# Bering Sea Gold - All Season Thread w/ spoilers



## jradosh (Jul 31, 2001)

Watched the first episode and so far, so good. It has all the elements of Gold Rush Alaska but the people seem to actually know what they're doing (for the most part). We saw more gold that first episode than we have all season in Gold Rush Alaska. And it has cleavage. 

The guy living in the bus who seems so full of himself... seems a bit scripted to me. Can he really be that (what's the word?)... goofy?

This show may be enough to get me to stop watching the other.


----------



## Byteofram (Oct 29, 2004)

Yeah, there was def a lot more gold in one episode than we normally see all season on Gold Rush. LOL! Hope the Hoffmans don't make the jump to the Bering Sea. Really liked this first episode though.


----------



## Bob Coxner (Dec 1, 2004)

The Hoffmans have a goal of 100 ounces for the season. (Dream on) The large dredge has a goal of 1000 ounces and got 46 on their first day. Using the excavator bucket to paddle was amazing.

Lots of interesting characters and this could easily become more enjoyable than Gold Rush.


----------



## pmyers (Jan 4, 2001)

Boy...if you are going to "gold", this is the place to do it:

No real big equipment needed, small crews, AND you can live in a town!


----------



## pmyers (Jan 4, 2001)

I wonder if you have to have a "claim" to be out there. Can you just go wherever you want or are you leasing a particular area?


----------



## jradosh (Jul 31, 2001)

pmyers said:


> I wonder if you have to have a "claim" to be out there. Can you just go wherever you want or are you leasing a particular area?


One of the boats "arrived at its claim" according to the narration.


----------



## pmyers (Jan 4, 2001)

jradosh said:


> One of the boats "arrived at its claim" according to the narration.


I did hear that which is what made me wonder.


----------



## The Flush (Aug 3, 2005)

I like this better than Gold Rush so far. Probably because they actually find gold.

I also wish they would address the issue of how the claims work. I also wonder how each dredge tracks where they have already dredged so that they don't keep doing the same area.

Is it even legal to take a boat out to sea without working propulsion? It seems no one in the right mind would so that and this could be a scripted element just to show that you can row the boat with a beloved excavator.

The deckhand who did not want to follow captain's orders should have had his ass kicked before being thrown off the boat.


----------



## pmyers (Jan 4, 2001)

The Flush said:


> ...Is it even legal to take a boat out to see without working propulsion? It seems no one in the right mind would so that and this could be a scripted element just to show that you can row the boat with a beloved excavator...


I totally agree. It seemed like somebody watched that episode of Mythbusters, thought it looked cool, and decided to put it into this episode.

For a place known for daily storms, which can come up very quickly, it seems unlikely that somebody would take a boat out with no propolsion.


----------



## Gary McCoy (Jun 4, 2003)

pmyers said:


> -snip-
> For a place known for daily storms, which can come up very quickly, it seems unlikely that somebody would take a boat out with no propolsion.


Yet they got 46 ounces of gold on that first day. I could see taking a risk for a substantial reward. But the dredge owner was the one that made the call, and the crew were the ones at risk.


----------



## Bob Coxner (Dec 1, 2004)

What's the next level below "white trash"? These guys do get gold, and the large dredge gets a lot of it, but they live in housing that wouldn't be acceptable in the worst ghetto. They drive pieces of s**t trucks and cars. In this episode they get into a bar fight and one gets stabbed.

I guess the guy living in an abandoned school bus is the lowest but the couple living in a canvas yurt on the beach is not far behind.


----------



## Gregor (Feb 18, 2002)

I wonder if they are just summer residents and bought/rented whatever was available. Not like there's a new car dealer in town, stuff probably gets driven until it absolutely won't go any further.


----------



## Gary McCoy (Jun 4, 2003)

Nome has changed a lot since I was there in 1972-73. It looks to be 3X larger in terms of size, and who knows about the population change.

But it's still a wild and wooly town with no paved streets, wooden sidewalks that become enclosed sidewalks in Winter, and no building codes. It still appears to be the case that every 3rd business is a bar, a restaurant serving booze, or a liquor store.

