[suspenseful music playing]
[shawn] I'm trying
to take over nome.
I wanna get so much gold
that's gonna shock everybody
up here.
Now I have my hands
on the biggest barge
on the bering sea.
When I'm done
with these changes,
it's gonna be
total domination.
It's a ton of work.
I'm already in the hole
of millions of dollars...
And the clock's ticking.
But when I get
around the water,
you better look out.
[suspenseful music playing]
[suspenseful music playing]
[narrator]
on the christine rose...
The pomrenke empire...
Is in full swing.
[cody] with shawn
back in town
working on the myrtle,
I'm just responsible
for the christine rose now
and just trying to keep it
making money,
we gotta keep making money.
We got these big projects.
[narrator]
while his second-in-command
keeps the gold flowing...
[suspenseful music playing]
[shawn] so far,
christine rose
is doing very well,
the inland is doing very well
and the myrtle
is coming along.
[narrator]
...Mr. Gold's master plan
to secure a stranglehold
on nome
pushes ahead.
[shawn] we have a huge payment
on the tomcod leads.
Second, I have to buy
by dad out.
I wanna own the inland mine
outright.
I got 350,000 plus
into the myrtle right now.
I need to get
the myrtle up and running
if I'm gonna make
all these payments.
[dave] it's complicated.
[shawn] our gold recovery
is gonna sky rocket.
Will you put your money
on it?
[narrator] shawn made a deal
with gold tycoon dave young
to partner up
on the myrtle irene.
[shawn] well, I'll throw
[narrator] but not
without agreeing
to bring more than just
blueprints to the table.
[dave] let's give it a shot
but you got...
You got three weeks.
The key to a successful
gold dredge
is efficiency.
Everything from the size
of the bucket,
to the length
of the sluice box,
to the amount of water,
it all has to be
dialed in just right.
Otherwise, you're just
blowing the gold
out of the box
just like the myrtle's
been doing for years.
Luckily my guys are already
working on the fix.
We've lowered the wash plant
to give the operator
a better view.
We're adding
a more powerful pump
and we're adding
a second sluice box
so we make sure
we're catching
even the finest gold.
How's it going, dave?
[dave] good. Let's do it.
Let's get out of here.
[upbeat music playing]
[shawn] I figured a way
we got
the christine rose set-up
it's pretty efficient,
real efficient.
It's done very well.
[dave] yeah, it's done well,
you kicked our a*s last year.
I'm excited.
I can't wait.
I just hope
we can pull it off.
[shawn] I'm gonna go
check out cody
make sure he's staying
on the gold
and giving
my business partner
a little peek
behind the scenes.
Show him how mr. Gold
makes the big money.
Well, I'll show you
what we do
with this little dredge.
[dave] what do you have here,
shawn?
Holy cow.
There's a lot of gold
down there.
We just be blowing that out.
[shawn] well, with my design,
we'll be catching all that
on the myrtle.
I hope.
We've never had anything
way down here, nothing.
We clean from up there,
there'd be nothing down here.
[shawn]
and with that second...
That second sluice,
it's gonna look like...
Yellow.
I hope.
[shawn] smells like money.
[dave] the stinkier,
the better.
Right now, the christine rose
is dialed in.
But it's the attention
to the small details
that makes it work so well.
I know how much dirt's
coming in
with each bucket.
How much water to put to it
to move it through
and I know the length
of the sluice box
to catch every big chunk
of gold
in all those
little pieces too.
It's just math.
You get the numbers right,
you'll get the gold.
I bet you there's a half ounce
right here, shawn.
Look at that.
What d'you find? Pecker?
Yeah.
-Right off the bat.
-[dave] well, thanks.
My first piece
of gold, shawn.
-[shawn] uh-huh.
-[laughter]
[cody] that's good.
[shawn] I'm glad you got
into kicking a*s,
keep it up, man.
[dave] I'm excited.
Show me around.
-[shawn] yeah. One second.
-[dave] what do you got here?
I'm gonna see your gps
and everything.
Holy cow.
Dam, that's a lot
of dig holes, shawn.
[shawn] uh, yeah,
but you look
there's big areas like this,
this whole area to the...
To the west of us
was too much sand
for this to be, uh,
productive to dig through
where with the myrtle,
we're just gonna go
and take a bucket of sand
and be right in the bed.
We're gonna pile up
for gold, dave.
I know how to build dredges.
I built the christine rose
to be more efficient
than any other dredge
that's been built before.
Now I'm gonna do that
with the myrtle irene.
With the bucket
five times bigger
than the christine rose,
nome's not gonna know
what hit it.
It's gonna be sick.
Just think about it,
we'll have a bucket
five times the size
of this thing,
could equate to four,
five times as much gold.
I'm excited.
Let's go get it.
Let's do it, shawn.
[narrator]
back at the harbor...
[upbeat music playing]
all systems are go
on the black swan.
[laughs]
what a contraption, huh?
[narrator]
...Nome's resident wizard
readies his greatest
creation,
his one of a kind
sailboat dredge
for a voyage
on the high seas.
[producer speaking]
[zeke] I don't know
where those guys are.
[narrator] but currently,
he's without a crew.
[zeke] I mean,
I woke up at like...
I was up at like 7:30
and I made a fire
and I was like,
"wake up, guys.
Going in to work on stuff."
I don't know what's going on,
hopefully they're doing
something productive.
[guitar music playing]
*bleep*
[upbeat music playing]
you always wanna bring
the banana up to your mouth.
[laughs]
[narrator] in other news,
he's also
without a place to mine.
I think I have all the details
taken care of
and I think we're ready to go
do some diving.
So, I accomplished
the large part of this goal,
I got the sailboat
in the water,
it floats good,
and we're close
to all systems go
to get gold.
I don't have a claim
to go out on yet.
But I do know
someone who does.
[suspenseful music playing]
[engine revs]
yeah.
[laughs]
[vernon] hey, zeke.
[zeke] hey, vernon,
good to see you.
-[vernon] long time no see.
-[zeke] yeah. For sure.
Vernon just bought a claim
and it's not just any claim,
it's loaded with gold,
everybody knows that it is.
I'm sure vernon is protective
of lease 56,
but I really think
that I can convince him
to let me out there.
Here we go.
[vernon] so here's
the rig, huh?
[zeke] here it is.
[vernon] I've been hearing
about it.
I've been thinking about this
for a couple of years,
it's been in my front yard
forever, you know,
-and...
-Right. Uh, I remember
you talking about it
a while back.
And my imagination kicked off
this spring
and I was like,
"I'm just gonna go for it
and try
not to over think it."
and we're ready
to go out today.
Mmm-hmm.
I have a sonar system,
sonar side scan system
with a...
With a function
that it records
a side scan map.
So I know where all
the sand pockets are
-and like all the image.
-And that gives you
the recording...
You have here
the gps location?
Yeah, then you overlay it
onto the gps map.
That would be huge.
In order to sweeten the deal
for vern
in letting me go out
on his new lease,
I can offer him
a bunch of sonar data
that will save vernon
a lot of time
and I think that I can help
him get an advantage
in finding his own gold
there too.
I was happy to hear
that you bought that lease.
[vernon] yeah. Me too.
[zeke] um,
would you be interested
in, uh, working out
an agreement with me
and my brother there
to work on it?
[suspenseful music playing]
um...
I'll be able to share
those maps with you.
I'd be very interested
in that.
I got one more slot open
on my, um, permit.
I'll put the paperwork
together.
If you wanna sign it,
then I'll turn you loose
on 56.
Well, right on, I'm excited.
So the sailboat dredge
is finally finished
and ready to go,
I've got a lease
that I can go to,
I'm gonna have to pay
a little bit of a royalty.
But that's okay
because I'm gonna start
raking in the gold here
and I'm gonna save up
for a lease of my own.
-[vernon] all right, buddy.
-[zeke] hey,
-I'm excited about this.
-Okay, well,
-best of luck.
-Right on.
If there's some good gold
out on that lease,
I'm gonna find it.
Mmm-hmm. Yeah.
[laughs]
-right on. Thanks, vern.
-We'll see.
-Cool, talk to you soon.
-Yeah. See you later.
[zeke] I'm excited
about this.
