Gathering Storm (2020) s01e02 Episode Script

1
CRICO: Oh, yeah, Crico,
let's just fish in middle of a hurricane!
(LAUGHS)
We might be in the middle of a waterspout!
I'm gonna die.
(THUNDERCLAP)
Well, hello.
NARRATOR: Off the coast of Texas,
veteran captain Carl Roby,
on board the fishing boat Cynthia Renee,
is hauling his first catch of the day.
NARRATOR: The Cynthia Renee
has been at sea for eight days,
during the hottest June on record.
(CARL SPEAKING)
NARRATOR: Commercial fishing
in the Gulf of Mexico
generates $900 million a year.
But for almost half the year,
boats operate under a constant threat.
June 1st is the start of hurricane season.
The Gulf coast is home
to 15 million people.
Out in the ocean are 3,500 oil platforms,
all in one of the most notorious
hurricane hotspots in the world.
Now, some of these platforms,
as well as cargo ships,
government vessels and fishing boats
in the Gulf of Mexico
FISHERMAN: Whoa!
NARRATOR: will carry
National Geographic cameras
for an entire hurricane season.
To document one year's storms
across our changing planet,
on a scale never seen before.
Hello, my name's Kenneth MacWhirter,
we're at Grand Isle 22, Lima platform.
NARRATOR: Cox Oil is one
of the privately-owned oil companies
in the Gulf,
operating more than 500 platforms
stretching from Florida to Texas.
KENNETH: All right, we're gonna
get on the helicopter.
We're gonna up here
and meet Mr. Danny Domain.
There he is, right there.
Takes care of all our safety issues
and compliance issues.
NARRATOR: In hurricane season,
all eyes are fixed on the skies
to the southeast,
towards the Atlantic and Caribbean.
This is the usual route in for hurricanes.
But just a few weeks into the season,
meteorologists have spotted
a threatening weather pattern
coming from the opposite direction,
the north.
MAN: Tim, what are you looking at here?
NARRATOR: This is not
where hurricanes usually come from.
If the system hits the Gulf,
high sea temperatures
could cause it to intensify,
becoming a hurricane in less than a day.
CAPTAIN: Stand by,
we're almost through our turn.
- We're almost through our turn.
- (INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER)
NARRATOR: 220 miles
off the Texas coast,
United States Coast Guard Cutter Cypress,
is en route to a designated location
in the middle of the Gulf.
- We've got this sling ready to go.
- MAN: All right.
We're hooking everything up. I'll climb.
NARRATOR: The Cypress has
a specialist role among Coast Guard ships.
They work with the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration,
or NOAA, to maintain their network
of ocean weather monitoring buoys.
CAPTAIN: They're pretty important buoys.
They provide data in the Gulf of Mexico,
to give early warning of storms.
A lot of commercial traffic
goes through the Gulf of Mexico,
it's in the trillions of dollars
in terms of commercial industry,
so, a pretty important mission.
NARRATOR: Today, the crew of the Cypress
are deploying a weather buoy,
that will give NOAA
live wind and wave data
from more than 200 miles offshore.
But the weather will play a big part
in determining how smoothly
this operation goes.
We'll try to give you
the best ride we can.
I'm not sure how much
of a lee we'll be able to give ya.
The conditions are gonna pick up.
All right.
NARRATOR: They will be setting
a four-ton concrete anchor,
12,000 feet of cable and a fragile
half million dollar weather buoy.
Even in calm weather,
this is a precarious operation.
- We've got some weather coming in.
- Is it coming fast?
Or what did they say?
Pretty fast, it's rain.
Let's send the buoy out.
Yeah.
Hopefully, just in time
before it starts pouring down rain,
'cause it's coming.
NARRATOR: The storm has turned south
and is approaching
the warm seas of the Gulf.
The National Weather Service
issues coastal forecasts
and now, they're preparing
to announce storm warnings.
The one reason we're getting concerned
is if it gets into the Gulf of Mexico,
it's gonna start getting
into this much warmer area,
so these reds here are much warmer water
off the Louisiana coast
over the next few days,
where the upper level shear
will become more favorable
for intensification and development.