I spent 26 hours in town in 1972, during which time a person drove a snowmobile down the main drag and shot a law enforcement officer through a plate glass window. Unfortunately for me, my pilot and myself were witnesses and my flight out to my military base was delayed 24 hours. I ended up sharing a hotel room with another military guy who was on leave from another base. He was partying and it was an eye-opening experience. The Aleut prostitutes were - um - not very attractive to Western eyes.

One year later (1973) as I was rotating out of the area, I was wise enough to have booked a connecting flight the same day, avoiding the layover in Nome. The bush pilot obligingly cut the layover time from 3 hours to one, flew around the area at my request, and I paid him an extra $100 for fuel and took aerial pictures of the entire area and town. I still have them.

Nostalgic to see the place and how much it has changed - and not changed. But as you might guess, it's nowhere I would reccomend for tourists, or wives and children.


----------



## DanB (Aug 14, 2001)

the girl is saving up for a masters in opera? hmmm.


----------



## NetJunkie (Feb 19, 2003)

What I want to know, and this goes for Gold Rush too, is how anyone made money doing this when gold wasn't $1500/oz? I know it's caused a new gold rush (we're seeing there too in NC) but still...some of these mines have been in constant operation when gold was worth far less.


----------



## vertigo235 (Oct 27, 2000)

I doubt the hut is where they live, i think it's just a temp housing while they work. 

I can't imagine it's even possible to live in that thing during the winter!


----------



## jradosh (Jul 31, 2001)

DanB said:


> the girl is saving up for a masters in opera? hmmm.


What does that even mean?


----------



## justen_m (Jan 15, 2004)

My brother got a MFA after his Bachelors, and then more degrees. I don't pretend to understand, but in his world (academia), degrees mean stuff. My world (engineers), whatever.


----------



## Gary McCoy (Jun 4, 2003)

vertigo235 said:


> I doubt the hut is where they live, i think it's just a temp housing while they work.
> 
> I can't imagine it's even possible to live in that thing during the winter!


Yurts are insulated tents invented in Mongolia. The traditional covering is animal hide and the traditional insulation a combination of felt and loose animal fur. They are heated with a central fire.

Those commercial yurts for sale in America share the shape but little else - they use plastic skins, an aluminum bubble insulation/vapor barrier, and sewn fabric liners, with a central wood stove or propane furnace. Both the floors and roof are insulated, frequently with closed-cell foam.

You better believe you can use a Yurt in Winter, and quite comfortably. Just as you can survive an Artic blizzard in an ice dome called an igloo. The inside igloo temperature is about 25 degrees, which is fifty degrees warmer than outside, and sheltered from the wind. We had an Arctic survival course that included igloo construction.

Any shelter that lacks corners is good in extreme cold. Rectangular structures are hard to keep heated.


----------



## vertigo235 (Oct 27, 2000)

Cool


----------



## pmyers (Jan 4, 2001)

I agree that these people must just live there in the summer which is probably a good reason the locals don't like them.


----------



## DeDondeEs (Feb 20, 2004)

Man the Discovery Channel is becoming the white trash channel. You have roughnecks, moonshiners, pawn shops, trash pickers. What's next "American Hobo" or "Pay Day Loaners" I wish these shows would focus more on the actual science of gold mining, or moonshine production, but instead we are shown way too much of their personal lives. Anyone who would actually sympathize with these folks probably can't afford cable.


----------



## nataylor (Apr 26, 2000)

DeDondeEs said:


> I wish these shows would focus more on the actual science of gold mining.


What more do you need to know than gold is 200 times heavier than water? </sarcasm>

That seems to be the extent of the science we get.


----------



## DavidTigerFan (Aug 18, 2001)

Seriously, I don't understand why there isn't some commercial outfit up there. That crew with the bucket dredging has brought in $150k in 2 days of work. Assuming the Excavator is 500k, and the boat is 200k, you could make back the cost of the equipment in one year probably and then it'd be all profit. It looked like they only needed 2 hands to run the thing so you'd just split it 2 ways. Something isn't adding up.


----------



## Gary McCoy (Jun 4, 2003)

What doesn't add up is that we met the owners of that big dredge in the first episode, the elder Pomrenke and his son Shawn. Senior made the decision that they would launch without working propulsion the first day, but he was not working on the dredge, his son was. Then his son got stabbed in a bar fight, and senior worked the second day even though he knew nothing about boats. The third hand we have seen working on both days out is not a Pomrenke.

