Bering Sea Gold

Coastal weather advisory, storm alert in effect.

a big-ass blow coming.

A severe storm front

is on a collision course for nome.

We got to haul ass before that storm hits.

Let's go!

We've got a huge front moving in,

but we can't afford not to take risks

at this point of the season.

Wind's already picking up, but we're gonna try anyways.

If you want to make any money at all,

you've got to risk your life at least two times a week.

The weather can change like that.

We're definitely pushing it. We're not being cautious.

This stuff's looking amazing.

No storm's killing our season.

We're gonna shut down on our terms.

I have no idea where the boat is.

Some big swells coming in.

It's not good.

Sos. Mayday. Mayday.

Three miles off the nome harbor in catastrophic

dire failure.

This is what happens when you don't respect the bering sea.

captions paid for by discovery communications

With the end of summer mining closing in,

the captains are desperate for a late season surge of gold.

Extreme weather advisory.

But now...

Dangerous conditions expected off the coast

between golovin and nome within the next three hours.

...The first major storm of the season

stands in their way.

Heavy fog and wind gusts, 40 to 50 knots expected.

We got a small window here,

so we're gonna take advantage of it.

And the calm before the storm...

Myrtle irene, leaving inner harbor for outer harbor.

...Is their only chance to fill the box.

We're gonna anchor up, get a shift.

See if we can put some gold in that box.

We just got to make the best of it today.

As clouds gather less than 50 miles offshore...

How's it gone?

...Captain shawn pomrenkes and first mate cody moen

assess the threat.

You can see the black line out there.

It's coming.

We probably only got a couple more hours,

short little windows to come out and dig.

We got it throw it through there as fast as we can.

Once that wind turns, get the out of here.

They're saying like 50-mile-an-hour gusts.

Yeah, real heavy winds coming.

With a towering 2,000-ounce season in his sights...

Oh, here we'll get a good sample here.

Hopefully he's on the gold.

...The captain needs his river of gold

to keep flowing.

With short weather windows, you're limited on your time,

so you have to be very efficient to gold pan.

It's always a good place to start.

We have to make sure every bucket counts.

No, it's definitely there.

Lots of fine gold.

which way were you digging, cody?

Let's go!

getting a little rough,

but this ground looks pretty dang good, too, so...

When you're on good gold,

that's when the gold fever takes over.

It's called greed. We're hitting on all cylinders.

After this storm, it's a possibility

that it'll move sand onto the pay streak and we lose it.

So we are gonna push the christine rose to the limit.

That's when I do my best, is under pressure.

Every single scoop's one scoop closer to the final goal.

And this stuff's looking amazing.

But shawn's not the only miner

gearing up for a battle with the bering sea.

Just 10 miles away...

Man, storms are rolling in.

...Captain ken kerr

is lighting a fire under the myrtle irene.

We've got a little window.

We're gonna take advantage of it.

He's hot on the trail

of a gold-rich ancient creek bed.

Come on, baby. Wake up.

Got to get my secret weapon going here,

so I know where I've dug.

With the clock ticking...

That's weeks of digging in there.

It's looking good.

...Ken's utilizing his summer's worth

of mining data to find virgin ground

and edge closer to a record-setting season.

We're near it. Hope it pays off.

Yee-ha. Okay.

Here we go.

water's nice and calm,

but we know the bering sea doesn't stay calm for long.

all right, let's go do this pan and see what we got.

let's see if we got any gold.

It feels like we're on some cobble maybe.

couple of little specs, not enough to mine.

Yeah, that ain't enough to mine.

Welcome to gold mining in the ocean.

You got to do a lot of prospecting

before you find the good stuff.

All right, let's get back at it.

Pull the spuds. I'll move.

We've got to find some gold.

Time is money.

Every time you have to move and look for gold,

you're not putting money in that box.

Kick in that spud.

You can go off the computer system somewhat,

but then you need to have the experience

to follow that pay streak around.

We do a grid.

You do a pan over here, 100 feet.

You do a pan over here, 100 feet.

We're hammering down. Hammer down on the crow.

You try to follow the pay streak

because the gold isn't just in big spots,

it's kind of like following a snake.

Pay streaks moving, so we got to move with it.

It's a constant battle, mining in the bering sea.

One mile away...

it does not look good. I hate to say it.

Oh, I know. I swear to god,

as soon as it starts building, we're gonna get out of here

because it's gonna keep building.

Already we're feelings some guests coming out of the west.

Captain emily riedel's 40-foot eroica

has entered the fray.

She's putting it to work until the storm

forces her off the water.

Yeah, that's kind of the sad thing is we've probably got

a perfect set here

and in an hour, we're probably gonna be out of here.

well, you got to go down there

and make five ounces in an hour

and then we can clear out and call it a day.

aiming for enough gold to expand her fleet,

the eroica captain is running out of time,

and today, mother nature is not making it easy.

Should I go north a little bit, you thinking?

I know where there's some gold that pays decently.

We have a gps coordinate.

We know exactly what the ground looks like.

But daryl seems to think that we could find something hotter

on the north side of the claim.

You were over kind of here when you started your dive?

Over here on this sand.

It's a risk, but he's the one with eyes on the ground.

And I take his opinion very seriously.

All right, sally forth.

We'll see how it works out.

On one hand, we could go get

a couple more ounces in this one spot.

On the other hand, we could take a risk

and find far more gold than we would've otherwise.

All right, let's get started here.

We can't afford not to take risks

at this point of the season.

Hey, daryl, how's it going? Is the visibility good?

Uh, no.

We're staying the course. We're working,

expecting only that the bering sea

has surprises in store for us.

That's all we expect.

I'm gonna punch a hole.

you seeing anything down there, daryl?

You're on some gold?

Oh, nothing...

I guess he's not.

Nothing very exciting yet.

I'm not very excited right now,

but if I got in some better gold,

I might be.

10-4.

Normally with daryl, if he's quiet, the gold

is either super-mediocre or to okay, to doable.

If he starts talking, it's pretty good.

If he gets dirty,

if he's just down there being all like,

"oh, yeah! Oh, baby!"

then it's like over an ounce an hour, definitely.

But we're not at the dirty level yet, so...

This is looking a little better.

There we go.

Yeah!

Uh oh. Uh oh. It's getting in the dirty territory.

.

. . .

You're on some gold?

, there it is.

What's your ounce-per-hour guess, daryl?