[waves crashing]
[gulls squawking]
[johnathan] I've spent damn near my whole life
on the bering sea.
When people ask me who I am,
I say I'm a fisherman.
I say I'm a crabber.
And this year, it can all go away.
-[narrator] fearless. -[man] let go.
[johnathan] if you wanna be a crabber, this is it.
-[narrator] confident. -[man] yeah, baby.
[narrator] aggressive.
[sig] when you think of the time bandit,
you think of rebels, man,
you think of these pirates and johnathan especially.
[laughs]
[josh] one of the best crab fisherman
this industry has ever seen.
You know the crab dance?
[narrator] for four decades.
[sig] a lot of guys have sat in the captain's chair,
but not many can say
they've sat there for 38 years.
[narrator] johnathan hillstrand
and the time bandit earned their place
as legends of the bering sea.
[cheering]
oh, yeah. Yeah.
[narrator] now, the new world threatens their way of life.
[reporter] with every other boat
sitting this year out due to covid fears,
the alaskan crab fleet fights to save a fishery
on the brink of closure.
[johnathan] I'm not gonna let that happen.
I'm a fighter and that'll never change.
Guide my hands god because I wanna go fishing.
The pressure's on, amen.
I love you, dad.
[man] I think we went aground.
[man] we're stuck.
[explosion]
[johnathan] yeah, there you go, dad.
Woo.
These generations of hard work, american dream,
it's all on the line.
Standing in this fishery
is keeping their story alive, too.
-No [bleep] way. -Yeah.
Yeah, baby.
[josh] you deteriorate for this job.
I don't wanna see john suffer the same fate as my father.
I have to go back.
Yeah, for sale no more.
[wind howling]
[narrator] 2,000 miles southeast of dutch harbor
in buckley, washington.
You go shopping with me, huh, jack?
Jack loves the car ride.
If I roll the window down, he gets excited.
[narrator] after life spent on the bering sea.
[indistinct]
[laughs]
you can't get much better than this.
[narrator] fishing legend johnathan hillstrand
embraces retirement.
This is my normal routine.
Me and jack, we went to the grocery store.
He always goes with me.
I'm just living the domestic life.
[laughs]
it's been nice for me since I quit fishing.
We moved down closer to the grandkids.
And the first six months, you know,
we'd have parties with friends
and barbecues and housewarmings.
And then this stupid [bleep] virus came along, covid,
[makes sound] sig comes back into my life.
[narrator] only days ago.
[sig] I mean, here's the problem,
this year has been crazy for everybody
and I don't know if there's gonna be enough guys
to actually go out there and catch the quota
that we need to get.
[narrator] friend and captain sig hansen
brought news of covid-19's impacts
on the crab fishery.
If we don't get that crab caught,
we're looking at a closure.
We need you back, john, plain and simple.
The fleet does need you back.
[narrator] hoping to recruit the 40-year-veteran fisherman
and his steel for one last run.
I don't know.
[sig] because of covid, half the fleet is tied up.
People are scared.
This is a whole new world for us.
[johnathan] now I have to think about if I wanna go back
and start fishing again
and nobody's fault except the germ.
[sig] we as a fleet need to catch the whole quota.
If we don't catch all that crap,
fishing game is gonna take that as a sign
that the stocks are weak.
And if the stocks are weak,
we're facing a two-year closure.
It's called a rebuilding act.
And we know there's crab out there
but we need to prove it
and we need to do it with half the fleet.
[johnathan] if my quota doesn't get caught, I won't get paid.
That's my retirement money, is the quota.
So life is pretty [bleep]
and I can't wait till it gets normal again.
[narrator] the closure of the crab fishery
wouldn't just jeopardize
johnathan's retirement nest egg.
[johnathan] come on, jack.
Come on, buddy.
Hey.
Come on, buddy.
[narrator] it would threaten the way of life
half a century in the making.
The hillstrand story starts over 60 years ago
with their father johnathan sr.
[johnathan] my dad was one of the few pioneers
that there was.
There wasn't crabbers before him
because we didn't have fishery.
