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  • 6/3/2025

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00:00The following program is rated PG and may contain scenes of violence, mature subject matter, or language which may be offensive to some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised.
00:30I wasn't supposed to live here.
00:59I traveled all over the world, but I could never shake this place off.
01:09This place never leaves you. It haunts you. I have five of my generations buried in the same place.
01:19This is my home. This is where my heart is. You don't let that go.
01:27The Maglan Islands, they call us the Jewel of the Gulf. We're a group of islands connected through sand dunes and causeways.
01:37It's literally a dot in the middle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, shaped like a fish hook.
01:47On the northeast point.
01:49We have 415 people. Fishing is number one.
01:55Oh, there's Papa!
01:57We grew up in the boat.
02:01Generation after generation of old stories. The people who built this place.
02:07Life with the ocean. Storms that destroyed the land.
02:13I'm gonna go.
02:17It's the most important.
02:19Stories about the biggest catches.
02:21That's a hit, brother!
02:23We're gonna fall a tuna here guys!
02:25Oh, whoops up!
02:26Oh, whoops up!
02:27Oh! Oh, no!
02:28Oh! Oh, God!
02:29Whoo!
02:31People that survive accidents.
02:40Stories about the shipwreck survivors washing up on shore.
02:44Get off the table!
02:48Joining the community and marrying into the community.
02:53These stories.
02:56It's who we are.
02:59It's everything that we have.
03:03It's our legacy to survive.
03:06We're a dying breed.
03:07We're going to fish right until we cannot fish no more.
03:22Will we see Anacostia Island today?
03:29Uh-oh, here, hold on, guys.
03:36I got right off the f*** down there.
03:39Northeast of the Magdalene Islands, the Miss Sophia Daisy and its captain, Adam Clark, are on a 250-kilometer run to their crab grounds.
03:48Justin, you're doing such a fine job, you could probably make me one.
03:55Don't spill that either.
03:58Adam, he was born to be a fisherman.
04:02Hold on.
04:03And I'm not just saying that because he's my brother, but he knows how to do everything.
04:10Nancy and Adam are Clarks.
04:13It's still not either.
04:15There, that a boy.
04:17A family that has been a cornerstone of the community for over a century.
04:20Born and bred a lobster fisherman, so crab is a big change for me.
04:25The 37-year-old vet is still new to the high-stakes world of crab fishing.
04:30But love the new challenge on anything, really.
04:33So, like, not running marathons or anything like that.
04:37I wouldn't do that.
04:39But a challenge fishing, that's pretty much me.
04:44Four minutes.
04:46Every fishery has its rules.
04:48For Atlantic snow crab, it's all about weight.
04:52The faster a captain hits quota, the bigger the payday.
04:55The longer it takes, the more fuel is burned, the more wages are paid, and the more the profit shrinks.
05:01I'm hoping to get my crab very quickly.
05:04Last year I had a lot of expense into fuel, and this year I'm hoping to do it in half.
05:08But Adam's crab license is the furthest and most remote of any captain from the Magdalene's.
05:14Zone 12C is a 65 square kilometer area east of Anticosti Island near Quebec's North Shore.
05:22Depending on conditions, it can take up to 12 hours just to reach the start of the zone.
05:29It's go time.
05:31Everyone else has only got like a 20, 30 mile, two hour sail.
05:35It's like two cups of coffee.
05:36When you go for Anticosti, it's a little bit different.
05:40We're late.
05:42I wanted to start hauling that nine.
05:45Keep an eye out for the buoys, guy.
05:47Out here, time is money.
05:49And today, Adam is running behind.
05:51Let's go, go, go, go, go.
05:54His crew set their gear three days ago.
05:57Now it's a race against the clock to fish as quickly as possible.
06:00Last season, this area was loaded.
06:03Full pots and big paydays.
06:06Adam is banking on the same returns.
06:09That's a bad pot.
06:10But in crab fishing, there are no guarantees.
06:13Very bad.
06:14First pot was very bad.
06:22That's bad, too.
06:24Uh-oh.
06:26Last year, this one here was really good, too.
06:29Each trip, you want to hope you make at least 20 grand.
06:32You need that.
