Jake Faces 15ft Waves And A Broken Clutch On His First Trip As Captain | Deadliest Catch

Captain Jake Anderson’s First String Ends in Disappointment and Challenges

Jake Anderson picks up his first string today, but the weather is relentless.
“It’s blowing about 30 knots from the northeast, with 10 to 12-foot seas—and an occasional 20-footer,” Jake said. “I’m just nervous as hell.”

The rookie captain approached the first pots of his career, the boat rolling in the waves.
“Oh, it’s nice—beautiful day on the Bering Sea, once again,” he said sarcastically. “Seas are at least 15 feet, one probably 30 or 35, and it’s blowing more than I’d like. I’m real nervous because this is the first string I’ve ever set on my own in my life.”

The rough weather was no ally. Visibility was poor, and Jake struggled to spot the first pot bag.
“This weather isn’t helping anybody,” he muttered.

Finally, the pot came into view.
“There it is. Oh, there it is! You got her!” Jake shouted. “Alright, let’s see if Mr. M has love for you guys.”

The moment of truth arrived as the first pot was hauled up.
“We’re going to find out if I’m a zero or a hero pretty quickly,” Jake said.

Anticipation turned to dismay as the pot’s contents were revealed.
“Oh my God, it’s… it’s garbage,” Jake said. “None of these crabs are good. There’s about 800 juvenile crabs here—so much trash, I don’t even know what to do with it.”

Jake had waited his entire life for this moment, but it wasn’t what he had imagined.
“I’ve dreamed about this, but now… I don’t even know what to feel,” he admitted.

The numbers were grim.
“Ten good crabs out of 800,” Jake said. “That’s terrible. Junk crab in there, damn it. This is not good.”

The pot had netted 790 juvenile crabs, all of which had to be returned to the sea. For Jake, it was a hard lesson in patience and experience.
“You don’t just jump up here and start running a boat,” he said. “It takes time.”

Rather than overexert his crew, Jake made the call to toss the empty pots back into the water.
“There’s no point in keeping these crabs on the table,” he said. “It’s freezing, and they’ll die. Better to put them back in the water and avoid burning out the crew.”

As if the disappointing catch wasn’t enough, a new problem arose: the clutch on the auxiliary engine that powered the hydraulics burned out.
“Now we don’t have hydraulics,” Jake said. “This isn’t good.”

With work on deck at a halt, Jake faced two options: head to port for repairs or attempt a patch job at sea.
“I really wanted to run these two strings,” Jake said. “But this puts me in a peculiar situation. The things going wrong are fixable, but I’m worried about the guys.”

After consulting with his crew, Jake made the call to repair the clutch at sea.
“It’s going to take four guys,” he explained. “We’ll go down there and handle it as best we can. This isn’t a one-man operation.”

As the crew worked together to fix the problem, Jake reflected on the challenges of his first outing as captain.
“Right now, I doubt myself,” he admitted. “I’m trying to provide for my family and lead these guys, but it feels like everything is going wrong. This is not going well.”

With repairs underway and the weather still rough, Captain Jake Anderson pressed on, determined to prove himself despite the mounting challenges.