Bering Sea Gold season 3 - 12/13/13

Ordell

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Feb 8, 2013
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Ok, ep 1 is over.

* Emily has her own ship, Eroica. I thought it was supposed to be Eurotica. She took The Edge from Zeke in a deal they made but it needed a ton of work. An engine blew up and that set off more Emily drama.

* Her idiot dad has a skiff appropriately named Minnow. I guess that makes him Gilligan.

* Meisterheim is working for a Christine Rose clone, a ship with a backhoe, called Au Grabber. He's not the captain, he works for someone else for once. I can't remember the guy's name, except it was a very ethnic German name.

* Zeke made a late appearance and sounds like he's losing his mind. He said during the winter he didn't shower or change his clothes for 3 months. In addition to Bunce's death, another friend of his committed suicide. I think this kid is in trouble.

* There was another guy who built the underwater sluice, but he lost it. He claims it floated off on an iceberg. I wouldn't be surprised if it was stolen.
 

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Selective and creative editing is more right than calling it scripted. "Contrived" might also be a valid word. As you can see on the show, I was standing there when Zeke was describing his side of the story and I was sitting next to Emily while she and Zeke were going at it. I felt it was unbelievable, awkward and contrived. But at no time did I see or hear any direction from anyone given to these two, maybe it happened beforehand. I don't know. I don't care.

For most crews, the show is an accurate representation of the typical problems, errors, and meager success that people go through their first year or two. But if they still have not made it by the second year then they go home and get a job at perhaps Walmart or McDonald's, which for most people is relatively high paying compared to gold dredging.
 

Selective and creative editing is more right than calling it scripted. "Contrived" might also be a valid word. As you can see on the show, I was standing there when Zeke was describing his side of the story and I was sitting next to Emily while she and Zeke were going at it. I felt it was unbelievable, awkward and contrived. But at no time did I see or hear any direction from anyone given to these two, maybe it happened beforehand. I don't know. I don't care. For most crews, the show is an accurate representation of the typical problems, errors, and meager success that people go through their first year or two. But if they still have not made it by the second year then they go home and get a job at perhaps Walmart or McDonald's, which for most people is relatively high paying compared to gold dredging.

I suspect that there's more truth to the drama then people believe ... There was a day when. I thought it was all scripted but after our lobster diving trip this year to the florida keys my perspective changed a lot . We had a rough time with the weather rough seas and diving compressor we had somewhat of a melt down between 4 good friends
It suddenly turned into a mess and reminded me of this very show ... We worked it out by the end of the trip but it made me realize how different people are and the the different ways they deal with things in life ... Especially when there's prolonged stress and lively hoods at steak ....
I do believe they plot some roles like Scott mysterhime to give us some villains to hate in the show .... But over all we watch from a distance not knowing the daily trials these folks go thru ... And you add the human factor in it and the magic begins

The truth is we all are a lot more of a mess than most of us care to believe ! Just look around .... We r all our own kind of crazy....
 

We r all our own kind of crazy....so true! Just for example, for some irrational reason, I am willing to stand in ice cold water for hours to get a few bucks an hour worth of a mineral I don't really need. Hmm.
 

We r all our own kind of crazy....so true! Just for example, for some irrational reason, I am willing to stand in ice cold water for hours to get a few bucks an hour worth of a mineral I don't really need. Hmm.


We are kinda nuts, aren't we...a good kinda nuts, but nuts nonetheless. :laughing7:
 

Well I do not know about most of you but I have learned not to put any trust into anyone. Always check and double check when your life is on the line. From our viewer side of this show it sure seems to me that all players in this show place their life into hands of others without much thought that they will lose their life. How many times have we seen issues with air supply, heated wetsuits, engine failures, running out of fuel, etc. and just plain carelessness by individuals who really could care a less if the person below the water returns. Very little team work above or below the water of which leads me to think most of this show is scripted because where in else could you find so many stupid individuals willing to risk so much.
 