06:34Oof.
06:37When you come back from less than that, you're making a hole, so.
06:41Not hulking them anyway.
06:46Yeah.
06:48What about the junk?
06:49It's small, huh?
06:50Yeah, it's small, yeah.
06:52I'll have to pay you with IOUs.
06:55Last year, it was all good stuff down here.
06:59I'm not happy, no.
07:00Puzzle.
07:04We got out of 10 traps.
07:05You can get that in one trap.
07:08I'm not feeling too good about it.
07:10Nope.
07:13Worse than last time.
07:15These are just the first couple.
07:19Day's not over yet.
07:30It's a beautiful day to be a scallop fisherman, boy.
07:39This is where we turn boys to men.
07:42We're the moon ship.
07:45Two hours off the southeastern tip of the Magdalene Islands.
07:49Yeah, baby!
07:51It's opening day of scallop fishing season for Captain William Burke and the crew of the moon ship.
08:03Being out there first is pretty important.
08:06The bottom has been closed for several months.
08:08Nothing's been touched.
08:10And the scallops are just laying all over the bottom.
08:13Hey, checkbox!
08:15Check the shells!
08:17It's William's 15th season as a captain.
08:20And his sixth running a scallop operation.
08:23I got two boys and a girl.
08:26But I wanted to run a boat since I was 15.
08:29Paid a half a million dollars.
08:31Look at me now.
08:32Captain of the moon ship.
08:33Yeah, come on, Paul.
08:35Scallop fishing requires massive, stable boats to handle the heavy weight of the riggy.
08:40And Captain William has one of the biggest and most unique vessels around.
08:45The moon ship.
08:47Switch!
08:48Moon ship is an old bigger boat that I bought.
08:51I got a discount on this brownie purple.
08:56I put 10 cups of black in it.
08:58New color, moon ship purple.
08:59Sounds amazing.
09:00Sounds crisp.
09:02Still needs a little bit of love.
09:05Maybe a shower and a kitchen.
09:08Five minutes, boys.
09:10Before the crew hits the deck, there's one tradition that needs to be taken care of.
09:16Kiss the troll's butt!
09:18Kiss the troll's butt!
09:20Kiss the troll's butt!
09:22Kiss the troll's butt for good luck.
09:24Move over, I'll show you how to do it again.
09:27That used to be my troll when I was a kid and it was like a good luck thing.
09:33We didn't, for sure.
09:35I don't know if that really actually is a thing or not, but keeping the crew pumped up is really important.
09:40Like a hockey coach or something out there, you know, yelling and screaming.
09:44Kiss the troll's butt.
09:46And they love it.
09:47It's not my first rodeo, buddy.
09:52Tighten up your hat.
09:54To harvest scallops, the moon ship is equipped with two large sets of dredges, or drags, each containing six heavy metal nets that drop from the sides of the boat down to the ocean floor.
10:06Drags in the water.
10:07The drags comb the seabed, sifting through sediment to catch scallops before being hauled back up.
10:15Here we go, the grind starts.
10:20Pull the ends in close to the boat.
10:23Looks like scallops!
10:25The deck of the moon ship is a minefield of rigging, full of heavy cables, thick ropes, and swinging dredges.
10:33Out of all the fisheries, I would say that's the most dangerous.
10:37With all that heavy metal, it's a recipe for disaster.
10:41We're always looking for the big scallops.
10:44Scallops are coming up all mixed with thousands of pounds of rock being lifted up over the side of the boat.
10:50You just don't know what's going to happen.
10:54Come on!
10:57Come on, untie that ball.
10:59Take it right up on the table.
11:01Take the hook there.
11:03The rope holding the dumping pole broke, narrowly missing the crew.
11:08Yeah, last how we seen that rope was getting chafed, it should have been changed before it broke.
11:13Come this way, come this way.
11:15It should have been replaced, but out on the water, there's no time for should have.
11:19Good.
11:21Ready?
11:23Come on, boys.
11:24Wake the up.
11:26Go, boys!
11:31Switch!
11:32Switch!
11:33There's also no time for slowdowns.
11:36William can only drag for 16 hours a day.