[vernon] I like zeke,
the guy's honest,
he's a hard worker.
He's welcome to prospect
on 56,
I'm not sure he's gonna be
taking up that much gold.
It, uh... It looks like
it might have a few
design deficiencies
to work through.
So, we'll see.
[zeke] I'm super stoked
because one of my buddies
got in some really good
*bleep* on that lease.
And I don't think
that he got it all,
I really doubt it.
Because then the boat sunk.
[laughs]
I'm super excited
about going there.
It's everything that I could
want in a place to go mining.
[laughs]
[suspenseful music playing]
[emily] I'm gonna go down
the beach
and find rick
and offer him a job,
turnaround 24 hours a day,
I already have,
uh, bob and darryl on there.
And I need a third guy.
[narrator] on a quest
to raise enough gold
to buy a claim of her own,
emily riedel is on the hunt
to expand her dive team.
[emily] at the end of the day,
even though 14
has been old faithful
and it's been very dependable
and we've done well
season after season on it,
right now it's about
getting my own claim.
It's about getting
my own ground
and getting as much gold
as possible.
To get the 75 ounces,
I need another diver
and that diver's
gotta be rick.
He's worked on my boat before,
he's good and, uh,
might be available.
[rick] I need to go down
right now and I need to get
Could be a record.
You might wanna avoid that,
it's surfer, guys.
Yeah, you're on some nice gg.
That's sexy.
Rick's been out
of the scene for a while,
he hasn't been diving.
But because the gold price
shot up,
he came back to nome
to work the west beach.
West beach life is rough,
it's a freaking grind,
you've gotta move
a lot of material
to get to an ounce.
It's a rough way to try
to be a gold miner.
I don't think you're gonna
get rich that way,
but some people
have done pretty well.
Hopefully, I can convince rick
to put the dive suit back on.
What's happening, em?
We're hugging
in these times, right?
-Pandemic or no.
-Long time no see.
[emily] I know, how you been?
-Not bad.
-[emily] good, good.
I see nome's herself.
Oh, yeah.
[emily] hi, nome.
-Hi, hi.
-What's up, girl?
[emily] it's okay.
You know what,
sometimes you gotta sit
on a mound.
What you up to?
Uh, you know,
just driving around,
looking for people,
people named rick.
I just wanted to put
like a...
An idea in your ear.
Um, I know you dove
in the eroica
a couple years ago
and I'm looking
for a third guy.
Right now I've got, uh,
bob and darryl
diving on the boat.
And it'd be nice
to have a third guy
so we can go 24.
Um, I mean,
if you're looking for a way
to supplement
your beach mining activities,
-you know...
-I really had no intention
on diving, I don't know,
I gotta think about that one.
[emily] I mean,
it's gonna take a lot of those
to, uh...
-To get to an ounce.
-[rick] yeah.
[emily] that's the problem.
It's gonna take two hours
to get to an ounce on my boat.
But it's my ounce.
[emily] I can see the appeal
of beach mining
on the west side.
You're gonna control your own
schedule and your life,
nobody's telling you
what to do,
significantly less dangerous
unless you get hit by a hobo
on a quadrunner.
I mean, what are you doing
like on average?
If I work really hard?
-Yeah.
-Maybe an ounce.
[emily] well, the price
of gold the way it is,
it's like you're leaving
money out,
now that the price of gold
is 2,000 an ounce.
It's like...
-That's why I got up here.
-Just sitting here...
-Yeah, I know.
-[rick] oh man.
It's the time
to be a gold miner, rick.
It's a good time, rick,
to be a gold diver.
-Yeah, you're right.
-[emily] and now this,
-you know, it's not bad.
-[rick] I know.
Not knocking beach money
at all,
but then you can really make
your hours count
on a 10-inch
as oppose to something
like this,
so small scale.
I mean,
you're keeping everything,
but how much
are you really able to move
to get to that ounce per day,
you know?
If you're on half an ounce
an hour grounds
with three divers,
that's gonna stack up
pretty quick.
Right, yeah, I got you.
And you're half ounce an hour?
Yes, sir. Nice, easy,
material to work
waiting for you.
[suspenseful music playing]
[nome barking]
[rick]
what do you think, nome?
What do you think, girl?
[emily] butt scratches
and quibble,
that's all we got here.
Oh, yeah.
[rick] beach is good but...
-[emily] diving's fun too.
-Yeah.
[upbeat music playing]
[rick] yeah, I'm down.
-Cheers.
-Cheers.
Nome... [whistles]
come on.
Let's go for a ride.
Thank goodness
because I saved him
from making a life
flake by flake
among the hobos on the beach
and now he's got the much
more glamorous dive position
on the eroica.
I'm really glad
that rick came on.
I have a really
strong team now,
veteran divers,
and hopefully,
uh, rick is right back
on the saddle
and starts producing gold.
It's a good feeling
when you know
you have a solid crew.
[mellow music playing]
[steve] I got the hat,
the coat.
I got my hat and coat.
Go for broke here.
Uh, actually I've gone
for broke.
I am broke.
[engine starts]
[steve] I got to get work.
[narrator]
steve riedel is done
being nome's most notorious
free spirit.
[car horn honking]
[steve] oh.
Oh, I almost died.
[man speaking]
[narrator] he's now looking
for pave work...
[steve] first stop, vernon.
See if he's got some work
for me.
[narrator] ...To start
building a vast golden empire
or at least pay
for a place to live.
I need the scratch
and no job is too big
and no fee, for me,
is too big.
My resume is weak in mining,
but strong
in other activities.
I'm a rank
amateur philosopher,
scientist,
uh, mountaineer,
uh, downhill ski racer,
cross country ski racer,
and I'm a really
good swimmer,
I can even go underwater
for, like,
-almost a lap...
-[buzzer buzzes]
almost a lap underwater.
Um...
It's cool.
There are claims out there
and I wanna get
an operation together
and buy one.
But rome wasn't built
in a day.
Everyone's gotta start
somewhere,
so I need a gig.
I cannot afford to be picky.
I'm open to whatever
comes my way.
I think I'm gonna hit up vern
because we've worked
together before.
[vernon] you're not in-charge
of this boat.
You don't have the expertise.
-Get off the boat.
-Sir, I'm off...
-You're off the boat.
-Okay.
He hired me in the past.
He just might hire me again
plus he did hook me up
with this sweet ride.
[suspenseful music playing]
[steve] hey buddy, what's up?
What are you doing
around these parts?
[steve] I'm looking
for some dive work maybe
or some...
Yeah, that's your...
That thing looks familiar.
[steve] yeah, that's yours,
uh, vern.
I, kind of, added to it.
What's that thing
on the front?
[steve] okay. That's, uh,
the end of a pontoon.
It looks like a rhino horn,
so that's my rhino ride.
Look at what gold I owe you
on the wheeler.
It's your lucky day vern
because you could put me
to work
and I could have that gold
for you really fast.
Maybe you need
a little bit of, uh,
heavy lifting from, uh,
this guy's brain.
I could, uh,
make your life easier.
[vernon] I think it'd be
better probably based on
past experience
if you find another business
to work.
You know, you probably ought
to keep looking for a while.
Why don't you get hooked up
with somebody else
-and pay me for that rig?
-I'll pay you back
as soon as I can.
-Nice to see you.
-[vernon] yeah, right. Okay.
You know steve... Damn.
I gotta say
I probably fired steve
at least four or five times.
So, um, I'd have to be
pretty hard up to hire steve.
And luckily
I'm not that desperate,
at least not yet.
[steve] I have a feeling
vern's gonna call me.
I got way more genius
in my little pinky
than he has
in his whole big body.
Vernon needs me.
[suspenseful music playing]
[kris] I'm just trying
to dial the sand,
make it work.
We have one shot
to make it to elim.
So it's our last chance.
[narrator] despite setbacks,
captain kris
is more determined than ever
to see his dream
become a reality.
[kris] yesterday,
we were on the bering sea.
We were testing
everything out.
I know it looks like
everything went to *bleep*
and it, kind of, did.
-[andy] shut your mouth.
-You shut the *bleep* up.
All you do is sit
in your *bleep* for nothing.
