!
-[zeke] is it time
to hoist the sails?
-[lee] yeah.
[zeke laughing] yeah.
What we're doing right now
accomplishes a dream that I've
had for a really long time,
is to be able to have
a sea worthy boat that I can
go down the coast with. And...
I'm confident. I'm confident
to take this boat 50 miles
down the coast.
This is the best boat
that I've ever had.
[narrator] two miles east.
[bob grunting]
*bleep* damn it.
Hey, bob. What's it
looking like down there?
[bob speaking]
[grunting]
[narrator] three hours
into his dive,
the second half of emily's
dynamic duo,
bob hafner is still taking
a beating from the
ripping current.
[bob grunts]
you know, it's supposed to
start picking up here in the
next hour or so.
[bob] yes. It's picking up,
isn't it?
[bob speaking]
yeah. Roger, roger.
So we wanna stay out
as long as possible.
[bob speaking]
[grunting]
*bleep* yeah.
If you're picking
right where
we left off,
then it's gonna be hot gold
from winter season.
I think this ground that
we're in right now is paying.
[bob grunts]
[emily] might be time
to call it.
Bob's been down there fighting
that current for a while.
He's been holding out.
He's been staying on the gold
but...
The current can
really mess with
your dive down there
and it's dangerous
for the diver.
Bob's tough but
the bering sea's
a lot tougher.
*bleep*
oh, I feel that current
pulling me around.
Can't keep the hose
on the cut.
[grunts]
mother nature might be making
this call for us.
I'm ready to quit.
-[emily] bob, are you okay?
-[grunts]
[grunting]
[grunts] yeah. All right.
I'm gonna head up.
[emily] sounds good, bob.
I'll see you at the top,
buddy.
How you doing?
Lot of work. Lot of work.
Head in.
We have a box, I think.
There it is. Nicely done.
[bob] real excited to see
what's in the box.
-See it sitting right on top
of the rocks?
-[daryl chuckles]
[emily] oh, wow, yeah.
Holy *bleep*.
Look at the top one.
That's a nice little pile.
-Should probably
drive the boat, huh?
-[gary] maybe sometime.
[emily chuckles]
-[emily] at least
before the jetty.
-[daryl] yeah, there you go.
[static warbling]
welcome to steve's wild,
weird, wonderful world
of nome, alaska.
Behind me is a remnant to the
white alice site.
It is a radar facility
overlooking nome, alaska.
It's called nomehenge
by the locals.
Built in the '50s,
it was 24-7 buildings
everywhere back in the day.
There were facilities for,
I imagine, 30 people.
This is all a us government
radar facility to
watch out for the
soviet bombers coming in.
The soviets are coming.
Right here, that guy,
that tower.
High power jet signal,
boom, bounced off.
Went out there, saw the
soviet b*mber formation,
came back and they broadcast,
bang,
to the next guy about, like,
And then went down,
down, down,
to america to washington, d.C.
Where they got
an eye on things.
[alarm blaring]
the soviets are coming.
Here they go.
They're coming!
Can you hear me?
Russian, go home.
Just wanted to make sure
you russkis heard that.
Go home. w*r's over.
This nome, white alice site
is one of the things that
makes nome a very
special place.
And right now, the attraction
for this place, it's a great
make out place
because you can go and
it's very pretty.
And it's you and your girl
and you make out.
[woman moaning, kissing]
[steve]
it's just lovers' lane now.
I see a nice handy
rocking bed that they,
they made here.
No. I really like the
motion here.
Whoa!
This place is like, I come up
here with a girlfriend
if I had one,
I don't have one.
But I am available,
just by the way.
Weird, wild, wonderful world
of nome, alaska.
Steve riedel.
Be there next time.
[narrator reading]
bryan, what's
the situation, over?
[bryan] we're looking good,
yeah. Yeah, there's a bunch
of flaky going up.
Sounds good.
[narrator] with a
second diver pulling in
strong results,
vernon adkison is looking
at a new crew, a new claim
and a new lease on life.