11:39Whoa, whoa, whoa!
11:41Hey, William!
11:43Shit!
11:45Put the hook back on it.
11:47The eye bolt securing the gallus block to the boom has snapped.
11:51I just broke that.
11:52That's a dead beginner's mistake that they're not supposed to happen.
11:58Just hours into the first day of the season, the moon ship is dead in the water.
12:06I think I forgot to kiss the troll's butt for good luck.
12:10This really up our day.
12:12Yeah.
12:28Springtime on the Magdalene Islands, and the chase is on.
12:32For the next six months, life revolves around one thing, fishing.
12:38Everything's off.
12:39Like, all the kids, their schedule's gone.
12:41It's just, like, the whole village is out fishing or eating the fish plants.
12:48And if the fishing didn't exist, then there would be no need for school.
12:51There would be no need for the store.
12:53There would be no need for the post office, you know?
12:56So, it is the economy.
13:00Back off the southeastern coast of the Magdalene's.
13:03Oh, boy.
13:05Clean this table as fast as you can.
13:06We're gonna have to just run one side for now.
13:09The moon ship is at half strength.
13:11A critical rigging failure has put Captain William in a tight spot.
13:15When you pull the drags back to the gallus block,
13:18if the drags go all the way up into the shackle,
13:21you can damage the eye bolt that holds the block on the gallus.
13:24And that's exactly what I did today.
13:30Good?
13:32Take the drag.
13:33We're gonna continue to fish with just one side,
13:35until we figure out a fix here.
13:42She's locked in.
13:43Scallop fishing is a brutal game.
13:57Captains have just 10 days to make their catch.
14:00Quick fixes aren't optional.
14:06Their life or death for the season.
14:08It's hard to get a season in 10 days straight with no problems.
14:12There's already a pretty big swell here now, too,
14:15so I don't know if we're gonna be able to rig something up or not.
14:19Hey, somebody's gonna have to come take the wheel for a minute.
14:22With only one side harvesting scallops,
14:24the moon ship is dragging, literally, unbalanced and pulling hard.
14:30Hours from help, it's up to the captain to find a fix and save the day.
14:34When it comes to fixing up on the water, I'm your guy.
14:38I never give up.
14:43If you can just rig that up, finish the day, you're better off.
14:47Choppy seas are making repairs dangerously difficult.
14:51Can you hold the top part and all this unscrew it?
14:54I don't know if we're gonna be able to get that like that.
14:57It's an awful place to try to work.
15:00It's real hard when the weather's rough like that.
15:04You feel messed up for sure.
15:05Everything's moving.
15:06You're out on the side of the boat and you're rocking back and forth.
15:10Pretty goddamn sketchy.
15:12I can't get it on.
15:14Like that.
15:16You hold that there.
15:18Don't lose it.
15:20I can't see it.
15:22I lost the bolt.
15:24Just f***ed up.
15:28One bolt.
15:29One mistake.
15:31And just like that, time slipping away for the moonship.
15:37We're just entering the crab zone now.
15:40Break it!
15:45It just looked like a waterfall going back.
15:47Two hours off the east coast of the Magdalene's, Captain Stephen Clark is pulling his first snow crab pots of the year.
15:56That's a pit, brother.
15:59Like most of the island's fishermen, the 31-year-old captain has spent much of his life on the water.
16:04This is my 16th season, my ninth one on my own as a captain.
16:09Big wave, guys!
16:11I was 14 or 15.
16:13I come home from school one day and my uncle asked me, he said, what are you doing next spring?
16:18You want to come fishing?
16:19And that was it.
16:21Packed up my s*** and I never went back.
16:24I took the bus home with all my stuff in September.
16:27My father was pretty pissed.
16:29We have fun!
16:30Nice ones.
16:31Stephen has one of the biggest catch quotas on the islands.
16:35A high-stakes gamble he took two years ago.
16:38We have 168,000 pounds to catch, so...
16:41The real goal is to catch the quota.
16:43Whether you fish for three days or you fish for three weeks.
16:46When the quota's done, you're done.
16:48Stephen is one of many snow crab captains in these waters.
16:54But he keeps tabs on his best friend, who is pulling pots hours away.