NARRATOR: Almost as soon
as the system reaches
the warm seas of the Gulf,
it intensifies to a sustained wind speed
of 40 miles per hour,
making it officially a tropical storm
and earning it a name.
Barry.
(CAPTAIN SPEAKING)
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
NARRATOR: Across the Gulf,
ships carrying our cameras
are seeing the skies change above them.
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
MAN: It's clear this way.
But it don't look clear this way.
Feel the cool in this air.
We got a big storm coming right now.
NARRATOR: In the middle of the ocean,
the oil platforms are exposed.
Increasing winds are a big concern.
Hey this is Devon,
electrician here at Grand Isle 22.
Got a little storm
settling in over us right now.
Uh
We'll take a look at it.
I'm kinda ducked behind
a building over here
to try and stay out of the wind.
Probably about 25-knot wind right now.
NARRATOR: A powerful hurricane
could completely destroy an oil platform,
taking its crew down with it.
If Cox Oil feel
the incoming system is a threat,
they'll shut down the rigs,
seal the wells,
and evacuate the workers.
Safety of the crews and safety
of the environment are paramount.
But a shutdown can cost
millions of dollars in lost oil revenues.
Hello. James Morone, lead operator.
Mark Poche, field foreman, 3-61 Area 2.
Here we go. We got tropical storm,
possible hurricane evacuations,
fixing to have a meeting about it.
NARRATOR: In New Orleans, Louisiana,
Cox Oil's senior management have
all rig supervisors on the line.
They must decide if and when
to initiate an evacuation.
All right, gentlemen.
You know, we all know the drill,
we all know the exercise.
NARRATOR: The final decision rests
with Cox Oil President, Rodney Dykes.
The main reason I want to get
everybody together this afternoon
is to get everybody on task
and everybody focused.
RODNEY: We anticipate that we will
have to take some sort of evacuation,
but, hopefully, we plan for the worst
and don't have to execute.
All right, gentlemen, y'all have
a good day and let's talk at 3:00.
NARRATOR: Hurricanes
can be devastating for the rigs.
Across the Gulf, Hurricane Katrina
destroyed 46 oil platforms,
and damaged 100 pipelines.
Oil spills from damaged platforms
prompted strict new regulations,
enforcing costly measures
in the face of a hurricane threat.
Rig operators now face
some tough decisions.
(INDISTINCT SHOUTING)
WORKER: They need help! Spin.
There we go, there we go.
Pull it, pull it, pull it!
NARRATOR: The Coast Guard crew
is trying to deploy the buoy
before the bad weather hits.
WORKER: All right, here we go.
NARRATOR: But this is not a job
easily rushed.
MAN: Oh, no, no, no! Oh!
NARRATOR: The buoy smashing into the ship
could be a half million dollar mistake.
MAN: We're gonna hit her.
Trip the cage, trip the cage.
Go, thrust! Thrust away!
Stopper broke?
It's just coming down. Good job.
(INDISTINCT SHOUTING)
NARRATOR: The buoy lands in the water,
just as the rain and winds hit.
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
This is the 12,565 feet
of line of up here,
we're slowly setting out.
I don't know what's going on here,
but it doesn't look right.
NARRATOR: The buoy is surging away
from the ship on the wind and waves,
but the line is tangled,
putting the deck crew at risk
of being caught and pulled overboard.
This doesn't look right. Bosun! Slow down!
It's twisted. Look out! Son of a
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
- (GRUNTS)
- (INDISTINCT CHATTER)
NARRATOR: The sudden arrival
of a storm has made the job
of deploying a weather buoy
a lot more difficult.
Working in the deluge,
the Coast Guard crew unsnag the line.
- MAN: Hey, watch your feet!
- Let's go!
NARRATOR: Once all the line is out,
the crew drops the anchor.
We're going to trip it
and she's gonna go in.
NARRATOR: A four-ton block of concrete,
which will take almost 15 minutes
to reach the ocean floor.
We are already receiving
real-time information from it.