[sig] guys like johnathan's dad,
my dad,
they didn't have a roadmap.
They didn't have a guidebook.
They went out and did it.
You know, they laid the groundwork
and they took every opportunity,
every chance they could get.
[johnathan] my dad was a highliner,
made a lot of money, and the boss.
That's what shaped to what kind of crabber I am.
[narrator] thanks to these trailblazers,
a new breed of cowboy was born,
bering sea crabbers.
[johnathan] so, I'm second generation crab fisherman,
a pretty exclusive club,
so, yeah, I feel pretty damn proud.
Lots of memories here.
This is 1981, look at... Look in that [bleep]
it's like the second year I crab fished,
right out of high school.
Looking at the past just reminds me
how far I've come
and then how far these fisheries come.
There's nothing that represents the american dream
like crab fishing.
If you tell me that this ain't true,
I'll kick your ass.
This is true.
Here's one of my favorite pictures.
It's the last time I fished with my dad,
brother neil, andy hillstrand,
johnathan hillstrand with my dad
and we're all there, all of us together.
And then he, you know, he passed like a year later,
he was gone.
Man, you know.
[sig] this is about the future
and you do have other countries
that are battling for these crab,
russia, china,
if we're out of the game for two or three years
because of a government regulation,
they're gonna set the price.
They would control the market share.
We'd just be out of the game.
[johnathan] these generations of hard work,
everything my father passed on to me,
it's all on the line.
[dramatic music playing]
[johnathan] I gotta [bleep] talk to heather.
So what you... What do you ...What would you think
if I told you you need to go fishing again one more time?
[heater] you know, we just lost the scandies
and you lost, you know, friends.
And there's always that chance
that you might not be coming back.
Hey... Oh, well...
[heather] it's just kinda scary thinking that...
I know, I know.
[heather] so, we have to think about
how our family would feel if they lost...
No.
Come here.
[johnathan speaking]
[heather speaking]
[bleep]
[sobbing]
come on, jack. Come.
Hey, jack.
Hey, buddy, come here.
[narrator] the loss of the scandies rose
resides in the hearts of all bering sea fishermen,
both as a memory that will never fade
and as a stark reminder
of the fate that can be had at sea.
She's right. We lost some good friends.
I've known gary forever.
We were buddies.
I loved him and it's just hard to believe they're gone.
And, uh, it wasn't even a year ago.
If you're gonna be a crabber, you can't have that mentality.
Regardless of everything that's happened
and how many friends I've lost,
if I don't go back,
everyone could lose everything.
You're a good, buddy.
[heather] I'll support johnathan no matter what.
That's what we do.
It's just scary.
I go fishing, jack.
You want me to go fishing, buddy?
It's not an easy decision to go back fishing, you know.
He almost, like, said no [bleep].
This coin says in god we trust,
so I wanna put this coin over there,
and if I shoot this coin in the center
with one shot, I'm going fishing.
It's in god we trust because I trust god.
All right.
I've never shot this before.
[narrator] wrestling with his decision
to rejoin the fleets and their fight
to save the fishery,
johnathan leaves it to a higher power.
Where is that thing?
There it is.
[narrator] or in this case,
a high-powered rifle.
[heather] he's literally in the backyard with a gun,
gonna make this huge decision based on shooting a rifle.
[chuckles]
god bless america.
[gunshot]
did I get it?
Damn it.
Dagnamit.
I hit right here.
Dang.
Like, no, I don't see where I hit.
My eyeballs don't work anymore.
I need your glasses, I think.
You know, I was thinking about it,
god works in mysterious ways.
If I hit this coin,
there,
if I hit that one, I'm going fishing.
Oh my gosh.
All right.
It should be a little simpler here.
Okay.
The man upstairs got a back-up plan
and I got another coin in my pocket.
[laughs]
it's about that big.
[gunshot]
got it.
Woo-hoo, thank you, god.
I'm going fishing, it's official.
Pack your bags, heather.
Holy moly.
Yeah, baby, whoo!
I'm going fishing [bleep].
In the center, baby.
Whoo!
This fishery means a lot to me.