16:57Catch me through to the fishing vessel Miss Sophia Daisy, around Anacostia Island.
17:03Over it.
17:05This is Miss Sophia Daisy.
17:08Yeah, are you there, Adam?
17:11Yeah, I got you Steve, yeah.
17:13Two years ago, Stephen sold his old crab license to Adam.
17:18Adam Clark, he's my best bud.
17:20I called Adam, I said, I got this crazy opportunity.
17:24Bigger quota, it's closer to home.
17:26And he's like, well, you should take it.
17:28He said, I'll buy yours then.
17:29He's like, I'll get into crab fishing.
17:31He said, I'll buy yours and you buy that one.
17:33Any sign of life today?
17:36People said I was crazy.
17:38Find something closer.
17:40But I like fishing fair.
17:42There's nothing, nothing at all.
17:46Wasn't very nice.
17:47The part of my first come down.
17:51Okay, no, flat calm here.
17:54The best friends have a lot in common, but took different approaches to naming their boats.
17:59Adam, a father to three girls, went the traditional route.
18:03My boats, Miss Sophia Daisy, named after my daughter.
18:07Stephen is a father too, but it's not his young son's name on the side of his boat.
18:13Stephen?
18:15Every boat he's got his funny name.
18:17His last boat was Chasentail.
18:19But there was another nasty name.
18:23My boat's called Deep Insider.
18:26Because I'm cool, man.
18:28You're an insider boat.
18:34Insider.
18:36You know, inside.
18:38But you can have a, you know, set your gear deep inside.
18:44When you build a new boat, you get a form from Transport Canada.
18:48You've got about three name selections on it, right?
18:50They're the ones that show it's Deep Insider.
18:52So it's like, let her fly, buddy.
18:55Northsider or insider.
18:58Well, insider, I guess.
19:01Deep insider.
19:0465 miles to my eastern buoy.
19:08The thing with the Anacosti trip is that a certain part of the channel,
19:13there's like a dead zone there for a couple of hours.
19:15You can't just pick up a cell phone and see how he's making out
19:18or see how things are getting along.
19:19I still got, I think, 50 traps left.
19:23Whoa!
19:27Did the nut come off?
19:29My block is about to lose my block.
19:32Ah, talk to you later.
19:34Adam's crab holler is failing mid-pull.
19:39On the other side.
19:40No nut.
19:41Why don't you just take that one off, throw the other one on right quick?
19:44No, I've got a trap half up here now.
19:47It's going to fall apart.
19:48I'm going to lose it.
19:52It's blowing hard today, right?
19:55Steven's got his own battle.
19:58Heavy seas, high winds, and crab gear that's taking a beating.
20:02There's a lot of things that can go wrong.
20:04You pull the trap up out of the water without stopping it,
20:07and you pull it right up into the end of the boom.
20:09Like, you can fly up into the boom or break the block off.
20:13You have to be alerted there.
20:15They say it's like the most dangerous job in the world, right?
20:18A job where disaster can strike at any minute.
20:28Watch out, watch out, Leo. Get off the table!
20:29Broker.
20:42A lot of weight, man.
20:44It's a bad day for the fishermen off the Magdalene Islands.
20:53Broker.
20:55Watch out, watch out, Leo. Get off the table!
20:57Steven's crab hauler has broken under the strain of heavy swells.
21:04Just wait, Kyle. Just let it go!
21:06Let it go?
21:08So with all the crab in the bottom of the trap, water can't pass through it.
21:12That puts a lot of strain on the rope.
21:15One wave came that twisted the boat different than what she wanted to do,
21:19and just the weakest part broke, right? There's always a weak link.
21:21Sheared the boat.
21:24Fixable, though.
21:26Luckily, the captain's got a spare.
21:29Where'd this one go, right? The second one to see, man?
21:32Second or third?
21:34Put it in the second one, I guess.
21:35A lot of moving parts in a fishing boat.
21:38Very rarely, it always runs smooth the whole day.
21:42Breaking things.
21:48With a quick fix...
21:50Yes, sir!
21:52...they're back hunting crab.
21:53Fishing, baby.
21:55All over my block. It's about to lose my block.
