The Horrifying Moment When The Deadliest Catch Crew Didn't Have A Life Raft
One of the most unfortunate things about Discovery's crab fishing reality series "Deadliest Catch" is the source of its somewhat blunt title. The series takes its name from the extreme risk of death that comes with commercial fishing — especially in the tumultuous and unpredictable Bering Sea, where much of the series takes place.
Although the show has only suffered a few fishing-related tragedies throughout the years (most notably in the horrific sinking of the F/V Destination, which took the lives of all six crew members aboard), it seems like there are dozens of close calls nearly every season. One terrifying example is the scary overboard moment in Season 3, which saw a deckhand dragged down into the icy water amidst 30-foot waves. Audiences are reminded nearly every episode that these are real life-or-death situations out there on the open ocean, where tragedy is merely a slip and fall away at any given moment.
That said, perhaps one of the most harrowing moments in the entire series is the moment when the F/V Saga lost their life raft in the middle of the open ocean.
The F/V Saga lost their life raft, and nearly put several crew members overboard
During the Season 17 episode "Point of No Return," the F/V Saga (led by Captain Jake Anderson) finds itself in the midst of a cyclone out on the open ocean — putting the entire crew on edge. Matters suddenly become a whole lot worse when, in the middle of the night, the boat's life raft abruptly comes undone and starts slipping off the boat (via YouTube). Several deckhands try to get it back on board to no avail, nearly slipping over the edge themselves before it finally falls into the water.
Outside of falling into the water themselves, the last thing the crew wants is to lose their life raft in the middle of such a dangerous situation. Watching the deckhands stumble around and nearly go overboard while trying to pull the life raft back on board is undeniably nerve-racking, and the ordeal only ends once they pop the raft and allow it to deflate — rendering it completely worthless. As if this terrifying ordeal wasn't bad enough, several days later, the ship was boarded by the Coast Guard, and Jake Anderson is forced to report the embarrassing news that the crew had lost their raft.
Although this may seem like a minor incident considering some of the other intense situations we've seen throughout the series, there's just something so brutal about watching the crew nearly lose their footing aboard the ice-slicked deck — and in the process, losing their only chance of escape should things go bad aboard the F/V Saga.