Keith Colburn Desperately Searches for Jake Anderson & Crew After Toxic Gas Leak

[Warning: The below contains spoilers for Deadliest Catch Season 21]

The August 8 episode of Deadliest Catch picked up where the premiere left off with Captain Jake Anderson sending out a Mayday distress signal aboard the Titan Explorer. The captains in range listened over  the radio, concerned for the crew and Jake. Four hours earlier, there was a toxic ammonia leak that triggered an unfortunate series of events that forced the Titan Explorer crew off the $4 million vessel. Now it was a matter of Captain Keith Colburn, who was the closest in the area, to find them. After some touch and go, Keith was able to locate the raft. After the rescue Jake was overcome with emotion and embraced Keith. A sobering reminder of how they risk their lives every season at sea. 

The Wizard set course back to the Titan Explorer where there was hope they could get it back up and running. With the smell of ammonia all but gone, Jake took some of his crew to restart the systems. Jake made it back into the wheelhouse after power was restored. He located the safety cap piece that came off on a valve that “almost cost them their lives.” Keith respected Jake’s grit and effort in wanting to stay on the grind.

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Jake shared an emotional conversation with his wife Jenna as he explained the harrowing experience. She questioned if it was a good idea to be out there that far south. “I just hope it turns out to be worth it because you have a lot to come home to,” she reminded him. Keith and Jake hoped to find some good crab in the area and quickly came up with pots full of king crab. The light at the end of a few very dark moments. 

Meanwhile captains Sig Hansen and Johnathan Hillstrand are hoping their Adak Island gamble pays off. After their big first haul, things take a turn as they come up short. They’re looking to offset close to $30,000 on fuel between their two vessels the Time Bandit and Northwestern. The latter captained by Sig’s daughter Mandy and son-in-law Clark Pederson. Given the lack of return, Johnathan suggested they may want to explore another potential spot he saw on the radar. Sig disagreed.

That didn’t stop Johnathan from hinting to Clark to go further west to see what they could get there. When Sig found out he went around him, he was not happy. “Don’t gamble with my boat,” he said. “I’ll write you a check for fuel, but yeah I sent them out there.” Johnathan said, standing behind his decision. The directive worked out with the Northwestern collecting a pot with 80 crabs. A great sign there was more where that came from. Sig was happy with the result and returned to his vessel to take back the captain reins. 

We catch up with Steve “Harley” Davidson for the first time this season as he co-captains a new vessel in Confidence. He has his work cut out for him with an unfamiliar boat, unproven crew and a wildcard with co-captain James Gamberton. Harley isn’t happy with the crew right out of the gate. One even hit their head on a pot. Their numbers of crab aren’t good either. Making matters worse, they lose power. The crew checked the engine room to see what was up. They also lost some fuel. When James cleaned the fuel system, the fuel valve was closed, which caused issues. James admittedly messed up. A rough start, but Harley was hopeful he could get his motley crew on track. 

Deadliest Catch, Fridays, 8/7c, Discovery Channel