-[screams]
-[andy] *bleep*
[andy] ah!
[dramatic music playing]
[kris] today, we're gonna do
a few little fixes
make sure
the high pressure line
is fastened securely.
Um, we're gonna re-blow up
the pontoons,
get a new radiator cap,
and figure out a stand
for the...
For filling the foot valve,
just little itty-bitty things
and then we're done.
[alarm buzzing]
[kris] I can't even undo
this one.
The wood is sitting
right on it.
[kris] because it's gotta spin
the pontoon.
[narrator] nothing about
kris' years long odyssey
to make the 120-mile journey
to elim
has been cheap or easy.
[upbeat music playing]
[kris]
I'm trying to get to elim
but anything
that can go wrong
has gone wrong
at this point.
Our bad weather test
of the sickle was a disaster.
And we have to pay 1500 a day
to the captain
so we can lease his boat.
So the longer
these repairs take,
the more money we're just
throwing out the window.
We got to get going now.
Come hell or high water,
hopefully not too high though.
The pontoons were leaking
a little bit of air.
As they got lower,
they spun in the water.
We're gonna reposition them.
[kris] and why would you
take 'em off?
-The straps?
-I removed 'em to spin 'em.
[kris] I know we can do this.
I know there's a ton of gold
waiting for us at elim.
We just need
a little teamwork.
Let me...
Let me see your knife.
-[andy] what are you cutting?
-[kris] this rubber piece
-right here.
-[andy speaking]
[kris] andy,
I'm tired of your attitude.
Okay. Well, this is
the cluster *bleep*
-beyond belief.
-[brad] shut up, kris.
Well, asking for teamwork
for my dad and brother
-may be a little too much.
-[machine revving]
[brad] I know you're a *bleep*
whiny little baby.
You need your diaper
*bleep* changed.
[kris] the problem is
everybody thinks
they have a boat.
Democracy, I swear to god,
does not work sometimes.
[suspenseful music playing]
[brad] here's our captain.
Look at our captain.
What a loser he's become.
[kris] really?
We don't have enough time
to do all the little things
to make everything amazing
but as long as we get
most of them,
that's all that matters.
User-friendly
is what we're trying
to work for it today,
user-friendly.
[upbeat music playing]
[andy] I'm not gonna get it.
You know what, let kris
deal with that *bleep*.
[kris] andy, I'm tired
of your attitude man.
We just have to put
all the bitching aside
and get this done today.
We can't afford
any more delays
or there's not gonna be
enough gold in elim
to stop us
from going broke.
You really have to count
on everything going
to *bleep* on you.
You know,
if you count on everything
going to *bleep*
you're not gonna be mad
when everything goes
to *bleep*
but if you think
you're gonna get it here,
everything's perfect,
you're a *bleep* idiot.
Biggest key to mining
is you never give up.
[dramatic music playing]
[zeke laughing]
so stoked. [laughing]
I finished setting up
yesterday,
I was just like,
"oh, the nose is on,
it's ready to go."
and I need to some gold,
super bad.
We need to find a place
to just go grind,
-you just go grind at 'em.
-[sam] yeah, man.
[zeke]
I wanna go to grind town.
[laughter]
[zeke]
I think we got everything.
[narrator] in exchange
for mapping claim 56,
vernon has given zeke and
the crew of the black swan
permission to mine.
You can't forget
the important stuff.
[narrator]
so it should be all
smooth sailing from here,
right?
[zeke] oh, yeah,
hit on the boat.
The truth is I know
very little about sailing.
My dad knows
a lot more about it
and he's not here
to help me today.
I'm super aware that sailing
has a steep learning curve
and sailboats have been known
to sink, kerplunk,
not to mention
that this sailboat
is all loaded up
with mining gear.
So I am...
Like, I'm not super confident
as sailboat captain
but, like, sometimes
you just have to learn
by doing them.
[laughing]
[zeke] we're gonna try
pushing the bow out,
-is that the plan?
-[raven] yeah, uh, yeah,
I'll get up on the bow.
-[laughing]
-[zeke] here we go.
All right. Perfect.
Woo!
[zeke speaking]
[laughing]
zeke's pull out game
is strong.
-[zeke] it is dude.
-[laughter]
I'm on top of it.
[laughter]
pull up king.
[laughing]
[dramatic music playing]
[zeke] all right.
I don't really know how to,
communicate
sail commands,
but I guess, like, what...
[raven]
we're gonna raise the jib.
Let's just raise the jib
and then we'll sail.
Sail that way.
[laughing]
yeah.
Vern's claim
is right over there,
we'll just sail over to it.
Oh, yeah.
[zeke] looks good to me.
Here we go,
we're sailing boys.
Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo.
[raven] I guess we could raise
the main, huh?
[zeke]
I think we're good for now.
-[raven] yeah?
-Yeah, I mean,
we're just gonna go
that way for ways.
I mean, if we... If we raise
the main sail, we're...
We'll go too fast.
Oh, I don't know *bleep*.
We can just put up
the main sail.
[upbeat music playing]
[laughing]
here we go.
Yeah, woo!
-*bleep* sweet.
-Yeah.
Yeah.
We're gonna sail all that.
Dude, it's cutting right
through the water.
[laughs]
[zeke] I think this
is probably, like,
it's pretty close
to top speed.
[dramatic music playing]
-[zeke] whoa.
-[sail flapping]
[raven] uh-oh.
[beep] will you grab that?
[wind whooshing]
[raven] oh, wow *bleep*.
Whew, damn.
[raven] whoa, watch out.
[zeke] why do we get
knocked over so much?
I don't wanna tip over,
this makes me super nervous.
There's just so much
*bleep* going on.
Sailing is fun
but it's definitely
a wakeup call for me
about how much
forward momentum
you can develop so quickly.
The sluice box
is so far in the water
that it's at risk of ripping
the sluice box off
or the drag might
potentially capsize us.
The wind is trying
push us way over.
It's getting way worse.
[sam speaking]
-[zeke] what happened?
-[sam speaking]
-[zeke] is it?
-[sam speaking]
[zeke]
we're still a little green
when it comes to sailing here
and it's picking up,
so we're gonna drop down
the main sail.
We're just gonna use the jib.
So I think right now, like,
we just need
a little more experience
before we're confident enough.
We don't wanna wipe out
right in front of town here.
Guys, I don't know,
it gets a little sketchy,
you know.
The reason all
hell broke loose
was because I didn't
tighten up
the main sail well enough.
I mean who knew?
But we're fine now
and we can do
what we set out to do
and now have the claim.
Oh, yes,
that's much more manageable.
[laughs]
we just rolled up
on the eastern edge
of vernon's lease here.
And what I wanna do
is drive figure eights
around it
while I'm recording
a sonar map.
And we can make a map
of the bottom,
the whole area,
so we'll know
where all the different
pockets of rock,
and sand, and reefs are,
and everything,
be able to, like,
make a really educated guess
about where to start
our diving,
where gold's
probably gonna be.
[narrator]
zeke's sonar system emits
a powerful wave of sound
towards the sea floor.
Then it measures
how long the echo takes
to travel back to the boat.
Using this data,
he can make a detailed map
of any part of the claim
the boat sails over.
[zeke] this is vern's claim.
So, basically
in between these bubbles.
Great structure map, yeah,
great structure map.
-[sam] no.
-[zeke] and then it saves
to the memory card on top,
file format.
I'm bill gates-ing
this right now.
Vernon is gonna be
super stoked
that we're out here
making a sonar map
for him of his lease.
I'm gonna name the file
vernon 1.
Enter.
Record.
Okay. See recording.
Now, oh, I'm pointing
the wrong direction,
so I wasn't paying attention
to where I was driving.
[laughs]
hello and welcome
to another episode
of kris kelly's
secret guide to mining.
Secret guide to successful
mining they say,
but I'm gonna tell you what,
I'm not that successful.
[dramatic music playing]
there's some half brain,
big pocket ideas
that people just throw
their money into
and they don't get
anything out.
So hang out with me
as we go around town nome
and see the different
gold contraptions
where people pissed
their money away.
So right now,
we have behind me
an underwater crawler
set up.
So the boat's
a piece of *bleep*.
But what he has
is a piece of gold.
