Tonight's episode of “Bering Sea Gold” is titled "Don't Tell Me to Chillax!" Many of the miners have already left Nome because the weather has been so bad. Those who stuck it out may just be in for the mother lode.
As Vern Adkison gives Steve Reidel his performance review, the future looks grim for Steve; who is producing at about half the amount of his fellow dredger, Daryl. If Steve does not produce, he had better find another employer.
On the other side of town, Shawn Pomrenke is ready to leave his family for his jail sentence. He will be away for ten days; a critical ten days during the season. Their land payment is coming due and while Shawn is away, Steve will be working extra hard to make up for the loss of Shawn and the eight kids he supports. Thank goodness Steve has Cody Moen on the job. Shawn will be going to the penitentiary this time.
On the "Wild Ranger," Daryl just spent eight hours in the sea, at the moment it is Steve's turn. Vern will currently clean out the front of the box after each dredger to determine who is most productive. Daryl did well and set the bar very high for Steve. Steve is right in the same hole where Daryl was dredging; rather than find his own honey hole.
On "The Edge," John Bunce has been on the gold for four hours. John has had problems since he attempted to swim out to the dredge at the beginning of the season. Emily and Zeke have also been at odds this season. To add further to their cause, Zeke's brother and friend are also dredging on "The Clark." While Emily is up on deck, she notices that John is swimming and the skiff is drifting by itself. Zeke attempts to swim to the skiff, but is unable to make it. As he makes it back to "The Edge," he starts yelling to John as his $10,000 skiff is out on its own. Zeke decides to go below and tie a rope to the hoses and rescue the skiff. Emily and Zeke have to pull anchor and the hoses. The anchor gets stuck on the rocks below and she is unable to pull it up. John has let Zeke down once, and now he is acting irrational again. John finally catches up with the skiff and Zeke is so upset, that he just sends John home.
On the "Christine Rose," they have put in eighty hours straight and hope to reach enough to make the land payment. Steve knows that to be a gold miner, one must be a gambler. Cody feels confident about the rocks he has been getting. As they pull up the mats, they find plenty of yellow, the exact color they are seeking.
After losing hours chasing the skiff, Zeke is back down below. Zeke wants Emily to move the anchor while he is below, but it is not a safe move. Zeke could die underwater and Emily could miss his call for help. Zeke came up realizing that he was wrong to question Emily's decision.
Steve Reidel is still below and Vern anxiously awaiting the results of his clean up. Suddenly, the visibility is getting cloudier down below and he calls it quits after only three and a half hours. The clean up proved to be a bust for Steve.
On the "Christine Rose," they need seven pounds of gold to pay their land bill. Cody helped Steve with the clean up and assured him that he was trustworthy. Steve already knew that. They got over 120 ounces today and got close enough to their goal. As Steve headed out to clear their debt, he made the payment in time. Now the weather again takes over.
A gold panning contest in Nome is attended by many contestants. They put three nuggets in a pan and the fastest panner wins. Steve Pomrenke is the odds-on favorite. However, the winner is John Bunce who found the nuggets in twenty seconds.
Vern gave Steve Reidel another chance, even though his was far behind Daryl, who has many years of experience on Steve. Daryl feels otherwise, especially when Steve pours out gold into his hand risking losing any minute particles. Daryl called Steve a worm, a derogatory term in the oil fields for a greenhorn who does not know what they are doing.
As John hangs his trophy on "The Edge," he proclaims that he is the best miner in all of Nome. Despite a day filled with mishaps, Zeke agrees to give him props for the rest of the season.
So far, for the season; "Christine Rose" dredged 369 ounces worth $609,883.20. The "Wild Ranger" found 33.8 ounces worth $55,864.64. "The Edge" had 22.6 ounces worth $37,353.28, and "Anchor Management" landlocked at 2.5 of an ounce for $4,132.00. Once again, the unpredictable people and weather make the "Bering Sea Gold" very hard find.
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