21:57Far to the north, on the Miss Sophia Daisy, Adam's crab traps have been coming up empty.
22:11The nut came off the block.
22:13And now, they may not be coming up at all.
22:16It's gonna fall apart. I'm gonna lose it.
22:19Ah, .
22:21Watch out, I don't come right over the holler.
22:23If we have no block, we can't pull gear.
22:25We have to go home.
22:26So, that's basically, like, you know, probably, like, six or eight thousand dollars a wasted trip.
22:32Son of a whore.
22:34Come on, baby.
22:36Oh, come on, baby.
22:40So, watch your hands, guys.
22:42We gotta get it set down.
22:44Is my spare block still there?
22:46Yeah.
22:48We'll just get the nut off, but...
22:50With the pot safely on board...
22:52Just a five-eight nut.
22:54Or a three-quarter nut.
22:55Is it loose there now?
22:56Okay, so long.
22:58Adam races to bolt the block back together.
23:02Okay, we got a hammer or something, guys?
23:07Just tap it there.
23:10Get a hammer and tap it through.
23:12With no block, there's no way to hoist crab pots.
23:17I got it.
23:20Okay, now we're gonna need another adjustable wrench.
23:23There.
23:24You start tightening it.
23:26I'll go find another wrench for it.
23:28Ah.
23:29We're just putting it back together here now.
23:31Here's some of them.
23:32Hold that on the other side.
23:34To make sure that we can get our gear finished.
23:38Just cleaning everything up now.
23:45Back in business?
23:48Lucky I had a spare one aboard,
23:50because I thought I was gonna lose everything over.
23:52It was just about to come apart.
23:54Going about half a mile to the next one.
24:08On the moon ship.
24:12How are you today, buddy?
24:14The only thing they're fishing for is help.
24:17Yeah, you wouldn't have an eye bolt on board.
24:20With only ten days to fish scallops,
24:22William can't afford to lose the first one.
24:25Hey, we gotta get that block down now.
24:28Chai Tsun's got an eye bolt.
24:30Lock it in.
24:32We're gonna sail towards him and pick it up.
24:34Fishing's really competitive.
24:37When someone needs help, though,
24:39you don't hesitate for sure.
24:42Doesn't matter who it is.
24:44They're throwing it over on a buoy now.
24:46By giving me those spare parts,
24:49he saved me a day.
24:51They might need me someday, too.
24:53Hey, thank you, huh?
24:55You never forget when somebody helps, yeah.
24:57After two hours dead in the water.
24:59Good to go, boys.
25:00They're back to full power.
25:02Now it's a race to salvage the day.
25:05We lost some time, but we'll be able to get back on it.
25:08The day ain't over.
25:10All stations, all stations, all stations.
25:16This equals radio.
25:18Keep storm, a warning.
25:20An event.
25:22Ocean's full.
25:24Keep storm, a warning. An event.
25:26Oh.
25:28The Coast Guard puts out an urgent warning.
25:31A gale force storm is bearing down on the Magdalens.
25:34It's quite different from any other place that you'll ever be.
25:37Like, when it blows here, there's no protection.
25:40The weather can change pretty quickly, that's for sure.
25:44The past decade, stronger storms and warmer winters have battered the islands,
25:49eroding half a meter of shoreline every year.
25:52We've always had, in the winter months, an ice wall to protect us.
25:57This winter, there was no ice at all.
25:58Just keeps beating and beating and beating and eating away at the island.
26:02It hits my house with an awful force that rocks my bed.
26:06I can feel the bed shaking some nights.
26:11When she comes, she comes running.
26:16Steven turns the Deep Insider around.
26:19He'll wait out the storm in the harbor with other captains.
26:23But Adam doesn't have that option.
26:28The thing with the Anacostia trips, there's like three forecasts to go through.
26:32As he said, an even further north and further east.
26:35I just got the new weather update and the wind supposed to hit a little earlier.
26:39Ah, we gotta put her full speed.
26:42The storm is tracking straight for Adam's zone.
26:46It takes me six hours to fish, 55 Boston.
26:50That's midnight.
26:52We're 150 miles from home here now.
