Throughout the day today, the wind has been blowing hard out of the west and the Bering Sea is bigger and more ferocious than I have ever experienced. What is even more unusual is that the crew of the North American has been fishing in these conditions. On deck, the boys were struggling to stay on their feet while we pounded through waves that were at least 30 feet high.
At the wheel, Capt. Sten was anxious and trying to concentrate. My questions were unwanted distractions. He dealt with this by ignoring me, or calmly answering my queries with “Not right now!” I decided to let him be. He obviously needed all his concentration to scan the horizon and look for rogue waves. He was focused on trying to protect the guys on deck as they pulled yet another string of full pots.
As we dropped off the back of another large wave, I turned my lens forward and tried to film the waves as they approached. It has always been frustrating for me that the waves never look as big on camera as they actually are. It is difficult to capture the true scale of the situation. In addition, it is not easy to shoot and hang on at the same time. As a result, I often find myself floating across the wheelhouse. Gravity itself seems to be variable in these conditions.
Climbing yet another peak, I spotted an approaching wave that was much bigger than all of the rest. It was still six or more waves away from us, but it was visible above the other crests. As we dropped again I asked the captain, “Did you see that wave?” Sten continued to stare ahead, but this time he chose to answer the question, “Yeah, it’s a big one!” There was no way to avoid it. We were going to hit it. With each rise and fall, the giant wave drew closer.
When it finally arrived, I looked for something to hold on to. Sten grabbed the throttle and pulled it back, slowing our speed. He then reached for the hailer and warned the deckhands to hang on. My eyes were glued to the rapidly approaching wave. It was at least 40 feet high, and its face was almost vertical
As the North American climbed, the wave began to break, its crest falling down toward us. Our bow cut through the white water, tilting to the starboard as we rose. We eventually crested and stalled, then abruptly fell down the wave’s back, still leaning to one side. When we hit bottom, there was a big impact and a resounding thud. I barely managed to stay on my feet.
Once the wave had passed, the boys on deck began to jubilate with hoots and cheers. Capt. Sten wasn’t celebrating though. He was thinking that it was time to call it off. The seas had finally gotten too wild for fishing. He reached for the hailer again, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke into the microphone, “All right guys, secure the deck and come inside. We’ll pick it up again tomorrow.”
Photo: DCL
So, why don't they show this. I want to see this big monster waves that the captain has to navigate through.
I wanted to see what exactly Sten was navigating through that tore up his deck. Time lapse photography of the deck would have been cool.
Instead the "The Deadliest Catch" is turning into the Phil Harris Drama Queen show.
Boo Hoo to the deadliest catch film editors. You've lost it.
Posted by: norwegian_footballer | June 25, 2008 at 05:17 PM