Bering Sea Gold

Ice season didn't go, particularly, well.

You know, like, we're, definitely, uh, in the red.

And I was, kind of, like, hoping to use that as an opportunity

to get ahead here, because I just had a baby.

Her name is Evie and she's amazing.

Now it's a matter of needing to make money this summer for us to support the family.

And we're basically, trying to do everything we can to ensure our success,

because we, we need it this year.

After a winter spent on the sidelines,

a veteran captain is returning to the ocean battlefield,

looking to rebuild her empire.

You know what, we're, we're blood dry right now.

I mean, my bank account is, is pretty low.

No member of the fleet's journey has been more unlikely,

than that of Emily Riedel...

I worry about you all the time.

The fact that you're a greenhorn, is my main concern.

...who a decade ago,

took a detour from her dream to study opera.

By working as a tender aboard the Bering Sea mining creche.

That's freakin' awesome.

Eventually, Emily captained her own operation...

I wanna make some money.

...and became one of Nome's most reliable gold producers.

Fifty six.

Make it 60.

Fifty eight.

Sweet.

But this winter...

You ready to take on the world?

Nothing's standing in our way.

Got it.

...while taking time off to give birth to her daughter,

the operation stumbled badly without her.

Point 66.

Well, at least it's something.

You know, we need to make in the realm of 300 ounces this year...

to really have a shot at recovering from ice

and making an income for the family.

This winter was, pretty much, a disaster.

We spent a lot of money, lost most of our savings

and it's hitting us really hard.

Pretty much, severed ties with the crew, except for Jane.

So it's a new beginning. I need to build a new team, basically, from scratch.

And we have to recover what we lost this last winter and then some.

So there's a lot to make up for.

Jane's back this year.

I convinced her to come back even after what happened over ice.

Um, so she's not to scarred, which is good.

It's her third season dredging now, so,

she's really getting the hang of it.

I think having her up here is gonna be hugely beneficial.

But now, it's just Jane, my husband, Alex and myself.

So, we're starting over, wiping the slate clear.

We're a small team and that's intimidating.

But, moving forward, I'm building a different sort of team,

you know, we're gonna be more like family.

There's gonna be a lot of trust.

Trust is the most important ingredient.

And, uh, hopefully, this is all gonna lead to an awesome season,

because family really needs it.

Oh, we're both wearing shorts today. That's amazing.

Whoo!

You made it.

Hey, nice shorts.

There you are. Hi, baby.

Hi.

Welcome back to paradise.

You're back from our punishment from the Bering Sea.

I mean, I'm back, of course, 'cause I love Nome,

and I like gold dredging.

- Right. - But it's gonna be way more fun with you.

- I mean, I think so. - Like, a thousand times more fun.

Ooh, we'll do our best.

- Mmm. - I'm really sorry about ice.

I definitely, like, feel responsible

for hooking you up with Eddie and Jeff,

and the fact that things went so badly.

I'm really sorry about that.

Oh, you know, it took some time.

- You took a lot of verbal abuse. - It wasn't all that bad.

Winter, of course, is way more brutal than summer. Everything freezes up.

And there just really wasn't as much gold.

And then there was also, like, a lot of fighting.

None of you guys are taking this serious, okay.

You're not...

That's the agreement.

All right. Then you.

But, hey, I got a lot of experience,

and I definitely know what not to do.

We spent a lot on ice and, uh, didn't recover any of it.

So we're, we're, kind of starting out at a little point.

Now it's about building the Eroica team stronger and better than ever,

because Emily has a little baby

and that really does change everything.

Kids are expensive.

They're super expensive. They're not just cute, they're really expensive.

So...

you're in for it, Emily.

Well, the good news is, is we broke down so much.

- I really understand engines... - Oh, yeah?

- Yeah, like, every tool. - You feel like pro now?

I''ve turned into a man.

The stakes are really high this season.

I have a new family. We lost a lot during that ice mining season.

That was a total disaster.

Right now, I just have to build the, kind of, team

that can get us there.

I'm excited to get on the water.

Hell yeah.

Welcome back.

Emily is not the only member of the fleet facing a new beginning.

Start of this season has been pretty rough this year.

Shawn Pomrenke is looking to get his excavator barge

the Myrtle Irene fixed up.

And, finally, get his mining season started.

If I'm gonna hit 3,000 ounces

we can't keep going like this, 'cause I will never make it.

I'm shooting for 3,000 ounces this summer.

Pay off all my expenses and bag a big profit.

That'd be the biggest haul of my career.

But this season started off about as bad as it can be.

Crack spud.

So this whole thing, all the way around, is cracked.

The first day we got the Myrtle in the water,

we found out one of the spuds was cracked.

It's the giant pillars that hold the Myrtle in place

on the bottom of the ocean floor.

And if we can't hold ourselves in place, we can't dig.

This spud's gotta come out.

We gotta pull it out, cut an inspection hole,

check out the internals of the spud.

I've had my guys working around the clock for almost a week

trying to patch it up.

So now we gotta get a crane to pick 65,000 pounds spud up,

lower it into the well so we can get back out and get to mining.

Or my empire is going to be a relic of the past.

I have to get this Myrtle up and running.

I have to get the machines that make the gold up and running,

as Myrtle is a crucial piece to the puzzle to make... my goal.

And if I don't get this thing up and running,

and I don't get it up and running soon,

I'm not gonna meet my goal.

Right. We need to go up with the spud.

Keep going.

Keep going. Keep going. Keep going.

Keep tension on that line.

Pulling a 65 foot spud off the deck,

and placing it in the spud well isn't easy.

And if we're not careful, we could damage the spud, or the barge,

and be right back where we started.

I have a lot of experience putting, uh, big things in holes.

Keep going. Keep going.

We're gonna spin the spud.

Spin it all the way. We gotta get the, dock's on the right side.

Keep going. Keep going.

Oh. Right there. Stop.

Go down.

Keep going... Keep going. Keep going.

- Oh. - Yep.

Good.

Pull on that cable.

Okay.

We're good now.

She looks good.

Myrtle is ready to rock and roll, finally.

All right, you saw belly some bitches, let's go mining.

Whoo!

Scary, scary Myrtle Irene.

Leaving the inner harbor, headed for sea.

Yeah. Let's go mining.

Time to go make some money...

then spending it.

I may be behind, but the good news is

the Myrtle's a beast and can more process material

than any other dredge on the Bering Sea.

And I'm on the top cut, easily the richest claim of 'em all.

So now it's time to go remind everyone why they call me "Mr. Gold."

Yeah.

Well, I'm gonna get on the gold fast today

'cause I'm gonna partner up with the other excavator dredge in my fleet.

The Christine Rose.

How much further out can you go?

Right now, Cody is on a smokin' hot pastry.

The thing of it is,

the Christine Rose can only dig about 16 feet,

the Myrtle Irene can dig almost 25.

So once the CR can't dig any deeper,

then the Myrtle Irene can swoop in

and follow that pastry code into deeper water.

Oh, Christine Rose dig out to this... depth,

they can't dig any deeper.

We take over and we dig out from there.

We don't wanna leave any gold behind.

Hold up right here.

Yeah I got it.

Spud down.

Got the spuds down. Now it's time to take a bucket and see what we got.

We're gonna take a test pan of this ground.

That extra eight or nine feet,