So right now,
I know you think
and you're looking at
something out of dr. Seuss
but you're not.
This thing is an enormous
vacuum cleaner
that's gonna go on
the bottom of the ground,
knock out rocks,
big boulders out of the way,
and just suck everything
below it.
This right here is *bleep*
the money maker.
It's only gonna cost him two,
or three, or four,
or five million more dollars
to figure out
how to make this work.
But after that,
he's gonna be rich.
Come on, let's get out of here
before we're caught.
Behind me is sitting
shawn's mega dredge.
I mean, you look at it,
what the *bleep*
was shawn thinking?
That thing is a damn
floating city.
[producer speaking]
no *bleep* knows.
Thank god,
shawn gets a lot of gold
because he's gonna need
every penny of gold he gets in
to put into this
piece of crap.
This one right here
is called the submarine.
And probably
the blue ribbon winner
of worst design,
biggest waste of money
in nome.
They put $1 million into this
and went out there one day
almost drowned the guy
running it
and it hasn't
been out there since.
As you can tell,
it's surrounded by a fence,
that's to make sure
nobody steals
any of their
really good ideas.
So on this part of the tour
we have an excavator barge
behind me.
It's a barge
with an excavator on it.
Just in case you can't figure
that *bleep* out.
My *bleep* boat,
the little itty-bitty reaper
that cost about...
...I don't know
a hundred times
less than this piece
of *bleep*
gets a hundred times
more gold than it.
So, that's the wrong arm.
That's the wrong bucket.
That's the wrong sluice box.
That's the wrong shaker.
Well, actually, that's new.
Where did they get that from?
An excavator barge
is probably the best
and easiest
and most efficient way
to get gold out of the ocean.
And I am jealous,
I wish I had one.
Not this one,
but I mean a real one.
This has been another edition
of kris kelly's
secret guide
to successful mining.
Okay. Pack the *bleep* up.
[claps]
[dramatic music playing]
[rock music playing]
[shawn] we are getting close.
[narrator]
mr. Gold is pushing hard
to get the myrtle
irene rebuilt
and into the water fast.
[shawn] well, it's crucial
that everything
keeps moving forward
and keeps going
in the right direction.
We have one hiccup
and we'll miss our cut-off
and our deadline
to get this thing up
and running.
I have way too much
of my own money
invested into this
to do that.
I took a big gamble
that I could rebuild this
in a matter of weeks.
The longer it takes,
the less time
I have to make my money back
on the water this year.
But so far
my crew is k*lling it.
We've already completed
most of the big redesign.
We've lowered the wash plant
to give the operator
a better view
and more control.
And we haven't just installed
one sluice box,
we've installed two,
making sure
we have enough space
to process all the material
from the myrtle's massive
five yard bucket.
[dramatic music playing]
[shawn] it's gonna be a gold
gobbling monster.
[machine whirring]
[dave] holy cow.
[alarm beeping]
[dave] *bleep* shawn.
-[shawn] what do you think?
-[dave] holy cow. Huh?
[shawn] a little different,
isn't it?
-Woo. Looks *bleep* good.
-[shawn] yeah.
[dave] good job.
I can't believe it.
[shawn]
we brought everything down.
You can see
from the excavator,
you can see right
into the wash plant now.
[dave] holy cow.
So we come up
out of here, huh.
-Yup.
-[dave] pump it up.
-This is sluice, right?
-Primary sluice box.
[dave] so what are
you catching here?
[shawn] we'll catch
a half-inch minus.
[dave] what's that
right there, sluice?
-[shawn] sluice.
-[dave] that's sluice.
So you think this will
catch everything
we've been blowing
out of the box, eh?
-Yeah.
-I know we've been losing
-like 50%, 60%.
-Yeah, yeah. Yes. Yeah.
-It's gonna work.
-I like it.
Let's go up and look at it.
I can't believe
how high it is.
I've said it before
and I'll say it again,
the name of the game
is efficiency.
Each of these systems
is designed to work together
to separate the gold
from the dirt
with minimal loss.
Just like
on the christine rose.
[dave]
holy cow, this is high.
Whoa.
This is cool.
I can't believe
you got this much done.
[shawn]
it's not that complicated.
[dave] see,
we were doing this and this
and then we would
shut it down
and there is no gold.
-How?
-[shawn] too much water.
And then when I do my test,
all the fines,
they were just gone right out.
That's a game changer
right there
adding a secondary stream.
[dave] yeah, I like this.
[shawn] I can't wait
to get the mining
on this thing.
We're talking millions,
millions for sure.
[dave] I know you've been
dreaming of this
for ever since
I have known you.
Hopefully this works.
-Oh, we're gonna make it.
-I hope.
We're gonna make it work.
There ain't no quitting.
[narrator] two miles east.
[dramatic music playing]
[emily]
rick, are you excited?
-To get *bleep* down there?
-I'm stoked, man.
I, kind of, get goose bumps,
it's been so long.
[emily] right. Let's try
to check the count today.
It's the first day back
on the 10.
A couple things have changed
since he last dove
on the boat.
So, it should be exciting
for him to get in there.
[narrator] the eroica's
newest crew member
rick smith is ready
to make his summer debut.
It's been a few years
since I put this puppy on.
Hopefully it still fits.
[narrator]
but the verdict is still out
on whether the once
all-star diver
still has his shine.
[rick] so, I'm just
gonna get down there
and poke around
and see what I see.
So hopefully,
I do a couple ounces
and that's the plan, man.
I'm bringing rick on
and it's a bit of a gamble.
[engine revving]
[rick] woo.
[emily] he's been out
of the game for a while,
but hopefully, he can get
right back to work.
[suspenseful music playing]
-excited?
-[rick] yeah, sweet.
It's good to have you
back ricotto.
All right. Get it.
[rick] bye, girl.
You got to say bye
to my good luck charm.
Bob and daryl
are strong divers
and in order to keep
the crew happy,
rick needs to perform
at their level.
The new diver has to kind of
win over the existing divers.
Otherwise, there's conflict.
[radio hissing]
[rick] check, check,
one, two, three.
[emily] copy, copy,
sounds good, rick.
-You're diving, here we go.
-[rick] woo.
[engine revving]
[dramatic music playing]
[rick]
coming down on the nozzle.
What do we got here?
Yeah, I got a little spot
right here.
I'm gonna work this little
area right here.
Oh, boy, oh, yeah.
[emily] hey, ricardo,
how's your first dive going?
[rick] oh, this is great, em.
There's gold
all over in here.
All through that.
God, I miss like...
I missed this.
Oh, good. Well, *bleep*
welcome back, rick.
I'm glad you're seeing
some nice gold.
[rick] there's a hole
in the seam right now.
Watch this.
See that?
Oh, damn, my hand.
This rock, I'm going to move
this sumbitch.
That's why
there's gold here.
Nobody moved this.
[groans]
yeah, no.
Not today.
You know, how hard it is
to do this,
if it was easy everybody
would be doing this.
[groans]
yeah, amen to that, dude.
It's not an easy job.
[rick groans]
[rick] this is like
the baby *bleep*.
All this stuff,
the different colors.
When it's virgin ground,
this stuff is typically
just loaded.
And gold will be down
inside there
a little bit.
Like, right there.
See how it goes from the...
This stuff to the heart.
[groans]
*bleep*
[emily] rick hasn't dove
for gold in a while,
but I think he's right back
in the saddle.
It's not gonna take
more than a few drives
for me to know whether
it was a good decision
to bring him on.
[dramatic music playing]
[rick] oh *bleep*.
My mask,
I need to get up there.
I'm coming up.
[rick groans]
[suspenseful music playing]
[dramatic music playing]
[rick speaking]
I'm coming up.
[rick groans]
[suspenseful music playing]
[emily] you okay?
[suspenseful music playing]
*bleep*
[grunting, retching]
*bleep*
yeah.
So the seal broke,
and as the water
just kept coming in,
I kept clearing it...
[emily] yeah.
Pushed it out,
and right when
I got to the top,
it was like,
fluid right there, and I...
-Whoo.
-Yeah, the...
I just heard running water
over the comms.
[rick] yeah. Well...
-No bueno.
-[rick] anyway...