26:56We're gonna have to try to get these done very, very quickly.
27:00We're straight up to the north part of the zone here now.
27:04Just as the weather turns, so does Adam's catch.
27:09We've got crabs. We've got crabs. We've got crabs.
27:20Once you catch that amount of crab, no one can stop you.
27:25We're on the crab.
27:27It's quite dangerous, really.
27:29That's what we need to catch up for the bad ones today.
27:32You gotta stay focused on what you're doing out there,
27:34because if you let everything else get your head out of the game,
27:38things can go wrong for you just real quick.
27:41Last loader up, boys.
27:44It's very common to have a calm before a storm.
27:47It's seen worse.
27:51The weather is fine right now.
27:54This is the calm before the storm.
27:56I think it's gonna be a lot bigger storm coming.
27:58Get back on track.
28:08Let's get our life back on track.
28:11Yeah, baby.
28:14Southeast of the Magdalene Islands,
28:18Captain William and the moonship are scrambling to make up for lost time.
28:23That's what I'm talking about.
28:24After a rough morning, the crew is finally getting into a rhythm.
28:30Starting to get my groove back.
28:32So I shut brown side up.
28:35Knife goes in.
28:36Turn.
28:37Scrape the top.
28:39Flick that other shell off.
28:40Around the guts.
28:41And this one's orange.
28:43They taste the same.
28:44They turn the same color when they're cooked.
28:46Beautiful.
28:49Wow, look at the swell coming.
28:51Holy frig.
28:54Whoa!
28:56But Mother Nature isn't done messing with them yet.
28:59The swells are getting pretty big right now.
29:02Get those grigs nice and tight the side of the boat.
29:04I'll keep them down in the water a bit.
29:08Until we know, like, we see that there's no big roll coming,
29:10then we get them up.
29:12Here we go, boys.
29:14Oh, they're full.
29:15A heavy hull and rough seas is a dangerous mix.
29:18The weather is the most important thing.
29:19Sometimes you lift up thousands of pounds of rock,
29:22and once they get in the air,
29:24and a sea hits the boat at the same time.
29:29If you don't drop them on the table on the first try,
29:33if you miss your shot, then they get swinging around.
29:37That's when it gets dangerous.
29:38More swell now for sure, like.
29:40Martin called me.
29:41He's going in.
29:42He said.
29:45William gets word other boats are retreating back to shore.
29:49I don't know what to do.
29:51They're not sure yet either.
29:52But, uh, got an hour, not going to stay here by ourself, I don't think.
30:02We can't break any more stuff.
30:08Okie dokie then, boys.
30:12Come on, boys.
30:13He's going in.
30:14This is the last pullback of the day.
30:16We were calling it quits.
30:17The wind and the swell's too much.
30:19Wasn't as long of a trip as what we thought, what we hoped for.
30:26It's an abrupt end to day one of scallop fishing.
30:30Hard not to do the day.
30:32But, uh, offload our catch and, uh, wait for the weather to come back out again.
30:38We're a half day behind, man.
30:39We've got to get it back going out.
30:49Back on shore, the wind strengthens, and captains bring their crews into safe harbor.
31:01Life with the ocean, with Mother Nature, you don't know what can suddenly crop up.
31:06So any windy day during fishing, there's, uh, definitely, like, uh, an anxiety around.
31:16But for Nancy, there's bigger worries.
31:19Her brother Adam is still out at sea, his crew out of contact.
31:23I feel like we always worry more about Adam.
31:26I wouldn't want to be out there.
31:28I know that.
31:32Adam's disaster at sea years ago is still fresh in everyone's mind.
31:38Yeah, I remember that day.
31:41I just got in.
31:42I just got home or something like that, and then the phone rang.
31:45It was a complete physical blow when I heard it.
31:52I came in just ahead of him, maybe 15, 20 minutes ahead of him.
31:58Just about five minutes before her coming in, we put her life jackets on.
32:02I don't know why, but we did.
32:11Breakers started coming up behind us.
32:13Grabbed us, you know, just pushed the boat really fast, zero control, and she toppled over.
32:21Everything's upside down.
32:26The water was rising.
32:28I was very, very calm.
32:30It's almost like this is it.