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Well I do know about most of you but I have learned not to put any trust into anyone. Always check and double check when your life is on the line. From our viewer side of this show it sure seems to me that all players in this show place their life into hands of other without much thought that they will lose their life. How many times have we seen issues with air supply, heated wetsuits, engine failures, running out of fuel, etc. and just plain carelessness by individuals who really could care a less if the person below the water returns. Very little team work above or below the water of which leads me to think most of this show is scripted because where in else could you find so many stupid individuals willing to risk so much.
The one big safety factor they have which goes unmentioned for the most part is the second boat you never see...the one supporting the camera man! For that matter, the camera man/diver is right there with the dredge diver the whole time as their 'invisible' buddy. As any of you who are certified scuba divers know, your most important piece of safety gear is your brain, a close second is your dive buddy.
 

The one big safety factor they have which goes unmentioned for the most part is the second boat you never see...the one supporting the camera man! For that matter, the camera man/diver is right there with the dredge diver the whole time as their 'invisible' buddy. As any of you who are certified scuba divers know, your most important piece of safety gear is your brain, a close second is your dive buddy.

Kevin I know that the cameraman is right there, but some of the camera crew is not on top of everything as well. This is why I say that the drama is all staged, Like Scott running out of fuel when the diver is under water and his air supply has died, the air supply to the brother sucking exhaust fumes while his brother is manning everything above. Then the snotty nose gal is to be keeping everything running above when Zeke had issue dredging. It just does not add up.

Furthermore Discovery Channel is not about to let someone die on their watch. Signing a wavier does not mean crap in a court of law, those who think they have signed their lives away by signing a wavier needs to seek advice from a lawyer cause it holds no weight.
 

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I have noticed though The Camera Man seems to be uninterested in Rescue
Or the divers have a safe word/move that they have never used yet.
but would tell the Camera man "Look ! Drop that camera now ! I'm in real Trouble"

because every time they got in trouble so far,
the camera man just kept filming instead of trying to help.

I know they are told not to get involved, But their has to be exceptions.

Or these are all re-enactments
 

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The cameraman has had to help in a couple cases. The biggest error I see in all these diving scenes is the dredger not following their tether up. Proper tether management is the biggest safety concern. When ascending I would always grab the tether and spool it up in my arms, that way if I get disoriented or tangled, I can more quickly find my way up. If I do something weird while underwater, I always recheck my tether to make sure I didn't foul it.

Running out of air is not really a concern, if the air compressor stops, the pressure soon drops and I notice. Even at a low pressure the surface reserve tank has enough for me to slowly surface after I notice. And even if I run completely out of air, I can go without for the 1 second per foot it takes to surface (20 seconds).

Most of the underwater scenes are reenactments, because the film diver is not there all the time, they have several crews to film and only one or two underwater cameramen. Notice how the mask or suit colors change above vs below water.
 

Kevin I know that the cameraman is right there, but some of the camera crew is not on top of everything as well. This is why I say that the drama is all staged, Like Scott running out of fuel when the diver is under water and his air supply has died, the air supply to the brother sucking exhaust fumes while his brother is manning everything above. Then the snotty nose gal is to be keeping everything running above when Zeke had issue dredging. It just does not add up. Furthermore Discovery Channel is not about to let someone die on their watch. Signing a wavier does not mean crap in a court of law, those who think they have signed their lives away by signing a wavier needs to seek advice from a lawyer cause it holds no weight.
Good points. Especially the one about waivers. Also the staging/reenacting.
 

Hey AK_Au_Diver, man that's some great behind the scenes 411 appreciate it. I'm curious though, because I commented about it during the airing of the "Zeke -Emily" spat, where Zeke was demanding his money. I'm guessing your one of the "two other investors" in the dredge, so why don't you guys just buy Zeke out and let Emily sink or swim? Obviously can't know everything through the tee vee screen or the way things get edited, seemed almost logical though, she did spruce up the dredge and "seems" to have some knowledgeable crew (if she'll listen to them). Anyway, keep it up, love the commentary.
 

Hehnlin (as seen on the Ice show) and I built the dredge for ourselves to use. But then we didn't win any leases in the auction (people that never stuck their head underwater were bidding way more than they were worth). We were offered partnerships with the largest most successful offshore Nome suction dredging operation. So the dredge was just going to sit idle.