-That's not fun.
-Rick was diving,
and he got into a bit
of a situation
where his mask flooded,
and he had to do
an emergency ascent.
-[rick] it's right here.
-All right.
Uh, you're not gonna seal it
to your hood again, are you?
-No. No. No. No.
-Okay.
[rick] it scared
the *bleep* outta me.
[emily] you know,
you don't want somebody to be
demoralized
by a scary experience.
Like, it's a scary job
in a lot of ways,
but these things
are gonna happen,
and you kind of have to
get right back to work.
That scared
the *bleep* out of me.
-Yeah.
-[rick]
let's do it again though.
Never fun when a diver
is ripping their mask off.
[rick] yeah.
You want to help me get that.
[emily]
but, you know, he's a pro.
He, uh,
had a scary experience,
and he just kind of
got right back in the water.
[rick] *bleep* I hope this
doesn't go to my head now.
Oh, oh, you mean
like trip you out?
[rick] like, anxiety,
and get weirded down there.
Yeah. Well,
you know, listen.
Just, uh, just pop your head
in up here,
hold onto the ladder...
-[rick] yeah.
-...Take a couple breaths.
Chill.
[machine rumbling]
[tense music playing]
[rick breathing]
[emily] all right.
Buddy, you good?
[rick] yup. So far.
[emily] roger.
He said he might be having
a little bit of
a head trip after that
dive situation.
Nobody understands
head trips
about diving more than me.
Diving for gold
in the water is scary.
Holy crap.
Oh, baby.
[rick] you know, I got
a little spot really good.
-Hey, em.
-[emily] what's up?
[rick]
I got some gold.
It's coming down full rear
in this rubble right here.
[emily] that's awesome to hear
dude, after all that.
[rick] yeah.
Perseverance.
I admire rick, you know,
he fixes the problem,
and he went right back
to work.
That's always a good sign
of a diver.
Rick doesn't have time
to kind of dwell in it.
I don't have time, and,
uh, he got back in there,
so I'm really happy
with the team that I have.
I think we're gonna do well.
I think we're gonna make
a lot of gold.
[rick] oh, we're getting it.
As long as I don't get
stuck in the damn hole
again.
I've already been stuck
in the hole once.
There was a big piece,
now I don't know
if you saw that.
And there's gold
all over here,
all through that.
If he stops talking,
he could mine more gold.
[rick] I'm gonna work this
for a little bit, em.
[emily] all right.
Roger that. Sounds good.
Don't get stuck in that hose,
and keep sucking up
that nice gold.
[rick] okay, em.
[narrator] back in nome.
[kris] literally, you get
this boat in the water,
and then, we're
a hundred percent ready
to go elim.
Okay. It's great to see
this thing go in the water.
I really hope to god
nothing else breaks.
[narrator] after years
of dreaming and scheming,
and a few days, scrambling
to repair his dredge,
kris kelly's grand plan
to make the 120-mile
journey to elim,
has finally
in the homestretch.
[kris] there's my dad
and brother pulling up.
Fashionably late, as usual.
Just when everything
is already taken care of.
So the sickle's
get ready to go.
Captain dave is ready to go.
My dad and brother
are also here.
We'll get this bad boy
in the water,
and then, in the morning,
elim awaits.
We need to have a quick talk
because this, uh...
Right now, we're going on
the biggest adventure
we ever had.
Andy, pay attention.
Lookit, pay attention
for two seconds.
We need to have a talk
because this is
a no *bleep* around.
We're going on
the biggest adventure
we ever had on our lives,
and we're gonna get
rich for it.
I need everybody to be
on the same page,
working hard
and working as a team,
or this is *bleep*
gonna fall apart on me.
We know. We'll work harder.
We'll work harder.
[kris] I need you to be
on the same page, you know.
I will.
I'm on the same page.
We're just reading
different books.
Oh, yeah *bleep*
*bleep*.
My dad and brother, well,
they are who they are.
Despite all that,
this is still gonna be
our most successful
mining operation to date.
Can I do anything?
Just shut the *bleep* up.
[kris] okay. I got that.
[tense music playing]
[kris] you're in the water.
Yay.
[upbeat music playing]
and we made it on the water.
[brad]
the repairs are all done.
The boat's in the water.
We're ready to go
to elim finally.
Took all... Took all week.
[upbeat music playing]
[narrator] with the
norpac floating...
Um, as far as I'm concerned,
we're ready to go.
In my mind, we're ready.
[dramatic music playing]
[narrator] ...There's just
one last detail
to be hammered out.
Cash, right?
Of course. Cash is king.
Now that I see that
we're gonna make it,
I'll pay you today.
You know,
because dave loves cash.
-Who doesn't?
-Dave wants to see the money.
And he's kind of
like a hooker.
He wants to be paid first.
[man laughing]
it's gonna be a long trip.
I hate giving up cash
up front,
but in nome, money talks.
At this point, I have to
pay dave whatever he wants.
He has all the power.
I have nothing,
but I'm gonna make
so much gold in elim,
paying dave now is just
a drop in the bucket.
[knocks on window]
here you go, buddy.
And I really hate
to let money go.
I'm gonna tell you
the truth.
Is that it?
[kris] that's it.
[dave] only 20s.
Uh, just there's 100s
and 50s.
You got to come up
with more.
The boat's... This thing's
not cheap to run.
How much more do you want?
[dave] some gold,
we'd get us down there.
-And back?
-[dave] and back.
[kris] you've got me
over a barrel kind of.
[dave] yeah, I know.
It sucks to be you.
Well, it doesn't suck
to be me.
You know what? Let's...
How about
we go down there,
we'll make a deal on gold
when we get there,
based upon how much we see,
and it'll be like
an evolving deal.
Say, I'm a pessimist,
but we'll see.
[kris] come on, dave.
Be in a good mood.
It's all gonna work out.
You know, a little money
in your hand
and a promise of gold
in the future.
-Don't worry about it.
-[dave] yeah.
You know,
there is gold in elim.
Okay.
So, the drop in the bucket
turned out to be
the whole bucket,
and then some,
but the boat in dredge
are ready
and the money's spent.
It's time to stop
talking about it
and start cashing in.
Everything's good,
it's a done deal?
[kris] it's kind of
a done deal.
-[brad] so what's the deal?
-The deal is,
it's an evolving deal
obviously.
-Evolving deal?
-[kris] don't worry about it.
I will take care
of the money situation.
[zeke] can you not blow that
in my face, please?
[chuckling]
it's time to go home.
[narrator] zeke and the crew
of the black swan
have mapped out claim 56
for skipper vernon adkison.
[zeke]
so I made about 15 passes
through vernon's lease.
I got a big, long
sonar image on each pass,
and I pretty much know
where the rocks are,
where the sand is,
where the gold
is likely to be.
I feel like I've got a pretty
good lay of the land.
I did a lot of sonar mapping
all over lease 56,
and it looks pretty good.
I'm definitely feeling
more comfortable
with the sailing
than I was right at first.
Well, I'm not gonna go
as far to say
that I'm confident,
but I'm at least
reasonably confident.
[upbeat music playing]
[zeke] it's a little squirrely
coming in the harbor.
[sam speaking]
that would be
really embarrassing.
[laughter]
[sam] what happened, zeke?
Whoa. Whoa. *bleep*
[raven] that's weird.
What the *bleep* really?
*bleep* where's the channel?
*bleep*
dude, is the tide coming in?
[machine roaring]
[zeke] we hit the sandbar,
so I'm trying to pull us off
a bit.
[foghorn blowing]
[sam] whoa *bleep*.
What's the channel
you're supposed to,
uh, monitor in the harbor?
I forget.
Is it channel 16?
Because this barge
is just fighting
for space in the channel.
Oh *bleep*.
[laughing]
[foghorn blowing]
there's that really
long stick you could grab.
We need
to get our sailboat
pushed the hell off
this sandbar
before this giant barge
gets on top of us
because it's not stopping,
so here we are with
a sailboat
dredge contraption,
but we're stuck
using paddles
to push ourselves
off the sandbar.
This situation is super
embarrassing for me,
and it proves to me
that I have a ways to go
in being the captain
of a sailboat.
You're almost going on.