It means a lot to my family.
It means a lot to everyone involved.
I'm not gonna watch everything we worked for
get destroyed.
Whoo, it's good to be back,
back in black.
[narrator] for the first time in four years.
[johnathan] I miss this boat, oh, yeah.
It's my home, home away from home.
[narrator] johnathan hillstrand
reclaims the helm
of the 113-foot time bandit.
Home sweet home, baby.
Whoo.
For sale.
She ain't for sale no more.
Ah, just taking down that for sale sign
on the time bandit,
what a good feeling that was.
Put it right in the trash where it belonged.
Oh, yeah, I'm going fishing.
It's gonna be a lot of work, though.
I don't have much time to get ready.
I can't lose one day.
If I'm gonna make it on time
and not be late for the season,
I got to get [bleep] out of town.
I got to go find my brother.
Neal, I'm home.
Neal.
Woo-hoo, brother. [laughs]
[narrator] heading the vessels
much-needed spit shine.
-Good to see you, brother. -What's up, brother.
What's happening, brother?
So, you're sure you wanna do this again?
[narrator] jonathan's younger brother
and engineer, neal hillstrand.
[johnathan] the boat is looking good.
We got to call some boys. We got to call the guys.
Yeah, I would need a crew because I can't call this.
We need a crew. No, man, I know.
We need six more guys.
Anybody who wants to go fishing
better be here at... By 5:00 pm tomorrow.
Yeah, 24-hour notice.
[narrator] despite the boats being in working order,
john has less than a day to find a six-man crew
and throw lines for dutch harbor.
[johnathan] and this is where I'm getting worried.
In 24-hours, I gotta get a crew
and I got to get [bleep] out of town.
Pressure is on.
-[dramatic music playing] -[seagulls squawking]
[johnathan] boat is looking good.
[narrator] after pulling his boat
and boat jacket out of retirements.
Anybody wants to go fishing better be here at...
By 5:00 pm tomorrow.
Yeah, 24-hour notice.
[narrator] johnathan tracks down a crew
worthy of the time bandit crest.
[johnathan] in 24-four hours, I gotta get a crew
and I gotta get [bleep] out of town.
With everything at stake on this season,
I cannot afford to be late and let the fleet down.
If we do have a closer,
we might not get our fishery back.
The pressure is on.
Just like when we started 30 years ago.
[narrator] for johnathan and his brothers,
andy and neal,
survival is something they learned early.
Fighting for their right to fish
is something they've always had to do.
Especially after the spring of 1991,
the year they forged the family boats,
the time bandit.
[johnathan] my dad drew the time bandit
on a bar napkin,
and it took us a year to build that.
It was gonna be our boat,
the kids,
we are ready to run a boat, be the boss.
And then he changed his mind and said,
you know what, this isn't your boat
and I said, "fu," we all quit.
And he said, "you know what,
this is gonna be my boat in here, anyway,
because you're not gonna make no money."
I don't know why he said that.
We just had a hard dad.
[sig] you know, john has talked about his,
uh, old man before.
He didn't think that they could succeed
and he was very verbal about that.
And I think that that was his motivator.
[narrator] john sr. Finally agreed
to sell to his son's the boat
for 1.6 million dollars.
[sig] strictly because he wanted them
to earn their keep
and to focus on what they needed to do.
-[man laughs] -[man] oh.
[narrator] with johnathan at the helm,
the brothers finally had the time bandit.
But without a big payday,
it wouldn't be theirs for long.
[johnathan] and I was scared [bleep]
we have to make money to pay him off.
We lose that boat, so we had one chance
to prove him wrong.
[men cheering]
[johnathan] we got lucky. I'm the middle of 90 boats.
[johnathan shouting]
[johnathan] I'd rather be lucky than good,
[laughs] I'll tell you that.
[narrator] lucky? No, john.
Luck had nothing to do with it.
The hillstrand brothers ended their first season
in the top one percent of the fleet.
We're [bleep] good.
Made a million bucks that here.
He said, "you'll never make a million dollars in your life."
and so we proved him wrong.
