‘Deadliest Catch’: Rick Shelford Decides If He Can Trust Sig Hansen During Team-Up

[Warning: The below contains spoilers for Deadliest Catch Season 21]

Rick Shelford explored the mostly desolate Adak Island at the start of the September 5 episode of Deadliest Catch. The Aleutian Lady captain described it as, “about every horror movie you’ve ever seen.” He mentioned there was a plus in the Alaska area in that they have a McDonald’s. Even though Rick said he was more of  a Burger King guy, beggars can’t be choosers. Adak Island served as a military base in the 1940s, but World War II troops pulled out and led to a downturn. It also once became a hotbed for the crab industry. Rick’s grandpa came there at age 12 and became one of the pioneers from the very start. 

Discovery Channel

After the nice history lesson, we checked in with Captain Sig Hansen and the Northwestern. The numbers aren’t coming in the way he wanted, which got him thinking about his next course of action. With fuel prices having gone up, time was money. He gave Rick nearby a ring to see what he had going on and to maybe potentially collaborate. Sig got Rick thinking about his grandpa’s spot, which hasn’t really been looked into for a couple of decades. Sophia “Bob” Nielsen questioned if going into a partnership with Sig was a good idea. Rick didn’t trust him, but did like the idea of checking out his old family place on Adak Island. Meanwhile, Sig continued his search for crab. He investigated some valleys on a map and one particular spot in some canyons. 

Rick went to the old property where he had to kick the front door open because it didn’t have a handle. He discovered some old clothes and other items, but the big find was a desk. There nearby was a map that Rick thought, “might be something special.” Adding. “This is priceless stuff.” 

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He went back to his vessel contemplating what to do next. Rick hesitated a bit, but ended up having Sophia take photos of the charts and map information for Sig. Sig saw potential in the gullies with its different depths. Rick immediately had some misgivings. “He is going to screw us on this one I got a feeling,” Rick said. They rendezvous in hopes the risk of fuel, time and trust would pay off. The two captains send pots out in their respective vessels. Their collaboration paid off with pots coming in with around 50 to more than 80 at a time. 

Elsewhere, Johnathan Hillstrand had every reason to be in a good mood. The Time Bandit captain had all the crab he needed and readied for delivery. That and the crew witnessed some killer whales nearby. However, they had a tight offload deadline to meet or risk losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in product. There was a snag in his plan when the Coast Guard reached out looking to board, investigate and verify permits. This would severely delay Johnathan as he had to get to the harbor the next day. After the crew was cleared, they used makeshift sails to help shave off some time. As the Time Bandit readied for arrival, big waves and dangerous conditions made it difficult for them to fully make it into the small harbor. Enduring some scary moments, through some skillful maneuvering, they made their deadline. The crew celebrated with what they referred to as a “fisherman’s Christmas.” 

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

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