Sig Hansen Feels Betrayed After Crew Member Violates ‘Boat Code’

The Bering Sea can be a cutthroat place, especially for the captains of Deadliest Catch. Big money and livelihoods are on the line during every crab fishing season. This sometimes means certain tactics may be utilized in the survival of the fittest environment.

That’s what happened during the August 28 episode of the Discovery Channel series when Rick Shelford felt another moving in on his honey hole. He calls in reinforcements to follow through on a plan that may or may not work out in the end. Elsewhere, Sig Hansen works through more issues on the Northwestern extending beyond the vessel itself. The situation puts him in a difficult decision, which could cost him time and dollars. Read on to see what unfolded. 

Sig Hansen

Sig Hansen/Discovery Channel

The bairdi season was underway for the veteran captain, and he had high expectations. Adam, his greenhorn deckhand, revealed he and his fiancée were having a baby. He was hoping to do well by them. Sig tested him to see how he did on deck and if the newcomer would be an asset. At one point, Sig got the feeling that Northwestern may have run something over. He went to check the mid tank and found it was dry. Still, he felt something wasn’t right. His hunch was right with water sloshing around in the lazarette storage hole on the safety camera. Sig’s son-in-law Clark Pederson jumped into action to try to activate the pump to send the water overboard before it flooded and destabilized the vessel.   

His hunch was right as he saw water sloshing around on the safety camera. Water flooding into the lazarette storage hole, Clark Pederson rushed into action to activate the pump to send the water overboard before the flood destabilizes the vessel and the Northwestern gets capsized. Sig. The team worked to find the leak. Clark investigated and used two-part epoxy to try to help seal things up. They needed to clear the pots to make room to get to the hatch and get things secure once again. 

In the middle of all this Adams spoke with his fiancée, who appeared to be without power as the electric company hadn’t been out to get it back on. The deckhand felt guilty she was alone going through this right now. He went to Sig about what was going on, saying he needed to go back home to help her out. Sig was taken aback by the request asking if she was begging for him to come home or if it was a medical emergency. Adam remained steadfast in his decision to head back to town. “It costs time and money. I don’t understand,” Sig said. “You know you can’t come back here if you leave on those terms, right?” Sig said. Adam knew that. Sig felt betrayed as there was a code he was been told. The mentality was the boat came first and he felt Adam broke that code. He now had to haul pots and go back to town. 

Jake Anderson, Rick Shelford & Johnathan Hillstrand 

Rick Shelford (Discovery Channel)

Earlier in the episode, Jake Anderson FaceTimed with his son Luka, who just lost his first tooth. A reminder of the sacrifices he makes and why his journey Cornelia Marie needed to be fruitful.  He invested a lot of money to come up north, but the survey told him this was the depth where the crab would be. The crew were all in with 200,000 pounds of bairdi to catch. His pots weren’t delivering good numbers. He saw Rick on his radar about 20 miles south and decided to give him a call. 

In contrast, Rick’s Aleutian Lady was building on momentum in his spot. He eyed $1.3 million in bairdi quota this season. Rick played down how well he was doing when Jake contacted him. Jake thought Rick hadn’t been telling the whole truth during their conversation. “As a fisherman, I’m always trying to figure out somebody else’s tell.” Jake said. With that he went on his hunch that Rick was on crab and decided to take a look. By the same token, Rick had a feeling Jake would be coming down. “I’d be more open to sharing things, but this space is so small,” Rick thought. He wanted to get dialed in before bringing in Jake. 

Johnathan Hillstrand’s Time Bandit was nearby going for king crab of his own. He had finished for the night. Rick recruited Johnathan to come over in order to throw Jake off his scent and setting gear to give off the idea that the area was completely locked down. He agreed to help.  

“This is full on combat fishing right now. Any help would be appreciated,” Rick said. Jonhathan replied, “This is going to be fun.” The Time Bandit arrived to help protect the area for Rick. Rick wanted Johnanthan to make it look like he was setting in between the 16 square mile hot spot that was already placed with gear. 

Jake was on his way down south to see what was going on. He noticed there was something fishy going on. The fact he didn’t see anyone else on the deck of the Time Bandit only brought more fuel to the fire in terms of his suspicions. Jake reached out to Johnathan over the radio, but he didn’t respond. That told him all he needed to know. Jake killed the lights of his boat and went into stealth mode to set. “Rick brought this on himself. Nobody can trick a trickster,” Jake said. 

Rick was determined to fill his quota and stood by his decision. Jake still was having bad luck in Rick’s territory. Rick, knowing what was happening at this point, opened communication with Jake. It looked like the crab had moved on from there. He offered him an opportunity where they could tag team and box them in at a new space. “I’m not sure I have a choice other than to take a risk,” Jake said. The move paid off with each benefiting from their strategy and working together.  

Deadliest Catch, Fridays, 8/7c, Discovery Channel