We got the buoys in,
they're working properly,
everybody's getting the data
that they need
and they're spitting it out
to the mariner.
NARRATOR: Data from the buoys
is invaluable to forecasters
trying to predict the path
and intensity of storms.
But it's not enough on its own.
The call has gone out to launch
one of NOAA's hurricane hunters.
NOAA PILOT: 120 at zero
clear for take-off from 1-2-7-0-1-4.
NARRATOR: The specially equipped
Lockheed Orion P-3 aircraft
fly from NOAA's Aircraft Operations base
in North Florida,
and they're carrying our cameras.
NARRATOR: Almost
as soon as they're airborne,
they're into rough weather.
NARRATOR: On the ground,
near the Florida Panhandle
and the center of the ever-building storm,
the marine units of the
Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office
is responding to a distress call.
- You're not allowed outside the Gulf.
- MAN: Even on nice days.
NARRATOR: An inshore leisure boat
has been caught
in the rapidly-growing ocean swell.
Tropical storm Barry
is churning up the seas.
The stranded boat may be in real trouble.
DARRELL: We can stay with them
if they have to evacuate
and get 'em off the boat
as fast as we can.
(BEEPING)
If we can get on the other side
of the breakers here, as it goes out.
(BEEPING)
SHERIFF: 216, we're 10-97 with the
pontoon boat in the mouth of the pass.
How'd it seize up? What's going on?
MAN: They've got a line
wrapped around the prop.
DARRELL: They got
the anchor wrapped up in it!
SHERIFF: Yeah. Hold on, Darrell.
NARRATOR: The small sheriff's boat
is immediately getting knocked around
by the waves.
SHERIFF: All right, Darrell,
what's your thought?
- Uh
- (BEEPING)
DARRELL: We are in a bad way dude.
SHERIFF: So we definitely
need the Coast Guard 45 out here.
MAN: Yeah.
I'm sure it's still
NARRATOR: On-board
the fishing boat Cynthia Renee,
Carl and his crew
have also hit serious problems.
NARRATOR: His engine has shut off
right in the middle of fishing,
and he can't get it started again.
(CARL SPEAKING)
NARRATOR: The Cynthia Renee
is a sitting duck
in front of the rapidly-building
storm system.
(MAN SPEAKING)
MAN: (OVER RADIO) A tropic storm watch
has been issued.
Tropical cyclone expected
to form by Thursday
over the North Central Gulf of Mexico.
(CARL SPEAKING)
(LAUGHS)
My name is Danny Domain,
I am the compliance technician.
Raining right here.
- (THUNDER RUMBLING)
- Ooh big lightning.
This is how fast a storm can
pop up in the Gulf of Mexico.
NARRATOR: On the oil platforms,
in the path of tropical storm Barry,
Cox Oil must now decide
if they are going to shut down production
and evacuate.
DANNY: This is our production foreman,
Larry Pickens.
He's getting on a hurricane call
and possible evacuation.
LARRY: This is Larry at Main Pass.
MAN: (OVER PHONE)
Hey, Larry, how you doing?
LARRY: I'm good, good.
NARRATOR: NOAA's forecasters
now expect intensifying storm Barry
to become a hurricane within days.
Cox Oil has taken the big decision
to shut down production,
seal oil wells, and evacuate 51 platforms
in the storm's path.
We're still seeing, you know,
four of five footers.
SHERIFF: So a big Coast Guard vessel's
on its way out.
We're gonna stand by.
DARRELL: Coming up hard on the left.
(BEEPING)
NARRATOR: In Destin, Florida,
tropical storm Barry
is making the seas rougher by the minute.
SHERIFF: I wanna stand by
because they're in the water.
DARRELL: Oh, I know,
I'm just saying we can't do it.
NARRATOR: It won't be long
before the stranded boat
starts to succumb to the waves.
(DARRELL SPEAKING)
(GLASS SHATTERS)
MAN: That hurts.
(SHERIFF SPEAKING)
(DARRELL SPEAKING)
NARRATOR: A freak wave
has crashed through the screen,
showering the driver with glass.
