'Deadliest Catch' Season 14, Episode 6 recap: a storm proves how dangerous crab fishing can be

'Deadliest Catch' Season 14, Episode 3 saw captain Sean break an alliance. (Discovery Communications)

It was one of the hardest weeks yet for the captains of “Deadliest Catch” Season 14 as a storm threatened to capsize ships and send others back to shore with nothing to show for their outing.

Episode 6 opens with captain Sean Dwyer laying it all out. There’s a storm headed straight for the Bering Sea that will force each captain to determine whether heading back to land for safety is a priority, or braving the rough waters in order to meet their quota. For skipper Jake Anderson on the Saga, the answer is clear.

Having taken bad advice from Keith Colburn, Anderson is out on his own and trying to lay pots to the south where no one has been yet. This is his first time as a captain, and he’s determined to sink or swim on his own. No more taking advice from more-seasoned fisherman. While his path of self determination is inspiring, it puts his crew into the path of the storm.

He’s not alone out there. Captain Wild Bill is suffering one of the worst starts to a season in his long career. He’s finally hot to a little bit of crab and he doesn’t want to lose that momentum. However, after a few close calls with the waves, the seasoned captain is forced to throw in the towel and get his men back to safety while he still can.

On the Cornelia Marie, captains Casey and Josh are faced with a similar dilemma. They initially hit crab in big numbers, but that well quickly dried up. In a last-ditch-effort, they collect their last string of pots which will determine whether they’re able to go to safety before the storm, or set out like the Saga.

Fortunately, their pots come up with numbers better than expected. After a brief celebration in the wheelhouse, the captains set sail for shore. Joining them is captain Sean Dwyer, who managed to get his gear out just ahead of the storm, allowing him to let them soak while he and his crew sit in safety.

Meanwhile, Anderson is on a quest to move on to better fishing grounds and there’s just a storm standing between him and them. His crew hits their biggest snag yet when a deckhand fails to properly secure the pots on deck, forcing them to restack all of them in 60 mph winds with dangerous waves crashing all around them. It may seem trivial, but if the pots aren’t secured and the wrong wave hits the wrong part of the ship, they’re in very real danger of capsizing.

Fortunately, when the storm passes, the young skipper learns that taking the big risk helped him.

When captain Sean gets back out there, he pulls his pots to find them almost empty. Anderson, meanwhile, has finally found his fishing ground and begins loading pot after pot of usable crab into his boat. The episode ends with Anderson overjoyed that he’s not only out of danger of missing his quota, but he pulled himself out of the rough spot all by himself.