On the finale of Deadliest Catch airing Tuesday night, we may see the genesis of what could be the first female captain of a crabbing vessel on the award-winning series. On the F/V Northwestern, Captain Sig Hansen gives daughter Mandy a final test at the helm: find some crab or prolong an already costly Opilio fishery.
One of the things gleaned from our exclusive interview with Captain Sig Hansen of the F/V Northwestern before this season began was that he was eyeing an exit strategy. His daughter Mandy is a well trained and now seasoned right hand on the ship. She seems ready to take the reins and captain a boat of her own if this clip is read-between-the-lines.
In our exclusive clip ahead of the finale, Mandy is shown honing in on crab stock as Sig conceded she “kind of” knows what she is doing. It’s a fun way to end a season that was loaded with crab and lots of drama, and rewarded with Emmy accolades too.
According to Discovery’s bio write up:
“Mandy takes after her father Sig in many ways — she is charismatic, hardworking, and stubborn. Unlike her father, Mandy is learning the maritime ways not only from her family but also in the classroom. Having attended the Maritime Institute in San Diego, Mandy aspires to one day be a ship captain in her own right and has earned much of her required “sea time” at the wheel of the Northwestern. She has been taking on more responsibility on the Northwestern, from driving in big weather to brainstorming strategy…”
In the clip, Captain Sig praises her work and says that she may “have more luck” than he does. Mandy laughs at this and says: “At this rate? I hope so.”
Overall, she is pretty modest and yet confident in her abilities in the captain’s cabin.
Narrator Mike Rowe adds his patented gravitas to heighten the moment:
“After eight weeks studying with a master and setting parallel strings on Western grounds during her final exam … Mandy well either pass or fail,”
Will she prevail?
Right before the pot is pulled up to verify if her Intel was good and strategy sound for where they fished, Sig says: “This is what’s
gonna dictate the rest of this day… right here. Hopefully, Mandy had them in the right spot…let’s see what you did kid…catch me some crabbies! Here it comes…”
Fade to the deckhands saying “Oh my god,” which can be a good or a bad thing.
Also on the finale, after eight frozen weeks out in the Bering, both captains and crews fight through one last storm to bring their winter season to a close.
Captain Sean Dwyer of the F/V Brenna A gets shellacked by a rogue wave, sending his crew running for cover. It puts his greenhorn between a pot and a hard place. The United States Coast Guard will try a daring rescue of a deckhand with a gruesome spiral fracture of his Fibula and Tibia amid building seas.
Captain Steve “Harley” Davidson of the F/V Southern Wind rips his greenhorn and nephew Brady to pieces.
On the F/V Cornelia Marie, Co-Captain’s Josh Harris and Casey McManus’s race to fill their quota is on the line. They rush to offload their million-dollar catch under the worrisome dead crab loss.
And, a special crab pothook to reel in the Emmy Award news:
Deadliest Catch is up for three Emmy awards, including Outstanding Unstructured Reality Show. The winners will arrive on Saturday, Sept 14 at the Microsoft Theater in downtown Los Angeles.
Tune in to see if Mandy will be ready to be a captain in the next season:
Deadliest Catch airs on Tuesday at 9 pm on Discovery.