A huge rogue wave in already stormy seas puts the crew of the Summer Bay in jeopardy tonight — pounding the vessel before the crew have time to prepare for the onslaught.
In our exclusive clip, huge tides and wave after wave swamp the boat as Captain “Wild” Bill Wichrowski tries to maintain control of it in hugely rough seas.
He is counting on the crew not to miss with the hook, or risk being swept overboard.
The incident takes place during the final moments of the fall season — and its biggest storm — with the crew expressing fears about going out on deck to pull up the pots, saying “safety is out of the window”.
Captain Bill tries to reassure them, telling them: “If you guys can be smooth so I can take it out of gear, get in the block, and get right back on it, we should have no problem.”
But he warns: “Keep an eye on your buddy. Even if you don’t like the guy, keep an eye on him!”
Worried about his forward momentum, Bill tells the camera crew: “For me as a manager I can see it in their eyes, they’re like ‘Oh my God these tides, and in 60-knot winds’.
“But I just have to get them through it and get these pots on board and hopefully get that number in the tank.”
But with the waves so big, the crew struggle to land the pots smoothly meaning Bill has to take the boat out of gear. Then calamity strikes as he spots a huge wave rapidly approaching the bow.
He scrambles for the intercom to warn the crew on deck, yelling: “Watch out guys, watch, watch, watch, watch, watch!”
But he is helpless as the giant wave crashes down on deck…
Deadliest Catch airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on Discovery.