And it wouldn't have worked out
without all three of us.
We bonded like no one ever bonded before.
[man] what are you gonna say?
[laughter]
[johnathan] we were the dream team.
I got andy, my brother is flying the dutch.
I got my brother neal, thank god.
I need six guys that all know what they're doing.
Guys that aren't gonna get hurt.
[narrator] now, johnathan races to assemble
a new dream team.
You know, the last time I fish
on the time bandit as a captain,
it was, uh, eddie, neal,
wyatt, eddie jr., and phillip.
Those are my guys.
Gonna get the band back together.
Phillip.
Hey. What have you been up to?
[neal] hey, we're going crab fishing again.
[johnathan] do you want to go king crab fishing
with me on the time bandit?
You're going crab fishing, wyatt?
[johnathan] eddie. I need you and eddie, jr.
I need both of you. I need my a team.
You got, like, 24-hours to get ready.
We gotta be here tomorrow at the...
[laughs]
I know it's a short notice but...
It's the just the way it is this time.
-You're gonna make it? -[eddie sr.] yeah, I'll...
Okay. Bring...
[eddie sr.] I'm telling my son.
Bring junior.
[eddie sr.] uh, I'll be there.
All right, man. We'll see you.
We got 24-hours.
[laughs] we got the band back together.
[eddie sr.] all right. Thank you.
[johnathan] nice.
Nice.
So, I got eddie sr., eddie jr.
I got neal hillstrand,
phillip hillstrand, and wyatt.
Man, could have the best crew I've had in a long time
right here if freddy will go with me.
Freddy "the hurricane" maugatai.
-[man] no, no, no, no. -[man] here we go.
[johnathan] hey, what are you [bleep] doing?
Freddy maugatai is one of the best crew members
you ever... You ever meet.
Strong, loyal, good at everything.
He's the best of the best.
Come on, freddy.
[phone ringing]
[freddy] captain johnathan. How's it going, partner?
[johnathan] my brother freddy.
I'm getting the boat back together.
[freddy] wow, that's a really good news.
I'm glad to hear you're getting back to it.
[johnathan] yeah. So, do you think you might
be able to make it or maybe come back
to the time bandit family?
[freddy] what timeframe?
Everyone showing up at noon, so... Tomorrow, so...
[freddy] oh, man. I got commitments.
You know... You know, not much know this,
I think I need a little bit of time
to talk to the wife, you know.
[johnathan] okay. I understand.
Either way, yeah, let me know, freddy and, uh...
-[freddy] roger that. -Yeah.
-[johnathan] thanks, freddy. -[freddy] thank you.
-Good to hear from you. -[johnathan] okay.
If I can get freddy, I can just only hope.
I don't have time messing around.
I'm not bringing any greenhorns.
It takes one bad guy on the crew
to sabotage their whole boat,
which happened to this boat once.
I'm not gonna say his name
but his initials are danny chiu.
[narrator] during the 2015 opilio campaign...
[danny] hurry up.
[narrator] johnathan saw firsthand,
just how fast the bad crew man
can cause bad blood at sea.
[man] hey, what the [bleep] is your problem?
[man] do you... Yeah, you want me [bleep] to do it?
You want me do it? [bleep]
[johnathan] I almost killed him.
One bad egg spoils the whole bunch, dude.
If you don't a good crew,
you ain't gonna be [bleep] captain.
I'm worried if freddy can go or if he can make it.
I'm having an anxiety attack.
I can't train a new crew right now.
I got 24-hours and I'm just hoping freddy shows up.
I can just only hope.
[johnathan] right now, we might have a chance here.
-Wyatt. -[wyatt] yes, capt.
[johnathan] and eddie sr. And junior, whoo.
-We got phillip. -[phillip] hey.
[johnathan] whoo.
You guys see freddy?
Freddy?
No freddy? [bleep]
I've been calling him
and he didn't answer his phone, so.
Let's say hi to the boys.
Eddie, nice to meet you, man.
-Hi, brother. -Welcome to the boat.
-We're doing this again. -Yeah, man.
Thanks for showing up, brother.