We're doing good here.
We're seeing a little bit
of gold down there.
Everything's holding together.
For my first day of 56,
I'm pretty happy.
I'm thinking I made
the right decision
by buying this thing.
[bryan speaking]
[vernon] you got
some time in.
Why don't you come
on up and, uh...
And we'll wrap it up
for today.
[bryan speaking]
so far,
like it's gonna be a winner.
Matter of fact, I know
damn well it's gonna
be a winner.
I've been up here
ten years and
I've finally got a first-class
claim that's gonna last me
the rest of my life.
Whoo! Looked good.
I can work right here on 56
for the rest of the time
I'm on this planet.
I feel like the
emperor of nome right now.
This is the biggest gamble
I've ever made.
I've stuck my neck
way out there.
But I went with my
gut instinct.
And now it looks to me like
I've got my own raw gold bank
at the bottom
of the bering sea.
Everything's working good.
I'm gonna be very proud
of claim 56.
I think that's going to be
a money maker for us all.
You guys hang with
the wild ranger.
We'll all be wealthy men.
-[bryan] all right.
We're there.
-[gary] all right.
Boom.
All right.
Let's get out of here.
-[bryan] let's do this.
-[vernon] time's
a-wastin'.
[narrator] on the other side
of the harbor...
[kris] we are done.
Everything's looking
dialed in.
And you gotta admit,
it's a pretty badass
little rig, huh?
And look. Look how light this
*bleep* is.
Huh? You like that, huh?
[narrator] with the pieces now
in place,
it's time for the kellys
to give their system
a test run
before launching to elim.
Okay, captain dave,
you of course are in control
of driving the boat.
And you say if anything gets
too bad of course.
-Yeah.
-[kris] yeah.
When I say get out of the way,
just get out of the way.
If I gotta do something,
send the anchors,
that kind of stuff.
I'll drop the door,
wiggle that piece of junk
off the bow.
[all laughing]
that's the sickle, okay?
That's a badass piece
of mining equipment.
Let's just get this and
get going.
Everybody's calling it
a piece of junk 'cause
they don't
have any vision at all
to see what this actually
can do.
This is probably
the mike tyson
of dredging operations.
It's small and hits hard.
You know what, so they can all
kiss my a*s.
Hope captain kris
can maintain his, uh...
His poise and not blow up
on this trip.
I don't think captain mccully
would like that.
It might be man overboard
out there.
[kris] three year
or four year plan
is finally happening for me.
Every single year,
we train ourselves,
we get bigger ba*ls and
we come up with crazier ideas.
And this is the
crown achievement.
So I think captain dave thinks
we're a bunch of idiots.
But today, we're doing
a little test run outside
the harbor.
And I'm gonna show him
that we can make this work.
-Are we ready to launch it?
-[kris] yeah, we're ready.
Here we go.
-[laughing]
-holy smokes!
[kris] that's what
I'm talking about.
So the sickle's in the water
and it looks great.
Right now we just have to
prime the pumps and
get to work. Simple.
-Okay, try that.
-[engine sputters]
[kris] no.
Is there water in there?
Put another bucket in.
Okay. Try that.
[engine sputters]
no.
[andy] what?
What's wrong
with the cap?
Stupid.
Look how those two guys
are *bleep* football.
I got great hearing
*bleep*!
Doesn't matter
if the wind's blowing
in my ear.
You think for many a years,
of them being a dredger,
you think they got it all
figured by now but...
[brad] we should've done this
in the harbor.
Holy smokes, man.
They gotta step it up.
Okay. Try that.
It's very old school,
I would say. Old school.
Nope.
Okay. This is *bleep*
hardest thing I've ever seen.
[kris] the problem is
the angle of the
foot valve itself.
-Can you shut up?
-Okay.
Oh, it's pretty interesting.
-[kris] he's in there
making jokes.
-[brad] I didn't make a joke.