[sam speaking]
it's working.
Yeah. I think
you're off of it.
Nice.
Whoo.
[upbeat music playing]
definitely never had
that happen before.
[foghorn blowing]
yeah. You don't want to
get stuck on that bar.
[chuckles]
I guess what happens
when you get stuck
in the sandbar,
and there's waves
that you kept...
Boat tips over,
and fills up with water.
-[raven] yeah.
-[zeke] that felt like
that was what's about
to happen to us.
[chuckles]
so as of today,
we've got access
to a really good claim
that I'm excited about.
The flipside is that
it's apparent to me,
I need to become
a better sailboat captain,
so one step forward,
one step back, I guess.
We're done mapping.
And now, we're just ready
for dive, so...
-Sounds great. I'm stoked.
-[zeke] yeah.
You know,
we got a good place to go.
We got it all mapped out.
We got the boat working.
We got everything leaning
in our favor.
Yeah.
Let's go. [chuckles]
[dramatic music playing]
[narrator] one mile east...
[steve] okay, let's
see if we can get
down to the beach.
There's a dredge in the way.
It's gonna be
a little rough.
Hold on. Here we go.
Whoa.
This little tiny wheeler,
man, they go anywhere.
[narrator] after striking out
with vernon earlier,
steve riedel has his sights
set on another
potential employer.
[steve] oh, hey.
There's emmy.
[narrator] none other than
his daughter, emily,
who's just wrapped up
a successful day
on the high seas.
[emily] hey. I didn't know
you're back in town.
It's nice to see you.
Give me...
Uh, come out there
and give me a hug.
I see you have
some interesting decor.
Yeah. It's the rhino...
It's the rhino rig,
this is my rhino...
-My rhino on.
-Oh, it's a ride...
Oh, that's what's that
supposed to be.
My rhinoceros.
I didn't tell emily
I was coming up here,
so it's gonna be
a bit of surprise.
Last summer sort of
didn't end well for us.
I know a way to get him
more efficient
by dropping the temperature
about 15 degrees.
[rick speaking]
[steve] take that cold
and turn it into gold
production.
Woo-hoo!
Yeah. Yeah.
[emily] I don't really
have the energy
or the patience to argue.
It's best if we don't
do this venture.
Kids never trust their dad.
It's, uh, built in ageism.
Emily taking me on might
be a bit of a hard sell,
but hey, we're family.
So what brings you
back to nome?
What are you up to?
[steve] well,
just like you emmy,
I'm...
I've come here for the gold.
The second gold rush
of the decade.
Are you...
Are you prospecting?
[steve] well, um, you know,
I, um, uh,
well, yeah, but there's,
you know,
I got some money issues,
and I'm looking for work.
Okay.
[tense music playing]
[steve] so, uh, so how about,
um, how about a job,
emmy, on your boat?
Um...
On my boat,
on the eroica?
[steve] yeah.
How about a job there?
Uh, I need some gold.
Um...
I could dive for you
or I could, um...
I, uh, I... I'm good.
I love my dad, but, uh,
the last time
he worked in the boat,
it didn't go super well.
I'm sort of
like stacked up...
-[steve] mmm-hmm.
-...In terms of divers.
-I got bob, daryl...
-[steve] yeah?
...And rick at the moment,
but, um...
Bob, daryl, and rick, huh?
-I could tender because...
-Um...
You know, I've tendered
on your boat before, remember?
You sure have.
Listen, like I love
to help you out,
but, uh, I'm all crewed up.
I mean, if something
dramatic changes,
I'll talk to you about it.
[steve]
this plan didn't work.
It was basically, uh,
crash and burn scenario.
Ouch.
-Okay.
-You call me, okay?
All right, love you, dad.
I'll see you.
Good to see you.
I think she's a little crazy
she didn't hire me.
I can get so much
more gold for her.
I got great ideas.
But I got other prospects,
so I'm going for them.
[lounge music playing]
[narrator] and now,
another episode
of social hour with vernon.
[vernon] hey, naomi.
Double shot of red eye
in a dirty glass.
I like to just stop in
and check on my social media.
Harry knuckles says,
"I love you, vernon!"
[laughs]
well, you know,
I like you too, harry.
Okay, who's next.
Shaquille oatmeal,
"vernon should hand over
the operation to elaine."
[laughs]
"vernon is an amateur
compared to everyone else."
naomi, how about
another one, please?
Meat in the pants.
No, man eats pants.
"vernon's operation
looks like a bunch
of junk floating on the ocean,
like a floating trailer park."
I mean is it only trolls
who are out today?
Baaad karrmma says,
"man, vernon
never finds gold."
well, we'll look at the
leaderboard from past years.
Just because I don't go
yippee ki-yay
every time I see
a couple of ounces,
doesn't mean I'm not getting
the gold, knucklehead.
It just means I'm not a...
Like a damn teeny bopper,
that's gonna get all wet
in the underwear
every time he sees
a speck of gold.
So *bleep* off.
[narrator] this has been
another episode
of social hour with vernon.
Seem like they got it
in for me today.
[naomi speaking]
oh, okay.
Well, naomi's on my side.
To hell with them.
[dramatic music playing]
let's do it, buddy.
[shawn] today's the day.
[dave] damn, I hope it works.
-I'm gonna make it work.
One way or another.
-[dave] it better work.
[narrator] with the heavy work
of rebuilding
the myrtle's gold
recovery system complete...
Flint.
[engine starts]
[narrator] ...The final phase
of shawn's redesign
will happen on the water.
[shawn]
oh, she's coming up now.
All ready to roll this
myrtle in the water.
We'll have so much gold
coming out of her.
It'd be coming out
of her ears.
I hope.
[narrator] but getting
the reconfigured 600-ton,
40 by 135-foot behemoth
off the ground
and into the harbor?
Let's get her. Let's go.
-[shawn] yeah.
-Let's do it.
I'm ready.
[narrator] well,
that's easier said than done.
[shawn] we've rebuilt
the myrtle irene
for maximum gold-getting
efficiency.
Now we need to get this beast
in the water
and make her final tweaks.
But talking
about the biggest dredge
in the bering sea,
so moving it won't be easy.
One screw-up,
and I can kiss
my $350,000
investment goodbye.
Not to mention,
the millions of dollars
I'll miss out on
if I can't get her out
on the water.
[dave] hey, what on the,
uh, new design
shawn did
a pretty damn good job.
I was impressed at, uh,
how much he got done.
Guy's been working
his a*s off.
I'm convinced if anybody
can do it in nome,
it's probably shawn.
We'll see if he lives up
to his name, huh?
[shawn]
hooking up the shackle,
hooking up the chain
to keep the boat
from rolling away from us
once we get the bags on it.
This is one of the most
nerve-racking parts
of the job, is getting it
in the water.
The myrtle irene
is 10 times heavier
than the christine rose.
So it's 10 times
more difficult.
[dramatic music playing]
that should hold her, huh?
[shawn] I've seen plenty of
these operations go to hell.
So my heart's in my mouth
right about now.
And we're about ready
to start rolling here.
[dave]
we're probably getting it up.
Yeah, these bags
are like 6,000 each.
Yeah, we don't wanna be
popping them.
[truck beeping]
pull that ladder up.
[coughs]
get ready to roll now.
All done.
It's time to roll
this thing in.
We're gonna start moving.
Yeah.
Let's get this boat
in the water.
-[dave] let's do it.
-[man] get in the water.
[dave] come on, let's do it.
[shawn] oh yeah.
[tense music playing]
[metal creaking]
[shawn] looking really good.
Slow and steady.
That's how
we're gonna do it.
Slow and steady.
The two loaders
are bringing about
a half million pounds
of pulling power.
We need every bit of it
to keep this monster
under control.
If things got
loose right now,
that'd be disastrous.
There'd be no stopping it.
It could drag the loaders
into the water with it.
And who knows?
[metal creaking]
[shawn] going pretty smooth.
Everything's going
as planned.
Doesn't happen very often,
it's all just easy.
But we're not
in the water yet.
So...
[metal creaking]
[shawn] right now,
we're at the water's edge.
This is the most
critical part.
We're gonna start
going down the raft.
This is a big heavy barge,
and it...