-Oh, hell yeah. -Yeah.
Thank you, man. I know it's short notice.
-Thank you, guys. -[man] I thought you're okay.
[johnathan] no, I'm not.
We got to leave right now.
[laughter]
I hope you brought everything, man.
[man] roger.
And nobody heard from freddy?
[man] no, not yet.
[johnathan] we got... We gotta get out of town,
so I'll fire 'em up, let's go.
[man] all right.
[dramatic music playing]
freddy is disappointing, but right now, uh,
I need us to get out of here
and make it to the season on time, so...
All right, guys, let's get out of here.
Cut us loose.
[boat engine revving]
[freddy] wait, wait, wait.
[johnathan] holy [bleep]
[men rejoicing]
[johnathan] no freddy [bleep]
all right, guys, let's get out of here.
Cut us loose.
[boat engine revving]
[freddy] wait, wait, wait.
[johnathan] holy [bleep]
no way. Freddy! Freddy!
[narrator] just before lines were thrown...
[johnathan] no [bleep] way, yeah, yeah, baby.
[narrator] ...Johnathan's ace hire, freddy maugatai.
-Whoo. -[man] we're back at it, baby.
This man pull this off. This man pull this off.
[indistinct]
[narrator] ...Arrives without a moment to spare.
[johnathan] whoo. I'm fire up, guys.
[man] we thought you weren't coming.
-Yeah. -[man] no way, man.
Yeah, no way.
It's great to be back.
Hillstrand family, baby,
forever, for life.
-My [bleep] crew is here. -[heather] yeah.
Thank you, god. Thank you, god. Whoo.
-Pretty quick turnaround. -No notice, man.
I know. Oh, my god.
Things are coming together finally.
[indistinct chatter over speaker]
I got the a team crew back.
We're getting out of town.
[man] we're going fishing.
[johnathan] the fisheries might be closed for a few years
if we don't catch this quota.
And that could bankrupt us all.
We can all lose everything.
[narrator] not even 48-hours ago,
johnathan hillstrand was retired.
Now, fully crewed.
[johnathan] I'm back out here.
It's been a long time
and I'll mother [bleep]
fight for my right to crab fishing.
[narrator] he's poised to collide head on
with the most challenging season
of his 40-year career.
[johnathan] we got a lot of hurdles to face.
But we got one stop to make before we begin our journey,
and that's go say hi to my dad.
I talk to my dad all the time
but it's a lot more special
right next to where he's buried.
[narrator] before he turning his bow to dutch harbor...
[johnathan] my dad is buried over here.
This is sadie cove.
You know, I usually come by when I go fishing,
we feel closer to my dad.
[narrator] johnathan turns his thoughts
to the one who started it all,
to his old man.
[johnathan] you know, this is a challenge year.
Everything my father passed on to me
could just go away.
That's what we're fighting for,
so I just want to let him know that.
One more time around the block, dad,
and we're doing this for you.
That's where we grow up.
We buried him up above this place.
So, this brings back a lot of memories.
My dad had a house over sadie cove,
he loved it over there.
He told us, "when I die, bury me up on there,
on the side of that hill."
so, he just didn't know it was gonna be that summer.
[narrator] in the fall of 2002...
[johnathan] he seemed like he's doing great,
and then, all of a sudden, I heard he's in the hospital,
-lost him like that. -[snaps]
[narrator] johnathan sr. Passed
from a severe case of pneumonia.
That was just terrible or worst things
ever happened to in my life.
But the things we had to do to get him
where he wanted to be
is [bleep] tough thing to do.
[narrator] but not before leaving his sons
with one final memory.
[johnathan] it's hard to show up
at your dad's funeral, let alone bury him.
We had to pull him out of the morgue and dress him.
We had to build a coffin,
and then, take him across the bay,
and carry him up the hill.
None of us could talk.
The sound of the dirt hittin' the coffin,
never forget that [bleep]
and that's the last thing you do
is cover him up and he's gone.
It's crazy, but we did it, we did it together.
And that's what my dad wanted,
it bonded us together as brothers,
like, no brothers been bonded together, you know.