Please stop, you loser.
-[brad] shut your mouth.
-You shut the *bleep* up.
All you do is sit in *bleep*
and do nothing.
Apparently, they get
gold sometimes.
[engine sputters]
[engine starts]
there it goes!
[kris laughing]
holy smokes,
that's a lot of work.
Dude, you don't gotta
work with these guys
every day.
Look at him.
[exclaiming]
I don't know how
that flipped off.
Hey, put this back
on the boat. Let's go.
Um, yeah. That's all...
There's nothing we can do.
There's too
many things to fix.
Not one thing
is done right, really.
Let's just pull it up
on deck.
*bleep*
[andy] kris,
what's happening?
-I got it...
Watch out for my knee.
-[andy] all right.
So maybe the sickle wasn't
in perfect condition.
The high pressure line
was cracked,
the cap to the intake
was broken.
First half of my plan failed
miserably today.
Now's it's time to kick
in the second half.
So seeing how things always go
bad for us, I always have
a backup plan.
So we're going to launch
chris' crazy bones dredge
and hope to god it works.
I'm more prepared
than these guys.
-[all laughing]
-*bleep*
something's gonna work.
Because for me,
*bleep* it's all
pre-meditated.
So I can see what everything
goes into it now.
[kris] we're not having
anymore bad luck today.
This is gonna work.
Okay, let's standby
with the hose.
Come on. Keep going.
Okay. We got it.
[engine starting]
okay. Good job.
[kris screams]
-what happened?
-The high pressure line.
Oh, it blew apart
in the center, chris.
Good job, buddy.
[mccully] what the hell?
Okay. Take the boat
back to shore.
We're done for today.
-*bleep*
-we gotta
redo everything.
That's his rig this time!
Oh, my god.
Thank god
we didn't go to elim.
Got the
myrtle irene secured.
That's a pretty big
game changer there
'cause that opened up
a lot more
ground for us.
You got a *bleep*
on your plate
this year, man.
Yeah. Yes, I do.
I'm not gonna have any time
to be on that christine rose.
You're gonna have
to take it over.
Remodeling the myrtle irene
will be a full time job
and expensive.
Until the myrtle's on the
water, it's up to cody
to keep the gold coming in
to pay for all this.
I need you to *bleep*
run that boat.
Yeah. I got it.
You know how to find gold.
You know how to keep
that thing running.
You know that boat
inside and out.
[cody] yeah.
[indistinct chatter]
I'm leaning on you, buddy.
Big year, man.
You got a lot on your plate.
And I just got a lot put
on my plate, so.
-Should be...
We got this.
-We'll handle it.
-Let's get her done.
-Okay, buddy.
It's critical that cody
keeps bringing in the gold
on the christine rose
till I get the myrtle irene
up and running.
I'm counting on cody and
cody knows what he's doing
out there.
If everything works out,
we're gonna take over
the land,
the sea and the competition.
It's a great plan.
-Hell yeah, man.
It's happening.
-Cheers.
We clean out right here and
we've got everything we need
to do it right here.
[narrator] vernon adkison
is ready for his first haul
on his new claim.
I bought claim 56 last March.
We're gonna find out what
kind of gold we're on.
[gary] scoop number one.
Let's find out how it is.
Oh-h*-h*.
Look at that.
A lot of gold.
[vernon] oh, look at that.
Look at that.
-It's paying off now.
-Oh, yeah.
[gary] oh, man.
She's lightin' up.
First clean out on 56.
It's gonna be duty, guys.
It's gonna be really duty.
When he's smiling,
you know something good's
going on.
All right. Here we go.
That's one,
two, three,
four, five, six,
seven, eight, nine,
ten.
Ten point three two.
That is awesome.
I like it.
[narrator] ten point three
ounces is worth over $20,000.
This is the pay off.
[narrator] and vernon
is off and running
in the turf w*r.
[vernon] this has
been a long time
coming right here.
But now...
I'm saying 56 is the place
to be.