32:32It's all game over here.
32:35Water gushing in from everywhere, isn't that?
32:38Floor just above my head.
32:40We had an air pocket there.
32:42But Alex Zahn there, he said, we got to get out of here.
32:46I tried to go out first, and then I went the wrong way.
32:50And the second time, I knew what way to go, because the sunlight, like, really lit up the exit.
32:55I came up first.
32:57I popped up.
32:59Alex Zahn was supposed to be right behind me, but he was, uh, yeah, he wasn't there.
33:05It must have been a minute later.
33:15He came up all full of oil.
33:18He don't remember.
33:19He blacked out, but he ended up in the engine room.
33:21Uh, so I don't, I, I don't, anyways.
33:26The Lord was with us there, I know that.
33:29One of the happiest times of my life, seeing him, though.
33:32I would have ruined my life.
33:35I thought he was a goner.
33:36I don't know, it, it changes you for sure.
33:41It's always with you.
33:42I don't know, it, it changes you for sure.
33:45It's always with you.
33:58Far to the north, off Anticosti Island.
34:01I don't think there's very much in this one.
34:04The windstorm hasn't hit Adam's crew yet.
34:07But that's the only good news.
34:09His quest for crab has yet to pay off.
34:11Might be a crate.
34:13You wanna try to catch at least 10, 15,000 pounds every trip.
34:20But he's running out of time.
34:22Bad weather coming.
34:24Still calm, but it's coming.
34:27Gotta get these things fished as quickly as possible
34:30and get the hell out of here.
34:32Time is running.
34:42It's 4 a.m.
34:43It's all a gamble.
34:44A new day.
34:46And Captain William is betting the storm has moved far enough north for day two of scallop fishing to begin.
34:52Are you on there?
34:53There's a little bit of swell as we get out here, but it's hard to tell.
34:58We're the only ones out here this morning.
35:00We're the first ones to leave.
35:01Some guys don't plan on going today.
35:04You wanna sail right to the track or what?
35:07I don't wanna be crazy and go out there and fish by myself kind of thing.
35:11I don't wanna be out here all alone, so we're working as a team.
35:14William isn't the only one rolling the dice this morning.
35:18His cousin Todd isn't far behind.
35:21Yeah, I see you back there.
35:23That's for safety for sure.
35:24It's nice to have another boat around.
35:27The wind and swell can be a little dangerous, but when we get out there, it might not be as bad as what it sounds, and if so, we'll be fishing.
35:36The captain sets his course for a three-hour sail and hopes Mother Nature calms down.
35:41If it gets worse or not, it's what we don't know.
35:51We'd like to beat the bad weather coming.
35:56Please, Lord, let the wind hold off till I'm done.
36:00Up north near Anacosti Island, Captain Adam and his crew have been grinding through the night, chasing crab and racing the clock.
36:08Big crab!
36:09A gale-force storm is barreling straight into their path home.
36:15We got them all out?
36:16Yeah.
36:17Okay, we can get her done, boys.
36:19The captain's got ten traps left.
36:22Ten more chances to make this trip count.
36:24Never enough.
36:26There's never enough crab.
36:27There's never enough lobster.
36:29There's just, you're always wanting more.
36:31The more the devil has, the more the devil wants.
36:33Guys, keep a look out for my buoys.
36:36That's the best thing you can do for me.
36:38Wind's starting to pick up a lot now.
36:43The storm is closing in fast.
36:46Oh!
36:47Grab it!
36:48Grab the rope!
36:49Grab the rope!
36:50Grab the rope!
36:51Grab the rope!
36:52Grab the rope!
36:53Grab the rope!
36:54I'm over!
36:56I'm gone now!
36:58Oh my God, I hate losing this trap!
37:00Ugh!
37:01Did you just have a trap to the top of the water or a rope broke?
37:06Just lost it.
37:08Probably a creature or more of a trap.
37:13The captain's got a call to make.
37:21You gotta know when to push it to the limits.
37:25When to play it safe.
37:27Yeah.
37:30It looks like it's going to be quite the swell out here.
37:37Back south, the moon ship closes in on the scallop beds.
37:40Not that far now.