We did it for my dad.
Love you, dad, I miss you, dad.
That was a [bleep] made us do it.
And one last lesson, I don't know.
Hope we passed the test.
I've cried too many times over here, dude.
-I'm just [bleep] cried. -[man] yeah.
And then, you know, you can start accepting stuff.
You know, my dad only ever said he love me once.
But we knew he did, he loved us.
That's why he was hard on us
to make us a better human being,
and a better person.
So, that was a good dad.
I love you, dad.
[sig] johnathan and his brothers grew up
in the crab industry.
He didn't just become who he is for nothing.
You know, there's a history there,
and that's very similar to my brothers and I.
We feel indebted to the legacy that's been created,
your family name.
I feel like it's our responsibility
to be out here in return.
[johnathan] we're gonna do a left-handed swedish spin.
And then, uh, we'll say a little prayer,
we're gonna pour our beer out.
And we're gonna go fishing.
And we'll take my dad's luck with me.
Swedish spin is,
you do a counter clockwise spin
to shake all the bad juju off the boat.
I wanted to honor my dad with some...
Okay, neal, I'm gonna come around again
to do a left-handed swedish spin,
pour some out, I'mma say a prayer for dad,
and we're out of here.
This season's for you, pops.
[johnathan] lord grant us the courage to fear no one.
Grant us your generosity
to bear no ill witness towards others.
And grant us endless peace, wisdom and hope,
that's all everlasting, amen.
I love you, dad.
Whoo.
[boat engine revving]
[bleep]
I'm stuck. We're stuck.
[man] I think we went aground.
[bleep]
we're stuck.
[man] I think we went aground.
I'm stuck, dude.
I hear the prop chewing gravel.
That's it, and then, we went like this
-[makes sound] -I'm on the beach.
[narrator] amidst the blessing to his late father,
johnathan hillstrand bottoms out the storied time bandit.
[johnathan] so, we go to the sadie cove,
you know, to say, "hey dad. Hi dad."
and we do our little swedish spin,
tide was going out and ended up
getting stuck on the beach.
We're stuck on my dad's beach right here.
[neal] this is where we buried him
and then all of a sudden, now we're buried on the beach.
Define intervention.
[neal laughs]
I can pump the tanks out.
[johnathan] yeah. Yeah. Pump the tank out, quick.
And we get the boat lighter.
[narrator] to increase buoyancy,
neal pumps out all 46,000 gallons
from the 328-ton crabber.
Yeah. We just started floating.
My dad didn't want us to leave.
You know that.
His spirit's floating above us going,
[bleep] you guys, you're staying right here.
Okay, guys, I wanna tell you one thing.
My dad always loved a good explosion
and I don't think my dad wanted me to leave
without blowing something up.
Why don't you guys blow something up
and then head on out here?
It ain't right if we don't blow nothing up.
[narrator] taking their beaching
as a sign from above...
No one loves blowing something up
more than my brother, neal hillstrand.
[narrator] johnathan and his crew pay tribute...
[johnathan] oh, this is gonna be good.
[narrator] ...The hillstrand way.
[johnathan] yeah. There you go, dad.
-Woo. [laughs] -[crowd cheering]
[johnathan] woo-hoo. Woo-hoo-hoo.
There you go. That's what my dad expected.
That was awesome, dude.
When he hit that, I ducked.
I will say that. [laughs]
I got out of the way.
[bleep] yeah.
I know you liked it. You love fast.
We're out of here guys.
Love you, dad.
Now, we're gonna go kick her in gear,
steam for adventure.
St. Paul island picking up pots.
Yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo.
[narrator] navigating through a grueling 70-hour...
-Are you listening to me? -Yeah.
[narrator] ...S even-hundred-mile expedition
to the far northern reaches of the bering sea.
Headed st. Paul our master, time bandit.
[narrator] veteran skipper, johnathan hillstrand...
[man] I see that.
Time bandit back in action.
Oh, thank you. Yeah, it's good to be back.
[narrator] reunites with st. Paul island
for the first time since retiring.