Speaking as a former member of the USCG, who spent a year on a duty station only 44 miles from Nome, the general condition and lack of safety equipment and lack of nautical expertise among these gold dredgers is appalling. 

I mean, I know there is a camera crew on each dredge we can't see, plus a hidden radio and probably a rescue helicopter with inflatable pontoons on the landing skids. But an unheated wetsuit in such frigid water will only increase survival from a few minutes to 40 minutes or so before one becomes unconscious.


----------



## jradosh (Jul 31, 2001)

Gary McCoy said:


> ...an unheated wetsuit in such frigid water will only increase survival from a few minutes to 40 minutes or so before one becomes unconscious.


They made a point of mentioning that they pumped heated water into the diving suits. They even showed one crew manufacturing the heating mechanism in the last episode.


----------



## pmyers (Jan 4, 2001)

My Google powers must be off because I can't find the correct terms to search for to find out anything further about "claims" and how they work, offshore.


----------



## DavidTigerFan (Aug 18, 2001)

It seriously looks like they just paddle out about a mile, drop anchor, and start sucking.


----------



## Bob Coxner (Dec 1, 2004)

pmyers said:


> My Google powers must be off because I can't find the correct terms to search for to find out anything further about "claims" and how they work, offshore.


I found a website offering Alaskan claims for sale. http://www.akmining.com/mine/sellclaims.htm

Here's one that includes offshore Nome:

Updated 3/28/11

Nome Beach Claims - Eight contiguous State of Alaska 40-acre beach claims for sale, located at the mouth of the Cripple River, 11 miles west of the Nome jetty. Each claim is 1,320 feet wide and extends offshore up to 1,320 feet from the mean high tide mark on the beach. These claims are suitable for high-banking during low tides and dredging in the nearshore environment. In total, the buyer would have 240 acres or over two miles of the gold-bearing, ruby sands of fabled Nome. Will sell all eight claims for $190,000. Please contact agent, Jeff Keener, at 907-474-0943 or [email protected]

Here's the State of Alaska site dealing with claims: http://dnr.alaska.gov/commis/pic/permits.htm

Offshore Mining Leases and Prospecting Permits for locatable or potential locatable minerals on state-owned tide and submerged lands are offered for issuance if the DNR conducts a Disposal of Interest for a specific offshore area. If known locatable mineral deposits exist, the DNR conducts a competitive offshore lease disposal, otherwise a noncompetitive offshore prospecting permit disposal is held. Leases are issued for variable terms, up to indefinite if activity is occurring, and offshore prospecting permits are issued for a term of 10 years as long as adequate prospecting work in done each year. Permit acreage may be converted to lease at any time during the 10 years if workable mineral deposits are located. For more information, contact Kerwin Krause, Division of Mining, Land & Water, at (907) 269-8652 or by e-mail at: [email protected].


----------



## Frylock (Feb 13, 2002)

Bob Coxner said:


> What's the next level below "white trash"? These guys do get gold, and the large dredge gets a lot of it, but they live in housing that wouldn't be acceptable in the worst ghetto. They drive pieces of s**t trucks and cars. In this episode they get into a bar fight and one gets stabbed.
> 
> I guess the guy living in an abandoned school bus is the lowest but the couple living in a canvas yurt on the beach is not far behind.


Beats living on the boat in the Bearing sea!


----------



## pmyers (Jan 4, 2001)

Bob Coxner said:


> I found a website offering Alaskan claims for sale. http://www.akmining.com/mine/sellclaims.htm


hmmm...which would lead me to believe that there are claims, but they certainly don't show anybody using any GPS coordinates or any buoy markers to designate areas.


----------



## GDG76 (Oct 2, 2000)

pmyers said:


> hmmm...which would lead me to believe that there are claims, but they certainly don't show anybody using any GPS coordinates or any buoy markers to designate areas.


They did show the guy who lives in the yurt tracking a GPS to tell his partner when to drop anchor.

You would think these claims would be a little different than traditional ones - with the glaciers moving and general movement on the ocean, I wonder if they can mine the same area over and over.