This wasn't even
a full day of mining.
We spent all morning
mapping out the claim
and we still pulled in
double digits.
I'm telling you 56
is a money maker.
And I'm gonna be shaking
this tree for a long time
to come.
Everything's tuned up.
All we got to do now is
to get more hours.
So, yeah, we'll just
get out there
and hammer it.
-Very good.
-Bryan.
-[both] thank you.
-All right.
♪ yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
[vernon]
you know, happy days are here.
[narrator] on the other side
of the harbor...
-[barking]
-yeah, I know.
We're gonna go
clean the sluice box.
[narrator] emily riedel is
hoping that last winter's
pay streak
will prove to be
this summer's golden ticket
toward landing a claim.
[bob] beautiful.
Looking good. Looking good.
We always like cleanup day.
-Yeah.
-Mesmerized. Gold-merized.
The excitement is what
it's kind of all about.
What did we really do?
We think we know
what we did.
But you know, now we get
to find out what we
really did.
Yeah. It's a litmus test
on progress.
This winter, I was really
focused on putting ounces
together to
buy a second dredge.
But for the summer,
I've upped my goal.
And I've decided to purchase
my own lease instead.
Now I'm hoping this
pay streak is going to
turn into something
that will get me a claim.
It just has to keep
on producing.
Holy schnickies.
Man, imagine if all of our
gold was that big. It would
make panning so easy.
[bob] it's looking promising.
I mean, we like
what we see
as we're handling
the concentrates.
Now we get to real show here.
Nice looking gold in there.
Burn the water off.
We were working that
ice mining ground and...
We got into some pretty
hot stuff so we'll see.
Ready for the weigh out?
Eight, nine, ten,
eleven, twelve, thirteen,
fourteen, ooh...
Fourteen point seven eight.
[narrator] fourteen point
seven eight ounces.
It's worth over 29 grand.
It's really not bad for the
hours we have out there.
Um, you know, I think we're
doing pretty good but we just
need more hours.
Twenty-four hours of daylight
and two divers is great,
but a third guy, we could
be running 24-7.
What do you guys think about
bringing a third guy on?
I really need to put
75 ounces together
in order to buy this claim
and daryl and bob
are great divers.
But I kind of need
a 24-hour setup.
Hiring another diver will
bring in more gold for me,
but it's not gonna
be popular to split
the box...
Three ways.
Now that we found that
old ice spot, it'd be nice
to have third guy up here.
Basically, put in the hours
in the box that we need
to get it up...
To get it higher.
Yeah. We always need more
hours so...
-Yes.
-Yeah.
Sweet. All right.
Let's divvy this up.
[dramatic music playing]
now that I got the myrtle,
time to get to work.
I have to recoup
my investment this year.
Gold mining's
all about risk.
If you make big moves,
you'll make big money.
If I make the wrong move,
I'll lose everything.
But I have to be willing
to take big gambles.
[shawn] when you take on
something that seems too big,
costs too much,
takes time you don't have.
You know you're on the verge
of something great.
You can't be afraid to fail.
You have to take that fear
and turn it into motivation.
It's not gonna
be easy.
But when the new myrtle irene
hits the water, they're not
gonna call me mr. Gold.
They're gonna call me
the king of nome.
[narrator] next time on
bering sea gold...
-[shawn] today's the day.
-That's *bleep* good.
Man, I hope it works.
[zeke] we're sailing boys.
*bleep*
-[exclaiming]
-how about a job?
On my boat?
On the eroica?
We have one shot
to make it to elim,
so it's our last chance.
Feels like there's water
in my mask. Pull me up.
There's no turning back
right now.
We're on the money.
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13x02 - A Dredge Full of Dollars
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The show follows boats equipped with various setups to achieve gold mining in a summertime, cold northern latitude, shallow water, ocean environment.
The show follows boats equipped with various setups to achieve gold mining in a summertime, cold northern latitude, shallow water, ocean environment.