Deadliest Catch’s Northwestern power cuts off over 100 miles from coastline
It was a panicked moment for Deadliest Catch’s Northwestern when the generator suddenly broke. Crews onboard were over 100 miles from the coastline, but were left with zero power.
Crabbing season is certainly a risky trip for Deadliest Catch stars. So when the Northwestern F/V primary generator breaks, they have to pilot manually for a while, and are left in complete darkness.
The Northwestern power cuts off
The Northwestern was travelling 100 miles out at sea, when the primary generator suddenly cut off, leaving the crew with no power to run on. They are then left in total darkness for the entire night.
With the power out, crews had to use their torches and bring the crabbing cages in. The generator does not appear to be switching over either, when they try to use a back-up option.
However, a good sign is the engine is still running. Deckhand Clark reveals they still have no power, while engineer Norman said there “has to be a problem in the panel.”
Captain Sig Hansen left exhausted
With no power to the wheel, Captain Sig Hansen has to try to drive the boat, but it’s exhausting work. He switches to use the battery, with him revealing they’re “not dead in the water.”
They also have steering manual, and choose to sit on it for the night. “Problem is we don’t have modern electronics, we don’t have GPS,” said Hansen, adding it’s going to be “a long couple hours”.
“We’re going to do the best we can out here with the tools we have, but it’s not going to be fun,” Hansen revealed, with him operating the throttle while Clark, is forced to turn it manually with the ship’s wheel.
Crews let the Northwestern drift while straightening out the wheel. Clark says it’s “exhausting especially as they have to be in sync” – but they only manage to catch a few crab at first.
Devoid of mechanical assistance, Clark had to put in the shift of his life to stay the course. Sig checks to see if his son-in-law is “hard over,” while helping him to steer the boat.
Deadliest Catch fans praise Hansen
With their hard work paying off, and several crabs – 55, to be exact – starting to come in, Clark’s arms were feeling “dead” just as the last load of crabs came in. Sig admits, “That’s not easy.”
One fan wrote: “Takes balls to pilot a big boat manually. Good thinking on Sig for not throwing out the manual steering system.” Another penned: “It’s really hard work to move an big boat manually!”
They added, “It takes all energy out of you! I’m so damn proud that they did do that! Even what it took to stay on course!” A fellow viewer said, “Watching men work old school (manually) is pretty awesome!”
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