Anyway, it was an interesting show. I'm surprised there isn't more regulation about who can dive and the safety equipment needed to do so.


----------



## brettatk (Oct 11, 2002)

As mentioned, a few things don't add up. Wouldn't surprise me if it was another fake like Gold Rush Alaska. Even if it is, I'll probably still watch.


----------



## DeDondeEs (Feb 20, 2004)

brettatk said:


> As mentioned, a few things don't add up. Wouldn't surprise me if it was another fake like Gold Rush Alaska. Even if it is, I'll probably still watch.


I was just assuming it was fake.


----------



## pmyers (Jan 4, 2001)

GDG76 said:


> They did show the guy who lives in the yurt tracking a GPS to tell his partner when to drop anchor...


You're right, I do remember that now. But I kind of got the feeling that was more because that's where they went before (and had good luck), than that's where they HAD to go.


----------



## vertigo235 (Oct 27, 2000)

How is Gold Rush 100% fake? You would think if it was 100% fake, they would be finding gold all the time. 

Now, those shows on truTV, that's totally fake. Gold Rush is probably only 50% fake , this show may be anywhere from 25% to 75% fake I'd say.


----------



## pmyers (Jan 4, 2001)

I prefer to you "staged" than "fake"


----------



## DanB (Aug 14, 2001)

vertigo235 said:


> How is Gold Rush 100% fake? You would think if it was 100% fake, they would be finding gold all the time.


not necessarily. Maybe watching folks fail makes better TV?


----------



## Gary McCoy (Jun 4, 2003)

jradosh said:


> They made a point of mentioning that they pumped heated water into the diving suits. They even showed one crew manufacturing the heating mechanism in the last episode.


I understand that. But that is under normal working conditions when the dredge is in working order. If they have to abandon ship there won't be any engines running, and no heated water for the suits. Their survival is then less than an hour.

When I was stationed near Nome at Port Clarence, we used our station small boats to cross the 1.5 miles of water to a gold mine called Lost River. We had to wear wet suits at all times, and do a radio check every 15 minutes. That gave us another 15-20 minutes to respond and rescue anyone in the water in a wet suit before they died of exposure.


----------



## jradosh (Jul 31, 2001)

OK... enough *****ing about your crew as if it's your crew's fault that the police are after you for failure to pay child support. You're clearly a deadbeat dad trying desperately to strike it rich rather than just taking a hard job and scrapping by. Totally unlikeable. 

Actually there aren't too many likeable characters here. The only ones I am rooting for are the boy/girl team.

But I'm still enjoying the show.


----------



## Bob Coxner (Dec 1, 2004)

The Hoffman crew goes wild as they hit 70 ounces for the entire season. That's 7 guys working. The 2 guys on the large dredge got 70 ounces in one day and with less heavy equipment than the Hoffmans.

I agree that most of them are low lifes and mentally challenged but I'm finding it much more interesting than Gold Rush.


----------



## GDG76 (Oct 2, 2000)

I'm thinking with team with the excavator on the boat had to probably pay a lot more for their claim than the guys out deeper at sea. There is only a limited range that thing can reach and it's much less risk to mine that claim.

The claim fees probably necessitate that scale of an operation.

The boat with Captain Deadbeat Dad is my least favorite. They need to find a lot of gold just to cover their smoking budget.

I liked that the one crew spent the downtime selling the gold to tourists to make extra money. Though I would never buy my gold off of two yahoos who just set up a table like that...


----------



## jradosh (Jul 31, 2001)

GDG76 said:


> The boat with Captain Deadbeat Dad is my least favorite. They need to find a lot of gold just to cover their smoking budget.


LOL


----------



## pmyers (Jan 4, 2001)

I saw on TMZ that "Deadbeat dad" got arrested in Nome for hitting somebody with his truck leaving a bar, and then was quickly arrested for DUI and other charges.


----------



## jradosh (Jul 31, 2001)

My TiVo cut out immediately after the jeep wreck. I never saw what happened. So...

what happened?


----------



## Jayjoans (Jan 23, 2003)

Cliffhanger. That's all there was.

Somebody probably got a boo-boo.


----------



## jradosh (Jul 31, 2001)

Thanks.