37:41But the latest forecast changes everything.
37:45It's calling for 30.
37:46So if we get 30, that's pretty shitty.
37:4830 northeast.
37:5030 knot winds are imminent.
37:55Come on boys, time to get up.
37:57We got a call to make for sure.
38:01William checks in with his cousin Todd.
38:04Can you stop?
38:06Yes sir.
38:08Is it going to get worse though?
38:10That's the question.
38:12I don't know.
38:14I'll do whatever you want to go.
38:16I'm really stubborn so it's hard to give up.
38:18I don't like giving up.
38:22Maybe regret going in but let's turn around and go in.
38:25It's the right call to make though just in case.
38:28Yeah, you're right.
38:30But better be safe than sorry.
38:33Well, decision is made boys.
38:35We're going home.
38:37Part of me feels sad about that.
38:38William has seen enough.
38:40There will be no fishing today.
38:42The risk just isn't worth it.
38:44That's captain of the boat.
38:46You got to look out for your boys.
38:48At the end of the day, we're not trying to kill anybody out there just to get ahead on a couple dollars.
38:52A couple dollars.
39:02Not worth it.
39:03Up north.
39:05Who wants to go home?
39:07Adam concedes on an awful first trip.
39:10He wanted 10,000 pounds of crab but didn't even break 2,500.
39:14Not good.
39:16Not good call.
39:182,400 pounds.
39:19That's not good.
39:24Not much because we had so many dead parts.
39:27That doesn't pay your fuel.
39:29Doesn't pay your men.
39:32Bad weather coming.
39:34But the catch is secondary.
39:36Adam and his crew are still 10 hours from shore.
39:40Last push boys, the last push.
39:43And need to run straight through the storm.
39:47Can't be no worse.
39:49Okay, whoever's tired now, go to sleep now.
39:52They're not going to sleep after.
39:56Pedal to the metal.
40:04Got some waves coming up ahead.
40:06Dawn brings no relief to Captain Adam and the crew of the Miss Sophia Daisy.
40:10Make sure you got two hands on something.
40:12They're still battling the final blows of a gale force storm.
40:16Every wave, a fight.
40:18Oh boy.
40:20Ugh.
40:22Normally you got a wind, you got one steady wave now.
40:25It's like, holy.
40:26It's like, dude.
40:28For 10 brutal hours, it's been rogue swells and steady rollers.
40:32Making a little better headway.
40:33Oh, we're knocking the miles down again, boys.
40:35You know, 30 miles from home was just like, I knew I had a beat, so.
40:39Oh, I never thought the game looked bad.
40:40Pattered and bruised, Captain Adam and his crew have taken a beating through the worst conditions
40:43they've ever fished in.
40:44You guys got balloons on the side?
40:46And finally, Captain Adam and his crew have taken a beating through the worst conditions
40:57they've ever fished in.
40:58You guys got balloons on the side?
41:01And finally, Captain Adam is going to be a big stop.
41:04Oh.
41:05You guys got balloons on the site?
41:07Yeah.
41:08they've ever fished in.
41:09You guys got balloons on the side?
41:12And finally, the harbor is in sight.
41:18You're tied quick, you're tied strong.
41:26It took a long time to get home.
41:29It's just like you made it, so.
41:33It's a bittersweet homecoming.
41:35The first trip of the season was a bust,
41:38but the captain finds the upside.
41:40It doesn't hurt to have a bad catch
41:42because you'll have your gear in certain bad spots.
41:46You'll find all the bad spots
41:49and eventually find the good spot.
41:52But right now, the catch doesn't matter.
41:55It's about making it home safe.
41:57I was thinking about home a lot,
41:59just seeing the kids.
42:05Sofía.
42:22Okay.
42:24Good luck!
42:25for three days he fought the seas now adam soaks in the simplest of victories
42:38we made it and i'm happy to be home
42:42but the season's just getting started on the magdalens and the next battle is already on the
42:47horizon fishing is very much the culture here we're brought up in fishing some years is good
42:55some years is bad for me it's it's a real thrill to be out there it's a real thrill to make a living
43:01at it it's just something that i like doing that's the way i like it is everyone happy now