Crew Member Sabotages Wild Bill’s New Fishing Plans | Deadliest Catch

Relentless Waters: The Final Battle on the Bering Sea

317 miles northwest, the 108-foot Cape Caution powers through the unforgiving waves.

“Come on, here we are—our last trip!” Captain Wild Bill Wichrowski announces as the crew hauls in the final pots of the 2014 opilio season. The promise of shore, warmth, and rest is within reach.

With 350,000 pounds of crab already caught, thoughts drift toward land.

“I’ve just been thinking about a hotel room… and just having sex all day long,” a crewman jokes, eager to leave the relentless sea behind. The team prepares to head home nearly a week before the rest of the fleet. Spirits are high.

A Change of Plans

Then, the unexpected.

“Well… maybe not so fast,” Bill says, his voice carrying an air of finality. “I was on the phone with Boner—checking in to see if I wanted more quota. And I said… I’ll take it, baby.”

A hush falls over the crew.

Bill has just accepted an additional 65,000-pound quota. Five more days at sea.

“Nick, we need to make sure we got enough bait to catch this quota. Give me an inventory so I can judge how many pots we have left.”

The crew knows what this means. Less bait, longer hours, and pushing themselves to their limits once again. Greenhorn Miles Johnson, who had counted on making it back in time for school, is blindsided.

“Screws me over because I got school starting on March 3rd.”

“Your schedule is whatever the boat’s schedule is,” Bill responds curtly. “Or it’ll cost you financially—like it does for everybody else here.”

Miles, frustrated, tries to cope with the crushing news.

The Sabotage

The struggle continues as the Cape Caution fights against exhaustion and the unpredictable sea. But soon, something seems… off. The bait is disappearing faster than expected.

“Yo, that’s not gonna fly,” a crewman calls out.

Bill’s eyes narrow. “What?”

“Dude, I see what you did. Do what you’re told.”

Bill doesn’t hesitate. He calls Miles to the wheelhouse. “We might as well address this right now. Stunts like this? I will have more bait brought up, and we will make this a 14- or 16-day mother trip.”

The young greenhorn, caught red-handed, says nothing.

“Miles, I don’t give a damn about your problem with school,” Bill continues. “You need to come up here and explain yourself. That’s short of sabotage.”

Miles remains silent, his face unreadable.

Bill shakes his head, recalling past incidents. “Guys have gotten up in the middle of the night and thrown bait over the side. Other crew members literally beat them within an inch of their lives for it. I don’t know if Miles even wants to come back. But that… that just cost him a lot of money.”

Bill glares. “I don’t know what you were thinking, kid. That was a total screw-up. I never heard one word about this school nonsense until now. I need the name and number of your school. Because if you leave here under anything but the right conditions, it’s gonna haunt you.”

Miles barely nods.

A Test of Strength

The tension lingers, but work continues. In a desperate bid for amusement, the crew bets a hundred bucks on a daring feat.

“We got a hundred bucks if you jump down there and grab a crab.”

“Let me see the money first.”

“Benjamin.”

With that, a crew member takes the plunge. The icy water swallows him whole.

“Oh my God!” Laughter erupts as he scrambles back up, shivering but victorious.

Even in the harshest conditions, the sea never takes everything. There’s still room for defiance, for laughter, and for the unbreakable brotherhood that binds them all together.

And so, with the Cape Caution grinding toward the last haul, the journey continues—one more battle against the relentless Bering Sea.