For the record, I think the girl falling into the water was 100% staged so there'd be a little skin in the show. And other than that scene was there anything else memorable about this episode?


----------



## The Flush (Aug 3, 2005)

I am convinced the producers were looking for the biggest d-bags they could find for the one dredge (Wild Ranger?).


----------



## vertigo235 (Oct 27, 2000)

The Flush said:


> I am convinced the producers were looking for the biggest d-bags they could find for the one dredge (Wild Ranger?).


Yeah those people absolutely no redeeming qualities whatsoever. I mean they aren't even good at finding gold. At least of they were finding a bunch of gold they would have that. But they can't even find gold.


----------



## justen_m (Jan 15, 2004)

Gary, I somewhat disagree. Based on the folks I've seen on the show, you are correct. However, physically fit young athletes can survive more than an hour in freezing water. Five hours for me, when I was at Annapolis. When I was near Alaska (not sure where), on the fourth of July, our captain let us swim off the back of the boat, and we had a BBQ on the missile deck.

I too am appalled at what takes place, and that is why I watch. Hello? You let an untrained diver dive? Not on my watch. The general lack of maintenance on these... boats. If you can call them that. My sailing experience is in the US Navy. Making money wasn't a concern.


----------



## brettatk (Oct 11, 2002)

These types of shows are getting a bit hard to watch. It's become so evident that they are staged/scripted/fake. Take the Christine Rose in this past episode. They talk about how they have to use every availabe minute they can get to dredge then they turn around and make a bet and waste a couple of hours getting an impartial person to judge out on the dredge. The best part of the show isn't even about finding gold, it's about watching the mishaps of the Wild Ranger.


----------



## pmyers (Jan 4, 2001)

that Christine Rose sure does find the gold! I still can't believe they have to "paddle" out. That has to be a HUGE burden on that machine to have to do that. I'd think it be cheaper/safer to higher a boat to tow you out and back.


----------



## mrdbdigital (Feb 3, 2004)

pmyers said:


> that Christine Rose sure does find the gold! I still can't believe they have to "paddle" out. That has to be a HUGE burden on that machine to have to do that. I'd think it be cheaper/safer to higher a boat to tow you out and back.


Although it was never mentioned on the show, the propulsion seemed to be miraculously fixed a couple of shows back, as they showed the barge under power without the backhoe paddling.


----------



## WhiskeyTango (Sep 20, 2006)

pmyers said:


> that Christine Rose sure does find the gold! I still can't believe they have to "paddle" out. That has to be a HUGE burden on that machine to have to do that. I'd think it be cheaper/safer to higher a boat to tow you out and back.


What did they say their overhead was, something like $1.5 million? For what? I mean, they've pulled like 400 oz of gold and are still a long ways from making a profit.


----------



## vertigo235 (Oct 27, 2000)

Yeah, the propulsion seemed to be fixed an episode or so ago. I think it was just a temporary issue that they obviously wanted to highlight on the show.


----------



## pmyers (Jan 4, 2001)

WhiskeyTango said:


> What did they say their overhead was, something like $1.5 million? For what? I mean, they've pulled like 400 oz of gold and are still a long ways from making a profit.


I thought it was around a million. I'm not sure for what either. They seem to do 2 man crew shifts. Doesn't seem like that much needed overhead.


----------



## vertigo235 (Oct 27, 2000)

Unless they are paying a lot to lease that claim.


----------



## pmyers (Jan 4, 2001)

vertigo235 said:


> Unless they are paying a lot to lease that claim.


which is something that I haven't been able to figure out about this show. Are there actual "claims" with coordinates just like if it was on land?

I've seen them out on the water with little GPS units but I'm not sure if that's because that's where they HAVE to dig or if that's because that's where they WANT to dig because they've found gold there.


----------



## vertigo235 (Oct 27, 2000)

They have mentioned claims before, I assume they have to pay for it, but I'm not certain.


----------



## vertigo235 (Oct 27, 2000)

See here
http://dnr.alaska.gov/mlw/mining/nome/


----------



## pmyers (Jan 4, 2001)

vertigo235 said:


> See here
> http://dnr.alaska.gov/mlw/mining/nome/


Good find. So obviously the Christine Rose is non-recreational but I wonder about the others.