[johnathan] never thought I'll be back here
in this hell forsaken island.
We got pots here to pick up,
that's our last stop.
And then, we go out from there.
When I see st. Paul island, so many memories flashed
before my eyes.
Yes. We got the nicest biggest crab
I've seen all year.
I've made lots of money and I've delivered lots
of crab there.
But the one that sticks out the most is phil harris.
[bleep]
-[woman] what's your name? -Phil.
[woman] phil?
[johnathan] a little more than 10 years ago
in this harbor, phil harris,
my friend had a stroke.
When I came up here, this whole side of his face
there was drool, all down it.
[johnathan] the next morning,
we lost phil in the hospital in anchorage.
Hey, phil, my buddy.
You know, so many people love you.
We love you, man.
Taking care of those boys for you.
It was a huge loss.
When my dad died, phil harris,
sort of, replaced my dad
and he was like a father figure,
a mentor, he taught me how to crab fish.
John, I have to give you an a-plus on that one.
Well, I'll take that as a compliment, thanks.
My dad loved john, like,
it's like two brothers.
Uh, they were two peas in the pod,
you might say.
[makes noise]
yoo-hoo. [makes noise]
[sig] those guys' mentalities were the same.
There was a deep respect there.
You look good, brother.
[sig] when phil passed,
johnathan lost a part of himself.
Johnathan lost a brother.
He can hear us.
I got... I got to go.
[sig] to this day, that really bothers johnathan.
I think maybe john felt his own mortality.
That was a big thing when he died.
I haven't really thought about that
until I took some time off, start thinking about
everything that happened with phil,
and my decisions will be back in the water,
you know what I'm saying?
I don't wanna die on my boat.
[josh] you deteriorate with this job.
When my dad passed away,
he had a lot of life left in him,
and unfortunately, you know,
this industry stacks you down the soul,
it took him.
I have no clue why my dad couldn't walk away
from this misery.
So, I still wonder that question.
It is, uh... It's a tough, a tough thing.
[johnathan] you lost a lot of friends out there,
it's just part of the deal.
You think it's normal, never thought of it,
that's just [bleep] up,
yeah.
And then... Uh, oh, okay.
-What are you doing here? -Business, business.
[greeting each other]
what the hell are you doing here?
[josh] I've just been really thinking about
everything, I know you're coming back
and it's just... It's always concerning
when a guy wants to get back in,
you know, the life.
-You know... -Yeah.
...Your personal life, you always take off
on the corner and that's always second,
I know for a fact now as being a boat owner,
you walk with the weight of the world
on your shoulders.
And my dad, it really compressed on him,
we saw how that turned out. Yeah.
I don't want a situation like the old man,
I think my dad be giving his speech right now, too...
-Yeah. -[josh] ...If he was here.
And I just don't want that to be something
that happens to you.
Are you sure you wanna do this?
When my dad passed away, I hated crab fishing
because it took everything from me.
I feel really, really lost right now.
John pulled me from the deepest darkest days
that I had in my life,
gave me a chance.
[johnathan] I think your dad wants you over there.
This is where I want to be.
Come here. Come here.
[josh] the hillstrands, that skull and crossbones,
-they were supportive. -[johnathan] good job, dude.
I'll be helping you out any way I can.
This chapter has ended in my life,
and start a new chapter real quick.
They gave me a sense of self-worth.
Twenty-four hours straight yesterday.
They made crab fishing fun again.
Going home.
-Yeah. -Then they fired me,
told me I wasn't allowed to come back crab fishing
once I got the cornelia marie back.
[johnathan] be hardworking and honest,
and you'll go far.
[josh] I never thought I would be a crab captain.
-Look at that. -Hey.
-[laughs] -I owe that at wild old
creature, john hillstrand,
I really did care about him
just like he cared about me.
It's a real tough thing talking about,
like, we're men up here.
Check your feelings at the door
when you got this job.
[josh] just like my dad, you always put the boat first,
I don't want the situation like the old man,
I just don't want that to be
something that happens to you.
Are you sure you wanna do this?
Are you trying to say you don't wanna lose me?