And if we don't have enough
braking strength,
that barge will just take off,
end up on the ground,
it'll be a horrible mess.
[tense music playing]
[air hisses]
[dave] just going in.
[metal creaking]
[shawn] they're floating.
We are floating, dave.
-[dave] woo!
-[shawn] yeah.
[grunts]
we're floating.
It's remarkable how easy
the myrtle irene went in,
considering how big it is.
Never had a smoother launch.
I'm hoping the good luck
continues because
there's no making up
for lost time now.
We need everything to
go right.
[metal creaking]
[shawn] tighten up
one of those loaders
before we float
into the rocks over here.
We're floating.
[dave] it's been a long road,
and I'm getting excited.
We're in the water,
we're floating,
we'll be digging in a week
or so, and we're ready to go.
Hopefully shawn
can pull it off.
I'm betting on it.
[laughter]
floating, buddy, huh?
-Yeah.
-We heard it in the water.
Well, where in the hell
are we parking now?
[radio frequency scrambles]
all right.
Woo-hoo, this is steve's
weird, wild, wonderful world,
nome, alaska, animal version.
[spooky music playing]
[steve] it's the muskox
getting to dance.
The muskox...
Today, we're talking about
one of nome's
goofiest residents...
[spooky music playing]
these guys are the muskox,
there are bunch of them
right behind me.
They are nome's
wandering resident.
You find them
all over the subdivisions.
There's so much fur
on the muskox. When
it comes off in the spring,
it just peels off
in big layers.
And so, a lot of us, uh,
nomites will come out
and look for the qiviut fur,
and, uh, gather the qiviut fur
because it makes the finest
long underwear in the world.
You need a qivuit dock strap
or a downy.
[muskox grunts]
there's a couple things
people don't know
about muskox.
They're easy to do
mind melds with.
[spooky music playing]
[steve] and that's what
I've been doing.
That's how I got them
to herd up down here.
Mind melds are
all about proximity,
especially with muskox because
they're not that bright.
So I gotta get
really close to them.
I gotta sneak up on them.
Ssh.
I'm gonna communicate that
they should leave
because there's humans here,
and the humans are dangerous.
See that? They're leaving.
See? Um, they're leaving,
I'm telling them to leave
with my mind.
One of them looked back at me
like he wasn't gonna leave.
He's leaving now, too.
No. He's staying.
This is not good. Uh-oh.
Once they start looking
back at you,
and they're just sort of
standing there,
you wanna go the other way.
[tense music playing]
very bad.
[grunting]
they look like slow,
dull animals
but they're angry
and they're fast.
So I'm outta here.
That was steve riedel's
weird, wild,
wonderful world of nome,
alaska, animal edition.
Buffalo.
[suspenseful music playing]
[dramatic music playing]
[narrator]
on the outskirts of nome...
[steve] I'm at the end
of my rope.
I have nothing to do.
I can't go out to my camp.
Because it's too far away.
I don't get service,
so I got service in town,
and I'm just waiting
on a phone call,
waiting on a job.
Because I've run out
of ideas.
I talked to everybody,
I talked to vern,
I talked to emily,
talked to a couple of people.
I can't even remember
their names.
[narrator] somehow, amazingly,
thus far,
the talents of one
steve riedel
have remained unclaimed
by the occupational forces
of nome.
Somebody see me, give me
a phone call, give me a job.
So here I am, like,
some school girl
waiting by my phone,
hoping it'll ring.
But instead of
being asked for the prom,
I just hoping
someone will call me up,
wanting me to work.
I'm willing to do anything,
someone give me a job, please.
[phone chimes]
I got the five percent
warning on my phone.
I guess I should stop
cruising the web.
[sighs]
[dramatic music playing]
hmm.
[sighs]
you give me a phone call.
-[phone chimes]
-[steve] whoa.
One percent.
I got one percent on my phone.
[groans]
oh, man.
Went from one percent to zero,
just bang.
So, phone's dead.
That's a wrap.
Tomorrow's another day.
Hit it early.
[engine starts]
[steve] you know,
it's a matter of time
when you have
so much to offer like I do.
I won't be down for long,
and then,
I'm gonna start building
my empire.
Slowly but surely, nome.
You're on notice.
Steve riedel's coming for you.
Taking a long ride home now.
[dramatic music playing]
[narrator] three miles south.
[kris] you did a good job.
[andy] be careful.
*bleep* hold on.
-*bleep* kris.
-Okay.
Well, you had your...
The cord caught...
Yeah. I got cord
in that finger,
I didn't know
you're giving me a remote.
[narrator] after years of just
dreaming about it,
captain kris and his clan
are finally ready to storm
the allegedly
gold-rich shores of elim.
[kris] I'm gonna tell you why
I'm a little bit stressed.
Ninety percent chance
we're going
through ten footers
on the way there.
Another 80% chance
we're not gonna have
the stability
when we get there.
There's a 50% chance
a walrus could grab us
underneath the water
and run with us.
Okay. Here.
I'm not going anywhere
without my barbeque.
Oh, that'd be perfect.
No, hey, kris is
gilligan, dude.
I'm the professor,
andy's ginger.
[andy] yeah. But this ginger
will *bleep* you both.
That's the difference.
[brad] I don't doubt it
at all.
This is still gonna be
probably
the greatest adventure
I've ever gonna go on.
Ready?
[andy] let's go. Cast off.
[man] when we come back,
we're gonna have a jar
full of gold.
Three jars full of gold.
[man] three jars full of gold.
[dramatic music playing]
[kris] I can't believe
this is finally happening.
This plan has been years
in the making.
Right now, this is a big step
for the kellys.
It's like neil armstrong
or columbus.
This is gonna be an epic,
once in a lifetime
opportunity.
And if this doesn't work out,
I'm *bleep*
[techno music playing]
welcome to an episode of
pimp my...
[techno music playing]
look at this.
We're right now, we're going
to elim, cruising.
This can only happen
with lots of money
that I know I don't have.
Right now,
we're traveling in luxury.
Forty feet of awesomeness.
[techno music playing]
we got our sickle onboard.
It's a badass
getting gold machine.
That crane right there
is where all of my
operations combined.
[techno music playing]
[kris] up at the front,
we have the launch gate,
that's super badass.
Throw that door down,
push our equipment out,
throw it back up,
so we're safe again.
Step this way,
we're gonna take a look at
the rest of my equipment.
[techno music playing]
right here, we got everything
stored properly, sinks down.
Because if you get there
and everything's broken,
you'd feel like
a real a*s *bleep*
like one time,
we lost half our food,
holy *bleep* were we pissed.
Yeah, another one of your
great ideas.
[kris] and bam, here we are
with my lead diver,
andy kelly, on a break like
he normally is.
We don't have andy
for his good looks.
We don't have andy
for his charming personality.
But we do have andy for his
gold finding abilities,
and being able to
move a football field
of material
underneath the water.
That's the kind of *bleep*
we have andy for.
Other than that,
he's almost useless.
Let's keep moving on.
Underneath this tarp
is my secret weapon,
it's the barbeque.
Because you can't dive,
you can't find gold,
and you can't do
anything else,
but you can cook.
Let's keep going on
and meet our captain.
[upbeat music playing]
[kris] and here we are
on the bridge,
where all the magic happens.
Without a doubt,
we wouldn't be going
on this adventure
if dave wasn't in our corner.
What do you think of
our little operation?
What I think of it?
Uh, you don't wanna know.
Bam. My dad right now
is hard at work.
He just looks like
he's sleeping, but he's not.
He's working through
every aspect of the plan,
making sure
everything's dialed in.
[upbeat music playing]
and now we come to
our luxurious latrine.
Boom, baby.
Right there, you could feel
the six... Jeez.
You could feel six dudes
staying in one boat.
-[man farts]
-[man grunts]
so right there,
you pretty much
see my operation.
So I'm telling you,
a couple days from right now,
we're gonna have jars
full of gold.
Oh, my god, I hope
I remembered my toothbrush.
[kris] bam, entertainment.
You got that piece of
entertainment right there.
And let's be honest.
[ring buzzes]
we go big.
[upbeat music playing]
[kris] boom, baby.