----------



## Tivortex (Feb 29, 2004)

jradosh said:


> OK... enough *****ing about your crew as if it's your crew's fault that the police are after you for failure to pay child support. You're clearly a deadbeat dad trying desperately to strike it rich rather than just taking a hard job and scrapping by. Totally unlikeable.


Unfortunately his crew is even MORE unlikable.


----------



## Gary McCoy (Jun 4, 2003)

justen_m said:


> Gary, I somewhat disagree. Based on the folks I've seen on the show, you are correct. However, physically fit young athletes can survive more than an hour in freezing water. Five hours for me, when I was at Annapolis. When I was near Alaska (not sure where), on the fourth of July, our captain let us swim off the back of the boat, and we had a BBQ on the missile deck.
> 
> I too am appalled at what takes place, and that is why I watch. Hello? You let an untrained diver dive? Not on my watch. The general lack of maintenance on these... boats. If you can call them that. My sailing experience is in the US Navy. Making money wasn't a concern.


Gee, Justen, I'm pretty sure that a Senior Chief gave me the "less than an hour" figure. I mean, what more reliable source could there be than that?

Actually, I know there is considerable variance based on body type, physical condition, and other factors. I understand that obese people stand cold better than any other body type because they have a lot of warm "core" to keep that vital core temperature up.

I know what you mean about those boats though. No safety equipment, no rescue station nearby, no inspections, etc.

Our small boats had to have full safety gear, an inflatable raft, and two functioning outboard motors. At least one rated coxswain had to be present and everybody had to obey his orders.


----------



## Boston Fan (Feb 8, 2006)

Tivortex said:


> Unfortunately his crew is even MORE unlikable.


Actually, I kinda get a kick out of Steve. Crazy SOB can be funny as heck.


----------



## ducker (Feb 21, 2006)

Boston Fan said:


> Actually, I kinda get a kick out of Steve. Crazy SOB can be funny as heck.


Totally agree... the Captain on that ship is a complete a-hole.

I totally agree that the two that are living in the Yurt seem to be a horrific fit. They've talked about how they do live in there and drive each other crazy due to the close proximity to one another.

I'm rather shocked that there isn't any sorta thing between the two of them. I mean being stuck in a small tent for months??? even a guy with an abrasive attitude should have a chance!! Although he doesn't exactly seem like the type that even remotely wants a relationship.


----------



## brettatk (Oct 11, 2002)

Just about every one on this show is an idiot. I'm betting the "real" gold miners hate them, they are making them look really bad.


----------



## Frylock (Feb 13, 2002)

The guy who was standing right next to the piece that broke off, and going "I shouldn't probably stand here" was priceless. I assume he/Discovery were not so dumb to have him stand there intentionally, but it could not have been better timing. And wow, a foot shorter and he is having some serious problems for the rest of his life!


----------



## jradosh (Jul 31, 2001)

If that girl falls in the water one more time I'm canceling my SP.


----------



## pmyers (Jan 4, 2001)

jradosh said:


> If that girl falls in the water one more time I'm canceling my SP.


I agree. I don't think she staged it for the show, but I do think she staged it so he'd have no choice but to go back in. She is something else...


----------



## Tivortex (Feb 29, 2004)

ducker said:


> I'm rather shocked that there isn't any sorta thing between the two of them. I mean being stuck in a small tent for months???


Wait for it......


----------



## Big Deficit (Jul 8, 2003)

I we don't get the car back on the road we'll have to spend the night here and we don't have a tent or a change of clothes? You mean those heartless [email protected]#$ in the camera car that follow you around relentlessly won't give you a ride or at least go for help? Those [email protected]#$'s!


----------



## pmyers (Jan 4, 2001)

Big Deficit said:


> I we don't get the car back on the road we'll have to spend the night here and we don't have a tent or a change of clothes? You mean those heartless [email protected]#$ in the camera car that follow you around relentlessly won't give you a ride or at least go for help? Those [email protected]#$'s!


yeah...that was silly.

But props to them for pushing through and actually getting that jeep out of there. I was impressed from start to finish. They were standing in calf-high water the entire time.