Uh, well, yeah.
I just don't wanna see anything bad happen,
I don't want you to press yourself too hard,
you know, we saw how that turned out.
This is a stressful job,
and it gets you into the position your dad was in.
I know that. But I've taken some time off
instead of, like, your dad,
I have been seeing things different about,
you know, my priorities, my health,
you know, with the family,
and so I got lots of reasons to live.
I'm not gonna die out here.
Your dad said, I don't know how many times, though,
"I think I might...
I'm probably gonna die out here."
I'm sorry. I'm sorry about that.
-No, no, it's... -I don't wanna talk about your dad.
-No, no, no, my... You know what, it's fine. -So... Anyway.
You know, it makes some good points
-that I really think about too. -Yeah.
If you're ready, you feel good,
like, bring that boat back.
-But I just want to say that. -[johnathan] yes.
Because I love and care about you,
and you're one of my only friends
and one of the only people that, you know,
always goes the extra mile to make sure that I'm okay,
my boat's okay.
I always will.
I'm not going to die on you.
-I'll be around. I'll be here. -I believe you, I believe you.
I'll be right on the... Right on the radio.
Security, security, uh,
time bandit outbound st. Paul harbor.
We're just tightening up with all our gear,
so we're getting ready to, uh, head at that
and just get there and get it over with.
[johnathan] we have a hundred and forty-two pots.
And now, we just got to go to dutch,
it's coming together.
It's crazy to think about
I'm five years older than when phil died.
Are you guys ready?
Get the lines loose.
I've seen lots of people on boats pass away.
This is what makes it worth fighting for.
Well, those brand new lines.
These generations of hard work,
the american dream is all in the line.
Defending this fishery,
it's keeping their story alive too.
I have to go back.
Almost there.
We just got to make it to dutch harbor,
we can get the [bleep] out of town and go fishing.
[jonathan] remember that, uh, little girl on poltergeist?
"they're here.
We're here.
They're here."
[narrator] for the first time in nearly half a decade,
johnathan hillstrand and the time bandit
are back for fall crab season,
racing dutch harbor
with all 113 feet of pirate steel.
[johnathan] let the games begin.
I'm pretty happy, pretty excited, I'm like a kid.
Okay, christmas.
Woo-hoo.
I'm going fish hunting on my boat.
Yeah, ring the bell, baby.
Ringing the bell.
Woo. We're back.
[bell ringing]
[jonathan] we're back, bitches.
We're back. [laughs]
[man speaking]
did you hear it ringing?
We've been doing that for years.
[claps] I'm so happy I'm back.
Coming in, and because of covid,
there's only half of us here.
And as a fleet, if we don't catch our quota,
we won't have a season for the next three years.
The pressure's on.
So, that's why I'm back now,
I got to save the damn world.
When I first started fishing,
I was building a way of life.
Unbelievable.
That's a [bleep] nice pot.
I was carrying on a family name,
now I'm gonna have to defend it.
So, john hillstrand's coming back.
[man] john wayne right here.
John wayne hillstrand.
[josh] you can take a fisherman out of bering sea,
but you can't take the bering sea out of a fisherman.
No other person better to help this industry survive.
[johnathan] no guts, no glory man, [bleep] slow.
I think john returning back
for the benefit of the fleet
is admirable because we don't have
the amount of ammunition,
we don't have the boats out there
to feel like we can get through this.
Teamwork! Teamwork!
We're gonna be pulling on through the night.
In all this history of all the captains,
it's, kind of, like, a band of brothers.
Yeah, we'll put it right there,
get them all in there, all at once.
I'm burning. [laughs]
-hey, good luck this season. -Yeah.
And then, all their memories are tied up in this fishery.
Hee-haw.
It's gonna be a crazy season.
Let's get it started.
[phone ringing]
oh, hey, abby,
I'll see you tomorrow, right?
[abby speaking]
[johnathan] okay. Get better brother.
-I'll talk to you later. -[abby] bye-bye.
[johnathan] what a shame.
It's the most important season we've had ever
but maybe I'll figure something else out.