That's what I'm talking about
because you can't have
an adventure
on the high seas
without a movie at night
to watch.
[upbeat music playing]
[kris] let's go
and look at our kitchen.
Bam!
[cash register rings]
all of it,
cutting edge technology
right here baby.
So, problem with the stove is,
we didn't bring propane
to run it.
Bam, the coffee maker,
it's seen better days.
So we've got
our coffee maker right here.
There's no way in hell
you can find gold
without coffee.
[police sirens wailing]
whoa, it does work.
I bought twice as much gas
that I need,
I brought twice as much food
that I need,
and we brought
all the people that we need
to make this dream
become a reality.
[tense music playing]
[zeke]
I was trying to envision
something that I forgotten
that I need.
Oh, yeah, my 12-volt
battery charger.
I can only think about
one thing at a time.
[chuckles]
I need to get my car battery
out of my car
to fuel to turn it on.
[narrator]
the mad scientist of nome
has completed his exam
on claim 56.
-[vernon] yo, zeke!
-[zeke] how's it going?
-All right.
-Permission to come aboard?
[vernon] yeah, come on aboard.
[narrator] now it's time
to present the findings
to captain vernon.
[vernon] you're definitely
a nomite,
you bring your battery
with you
wherever you go, huh?
I brought my battery because,
I, uh, brought my gps over,
I wanted to show you
what I've found.
-Well, hell yeah.
-[zeke] all right.
Well, come on down here.
[upbeat music playing]
[zeke] it's time consuming
to make these images
because to do one pass
from south to north
on your lease
takes almost an hour.
Each one of these is a pass.
[vernon] damn,
blue has got for a while, huh?
[zeke] I've been
driving around
all day on there.
You can see like this
kind of dark here.
Like that's just gonna be
boring sand.
But with how this
color scheme is,
the rock is a little lighter.
So then, there's a little path
to cobble right there.
[vernon] oh, yeah, yeah.
[zeke] so with our technology
like this,
it's great, it's helpful
to give you clues
for prospecting.
But it's not like there's
a flashing light that says
there's a bunch of gold
right here.
But with this map,
you can see
where the cobble ends
and the sand begins.
And that increases
your efficiency
as a prospector to
probably like, a thousand fold
as far as I'm concerned.
From my experience,
the gold's gonna be
right on the edge
of doing this cobble fields.
So that's at...
Gonna be at 30 feet,
and that's probably like
maybe about as big
as this room,
that little patch to cobble.
So, yeah, that's great, man.
Uh, put some time
in doing that.
But I notice a lot of
other squigglies there,
but you only were recording
on these lines, right?
Yeah, well, I did a...
I *bleep* up a bunch of times.
-Oh, I see.
-[zeke] yeah [laughing]
you don't need to say no more.
[zeke] yeah.
Zeke like all the rest of us
who's up here,
he's got a few quirks.
But he knows his business.
And he just come up
with some good information.
I knew this claim was loaded.
Now with the data from zeke,
it's gonna save me
a lot of time.
That translates
the gold in the box.
So, um,
I think this is gonna be
a profitable relationship.
You know, that's extremely
good information.
And it verifies
what I already knew
about the claim,
but this will make it
crystal clear.
As far as I'm concerned,
we'll nail it.
[zeke] for sure. Well, cool,
thanks a lot, vernon.
-Oh, yeah, hey, my pleasure.
-[zeke] um...
-[vernon] thank you.
-...Talk to you soon.
[vernon] my pleasure.
We're gonna get lots of gold.
[zeke] yeah.
We're gonna find it.
I've got access
to a great claim,
I've got sonar map to tell me
where the gold probably is,
I've got a brand new
gold dredging boat.
To this point,
we're in the perfect position
to get out there,
and start reaping rewards
for all these hard work
that we've done.
I think there's gonna be
gold there.
And I think we're
ready to go,
dude's ecstatic. [laughs]
[upbeat music playing]
[narrator] across town.
[upbeat music playing]
[rick] oh, look at here.
It's a start.
We got this
in pretty hot stuff,
so we'll see.
[narrator] no longer
just a two all-star team,
emily prepares
the first cleanout
from her
triple threat squad.
[emily] yeah. It's really
big gold in this point at,
-holy schnikes.
-Yeah.
Well the nice ones out
were hiding in there.
Yeah, big.
I'm still feeling pretty good
about the team
I have going here.
Everyone's
producing consistently,
we're on good grounds,
and that's...
That's good for me.
We're doing our
first cleanup,
and we're about to find out
what three divers can do,
and I'm hoping
for a nice number.
Four, five, six, seven,
nine, ten, eleven,
twelve, thirteen...
Sixteen,
seventeen, eighteen.
Gold's 2,000
and an ounce, guys.
[bob] mmm-hmm.
[emily] that's past 30.
-[bob] thirty, yup, past.
-[emily] yeah.
Thirty-six.
All right,
but it says point one.
[man] over half an ounce.
-Should we
throw these in there?
-[bob] yeah.
[emily] that little
picker situation.
Pickers are trying to hide.
-[bob] mmm-hmm.
-[emily] as they do.
[bob] 36.56.
[narrator] thirty six
and a half ounces
is worth $73,000.
Shake the ground there,
and we'll get the gold
-a little higher, huh?
-Yeah, hug, hug.
[narrator] and emily's
three-headed monster
is off and running.
[bob] if we get back
on that area again
and keep working out there,
just doing what we're doing,
the same practice.
So let's get back to work.
[dramatic music playing]
[narrator] two miles south.
Cody's been working
the ancient river bed.
Man, that seems like
it's paying.
He says there's a lot of gold
in the box.
We'll see.
[narrator]
with a few final days
of work remaining
on the myrtle irene
before it gets mining,
shawn needs the gold to
keep flowing
for his ambitious plans
to stay afloat.
[shawn] oh, that looks
pretty damn good, cody.
[cody] yeah. Not bad.
We'll see though.
We never really know
until you *bleep*
comes down the scale, eh?
That's true, yeah,
let's do it.
I'd like to see triple digits.
Anything in triple digits
would be perfect.
Time to head
to the cleanup shack,
see how much gold we got.
[upbeat music playing]
[machine whirring]
I've been working my a*s off
to rebuild the myrtle.
I'm trying to make it
every bit as efficient
as the christine rose.
Until it's up and running,
I'm counting on cody
and the good old,
reliable christine rose
to keep the gold coming in.
[upbeat music playing]
[cody] look at that.
[shawn] what do you got there?
[cody] you know, the burnout,
it looks pretty close, man.
[shawn] nice and clean.
[cody] let's put them in
and see what we got.
Ten,
twenty,
thirty,
forty ounces, fifty,
eighty,
ninety,
going over a hundred.
[shawn] kicking a*s.
[cody] ten, twenty.
[shawn] it's still paying.
[cody] 136.6 ounces.
-[shawn] yeah.
-[cody] heck yeah.
[narrator]
one hundred thirty-six
ounces is worth a staggering
$272,000,
and shawn's dream of complete
and total nome domination
is alive and kicking.
[shawn] huge haul
for the christine rose.
We got the myrtle irene
in the water,
she'll be going off
in a few days.
On a pay streak like this,
I can't even imagine
what she's gonna pull in.
Sky is the limit.
Taught you well.
That's a good cleanup,
it feels good.
[shawn] couple more cleanups
like that,
and we'll be set.
[narrator] next time
on bering sea gold.
[vernon] are you ready
for the big throwdown?
The top guy gets a trip
to vegas.
The more gold they get
the more gold I get.
[steve p] that's money
that you should be using
as buying me out with.
[shawn] you know,
I get a family discount.
Price goes up
with this family is involved.
[zeke] today is going to be
first ever
gold mining sailboat
dredging day.
[man] finally!
[emily] I think we could do
some prospecting.
[steve] what does beach
prospecting, uh, pay?
[kris] elim, baby, this is it,
it's time to
make this happen.
I'm not leaving without gold.
[andy groaning]
I'm just getting
yanked around,
and I don't understand why.
Oh, wow.
[man] whoa, baby!
[vernon] yes,
bring it home to daddy.
Gold daddy.
[dramatic music playing]
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13x03 - Papa's Got a Brand New Dredge
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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.