That guy from the sluicy (not the owner but the guy who actually knows what he's doing) seems to be the brightest guy on this show.


----------



## Frylock (Feb 13, 2002)

pmyers said:


> That guy from the sluicy (not the owner but the guy who actually knows what he's doing) seems to be the brightest guy on this show.


To be fair, that's not saying too much. Most of these people seem to want to compete with the Gold Rush guys for bigger collection of morons. At lease these people are finding gold.


----------



## WhiskeyTango (Sep 20, 2006)

Frylock said:


> To be fair, that's not saying too much. Most of these people seem to want to compete with the Gold Rush guys for bigger collection of morons. At lease these people are finding gold.


It's a lot easier to find gold when you just have to look at the floor to find it rather than having to move 50,000 tons of dirt to find out if there is even gold there.


----------



## Gregor (Feb 18, 2002)

I guess the OSHA mine guys (can't remember the acronym) don't have juristiction on sea vessels? Those things look like accidents waiting to happen.


----------



## vertigo235 (Oct 27, 2000)

Either that, or just like Gold Rush, they will all get inspected next year because of the exposure on the show.

(according to the last gold rush show, per Parker, in 25 years they were never inspected, but 1 year after the show airs they are inspected)


----------



## Big Deficit (Jul 8, 2003)

Gregor said:


> I guess the OSHA mine guys (can't remember the acronym) don't have juristiction on sea vessels? Those things look like accidents waiting to happen.


Going to sea in lashed together flotsam? What could possibly go wrong?


----------



## DanB (Aug 14, 2001)

Gregor said:


> I guess the OSHA mine guys (can't remember the acronym) don't have juristiction on sea vessels? Those things look like accidents waiting to happen.


and I guess the Coast Guard doesnt either -- anybody wear life vests?


----------



## Gary McCoy (Jun 4, 2003)

The USCG has jurisdiction over small boats such as these. But there is no USCG presence in Nome, AK. In any case, there is no proactive enforcement by the USCG, except via a completely voluntary organization (the USCG Auxilliary) which inspects private boats and offers safety tips on a voluntary basis. USCG Auxilliary is an all volunteer organization, frequently officered by the local yacht club - the uniforms of USCG Auxilliary "Captains", "Commodores", and "Admirals" have silver braids but otherwise resemble those gold-braided uniforms of real USCG officers. (USCG Auxilliary is all officers and no enlisted worker bees, and some Auxilliary uniforms are quite spectatcular custom creations.)

I'm guessing Nome, AK has no yacht club, and no USCG Auxilliary either.

Basicly if the USCG has to come out and perform Search & Rescue, after saving your life and property, they will issue citations for safety violations. Then those citations have to be cleared before the vessel's registration is again valid. Aside from that, the USCG can invalidate the licenses of the Merchant seamen in charge of the vessel. 

It's frequently the case that after the USCG Search & Rescue, it's cheaper to re-flag the vessel to someplace in Africa that doesn't have such expensive regulations than it is to correct the shortcomings in equipment and crew that are called out in the USCG citation(s). I urge caution if you are booking passage or chartering a boat or even taking a ferry passage and you find out the vessel is registered to some Turd World country. That's a pretty good clue that the vessel and crew don't meet USCG standards.


----------



## pmyers (Jan 4, 2001)

vertigo235 said:


> Either that, or just like Gold Rush, they will all get inspected next year because of the exposure on the show.
> 
> (according to the last gold rush show, per Parker, in 25 years they were never inspected, but 1 year after the show airs they are inspected)


yeah...he wrongly blamed the prodution crew liked they called them and had them do inspection, which wasn't the case. The "publicity" of the show made them a target which then lead to an inspection.


----------



## Gary McCoy (Jun 4, 2003)

I'd say most probably some mine inspector viewed the show and saw safety violations.

Just as a number of USCG veterans including me have seen *Bering Sea Gold*. I would not doubt that something will happen because of it. We have after all seen several incidents that could have resulted in crew fatalities. Yeah, I understand how they dramatize things.


----------



## jradosh (Jul 31, 2001)

Gold Rush spoilers...