I tried to sell or lease it to some of the people that won leases, since it was too big to operate on the Rec areas, but it turns out they were just using offshore mining as a securities scam to play out their childish fantasies on investor's money (I won't say their name since they are much better with lawyers than I, but let's call them azure aqua aurum).

Then Zeke asked if he could rent the dredge for that season (filmed as BSG season 2). The deal was for 20% of the gold they got with the dredge, with a $50k minimum in advance, so I could buy the needed upgrades, outboards and controls, new engines, new jet, and payoff the guys I bought the pontoons from. Well he only paid $20k advance and no gold money at all. So Hehnlin, Zeke, and I agreed that he could buy the dredge, we would apply the $20k to the purchase, and he would make monthly payments.

Zeke made several payments to us, then convinced Emily to buy the dredge from us and pay him back. Emily made several payments to us, then spent way too much money on a few major improvements, some of which were needed because Zeke trashed the dredge and removed the tether, air compressor, and water pumps. Zeke demanded all the remaining money from her at once, which wasn't the deal. Zeke never held title to the dredge, that paper he ripped up was a blank sheet. I recorded the whole round table discussion myself, just to have a complete unedited version if it turns out I need it.

Bottom line, I better get the rest of the money owed me before the start of next season, or there will be some non-fabricated drama. And I hope Zeke has found the help he needs.
 

AK Au DIver, Thanks for putting the true reality in a reality program. I set back while watching the last episode and could not understand why the two of you were not speaking up. It was obvious that you two held the high cards but all we could hear was Zeke going on and on like he was almost the sole owner and was calling all the shots. Thanks for the clearing that up.
 

They edited out everything I said. I held all the cards, Zeke had absolutely no bargaining power. He never received a bill of sale, the boat was never in his name. We went along with Zeke's crazy rant because he was acting unstable and the damage he could do was real, despite the security cameras. Besides, he really was owed money and wasn't being paid.

That was a two hour meeting condensed into 1 minute for TV.
 

Miners and convaluted drama go hand in hand no matter what state,what form or who. Part and parcel to a hard life of honest labor to further ones self without a tie and a cubicle to rot away in. These shows only reinforce my dredge camp ethics-absolute minimal booze,no drugs,and no women as just a HUGE convalution with no solution. Bummer to see $600,000+(hypothetical) spent on a mass floating barge as with no experience means the world of hard knocks is a coming as all mining requires experience and dues paid. Hahahaha along with actually paying for your equipment PRIOR to use....lotza luck-John
 

Hank's $600k is probably pretty close, if he were to buy everything. He already owned most of the components. As I understand it, Scott owned the barge, somehow. The dredge I want to build would need about $3M for construction, shipping, and the first year's expenses.

No/low drinking and no drugs is pretty important for a successful operation in Nome or anywhere.

All green crews, like Hank, Scott, and the other guy, go through a learning curve. What he needed to do was to find a competent ocean miner to help train him. Unfortunately for Hank and other new dredge owners, competent successful miners know better than to go work for a new operation before it's had a chance to shake out all the bugs and flail; there are plenty of places they could work instead.

Our dredge was rafted to the AuGrabber when they had that fuel spill; you can see our blue outrigger pontoon that Hank crawled on to put down the absorbent pads. Those 4' diameter by 24' long pontoons help support the weight of the 24,000lb mining ROV during LAR operations.

I wish they had showed more about Hank's bell. Coast Guard requires one, he didn't have one. So he used an old acetylene tank, cut the top 1/3 off, cleaned out the media and made his own bell.

I'm glad they showed the poor state of the Rec area. I don't know of any crew that gets enough to be worthwhile, especially with 3 or 4 guys. The only people that do ok in the Rec areas are small established owner-operators, with very low expenses.

Andrew
 

Lean,mean,quiet,small,paid for and good to go has always worked for me. Be the master of your own destiny and trust no one when it comes to gold....John
 

We r all our own kind of crazy....so true! Just for example, for some irrational reason, I am willing to stand in ice cold water for hours to get a few bucks an hour worth of a mineral I don't really need. Hmm.

LOL. One of my favorite sayings is "We are all weird...it's just that some of us are better at hiding it".8-)
 

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