Spoiler






vertigo235 said:


> Either that, or just like Gold Rush, they will all get inspected next year because of the exposure on the show.
> 
> (according to the last gold rush show, per Parker, in 25 years they were never inspected, but 1 year after the show airs they are inspected)





pmyers said:


> yeah...he wrongly blamed the prodution crew liked they called them and had them do inspection, which wasn't the case. The "publicity" of the show made them a target which then lead to an inspection.





I'm sure (like me) we're all up-to-date on Gold Rush season II... but we should remember that this is a spoiler thread for _Bering Sea Gold_ and _not_ Gold Rush Alaska II.


----------



## jradosh (Jul 31, 2001)

Wow... a lot of soap opera filler this week with very little actual gold digging. 

BIG SURPRISE... the guy's living with the woman all summer and he wants some. What a revelation! 

I hope the cameras follow the deadbeat dad to jail. That's a story I'd like to see.


----------



## Bob Coxner (Dec 1, 2004)

The girl said she was about the only woman in town and was then crying that she had no place to stay. She was hanging out at the bar and it would seem to me she probably had 50 offers of a place to stay.

Also, she seemed to be flirting the most with the Pomeranke son. He's married.


----------



## vertigo235 (Oct 27, 2000)

Glad they finally said she was Steve's daughter. I thought it was odd they had the same name and it wasn't mentioned before that they were related.


----------



## WhiskeyTango (Sep 20, 2006)

I think it was mentioned in the first episode. 

What I found more odd were Ian and Scott sharing the same last name but not being related and just seemingly getting together at random.


----------



## Jayjoans (Jan 23, 2003)

Yeah, they mentioned she was Steve's daughter in the first episode. Both weirdos. Haines clearly has few women, evidenced by the fact that she is so popular.


----------



## jradosh (Jul 31, 2001)

I think they made a point of saying she was the only female _dredger_ in Nome... not the only female (obviously).



Hannible Lecter said:


> We covet what we see every day. We covet the familiar.


----------



## pmyers (Jan 4, 2001)

well color me surprised when they said she was Steve's daughter. I didn't catch it in the first episode and I didn't see it coming!


----------



## Boston Fan (Feb 8, 2006)

pmyers said:


> well color me surprised when they said she was Steve's daughter. I didn't catch it in the first episode and I didn't see it coming!


Apple/tree.


----------



## Boston Fan (Feb 8, 2006)

Anyone watching the "After the Dredge" behind-the-scenes specials? They're titled differently than the regular episodes in the guide, so my SP didn't pick it up. The first is re-airing on Friday followed by the second (of two). I located the first elsewhere and have the second one set to record now. 

Pretty interesting stuff, and the tensions we saw during the season don't look like they were fabricated at all.


----------



## GDG76 (Oct 2, 2000)

My favorite parts were when Von Acason (AKA Vernon Adkissen) gets so worked up he can't breathe and says two or three word sentences.

And the Pomrenkes certainly didn't make their fortune through their mastery of the English language. 

I still don't understand who the old man with the beard and crooked finger is or what he has to do with the show.


----------



## pmyers (Jan 4, 2001)

Boston Fan said:


> Anyone watching the "After the Dredge" behind-the-scenes specials? They're titled differently than the regular episodes in the guide, so my SP didn't pick it up. The first is re-airing on Friday followed by the second (of two). I located the first elsewhere and have the second one set to record now.
> 
> Pretty interesting stuff, and the tensions we saw during the season don't look like they were fabricated at all.


thanks for the heads-up. My SP didn't pick it up either. Will "After the Dredge" pick it up in the guide?


----------



## justen_m (Jan 15, 2004)

pmyers said:


> thanks for the heads-up. My SP didn't pick it up either. Will "After the Dredge" pick it up in the guide?


I don't think so, unless you use a title word wishlist. The episodes are listed in the guide as "Bering Sea Gold: After the Dredge." There are two of them airing Friday, each airing twice, 7 and 8pm, and then repeated at 9 and 10pm (those are the times my cable co is airing them, anyway).


----------



## pmyers (Jan 4, 2001)

thanks!


----------



## TheLaminator (May 23, 2007)

The fight in the after show definitely did not look staged. Yikes.


----------



## pmyers (Jan 4, 2001)

New series Bering Sea gold: under the ice starts August 24th


----------