He's still conscious,
but he and his passenger
both need medical attention.
The Coast Guard are already
on their way, but for now,
the pontoon boat
must face the waves alone.
DONNIE: Hm, may be a hurricane.
We gotta go get him.
NARRATOR: In Dulac, Louisiana,
Captain Donnie
of the fishing boat Intrepido II,
has received Carl's distress call.
Carl's boat has been adrift in the
open ocean for more than 24 hours.
It's 140 miles offshore,
and it will take Donnie
at least another day to reach them.
Just another day
in the life of a fisherman,
here in the Gulf of Mexico.
(NOAA MEMBER SPEAKING)
NARRATOR: In the skies above the Gulf,
NOAA 42 is beginning another run
into the center of tropical storm Barry.
Radio transmitters fitted
with temperature, pressure
and wind speed monitors,
are dropped into the storm,
to give a real-time cross-section
of the intensifying cyclone.
(NOAA MEMBER SPEAKING)
NARRATOR: Tropical storm Barry
is picking up power, fast.
CAPTAIN: We're just east
of the storm track,
but we're certainly feeling
a little bit of it I think right now,
it's still a little rough,
a little choppy out.
(CARL SPEAKING)
NARRATOR: Carl Roby
has been adrift for three days
without an engine.
And he continues to film on our cameras.
(CARL SPEAKING)
NARRATOR: All over the Gulf of Mexico,
vessels carrying our cameras
alter their course,
doing what they can to avoid
the worst of the incoming storm.
But the Intrepido II has other priorities.
NARRATOR: Donnie and the crew
of the Intrepido II,
found the Cynthia Renee
not a moment too soon.
NARRATOR: Barry is now within
24 hours of the Louisiana coast.
Tropical Storm Barry
is about to come ashore tomorrow.
I'm just coming here to check on my boat.
Make sure it's all good.
NARRATOR: Ron Dufrene,
owner of the shrimp boat Mister Jug,
should've been half way
across the Gulf of Mexico by now.
RON: These are some of the feeder bands.
It's out here right now.
Once it gets south of us,
the winds gonna shift
and start coming from that direction.
NARRATOR: The Texas shrimping season
starts in a few days.
Ron had hoped to be there, but with
a brewing hurricane now just offshore,
it's too dangerous to leave.
RON: We have a season
that's opening up,
and I'm three days
away from that tomorrow.
'Cause it'll take me three
days to get to where I wanna be.
So, if I have any intent
to make it down there,
I'm gonna have to leave
as soon as possible.
Go!
CARL: Slack off on the bow please.
NARRATOR: The crew
of the Intrepido II have arrived
in Dulac, Louisiana,
their rescue mission complete.
NARRATOR: But despite
now being tied up at the dock,
Carl and his crew
are not clear of danger yet.
Some of the models in particular showing
that there's 20 inches of rainfall
for isolated locations.
So the flash flood risk
is really ramping up with this system,
could be some catastrophic,
life-threatening flash flooding.
The other issue as it slows down,
is we're looking
at three to six feet of storm surge.
So, that and battering waves
on top of that.
So it's something we really are concerned
about along the Louisiana coast.
A major system bearing down
on the U.S., the Gulf bracing.
Mandatory evacuations have
now been ordered for parts of the coast.
NARRATOR: Three hours before landfall,
wind speeds hit 75 miles per hour,
and tropical storm Barry,
becomes Hurricane Barry.
(CARL SPEAKING)
(CARL SPEAKING)
(CARL SPEAKING)
NARRATOR: As night falls
on southern Louisiana,
category one Hurricane Barry arrives.
(CARL SPEAKING)
(MAN SPEAKING)
MAN: It's not blowing in here.
No. (LAUGHS)
NARRATOR: Carl Roby
and his crew are just thankful
they're not still at sea.
(CARL SPEAKING)
NARRATOR: Hurricane Barry's bizarre track
continues the next day,
as it moves north into Arkansas,
almost making a complete loop
and breaking rainfall records as it goes.
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
The tail end of Barry
brings a new threat
storm surge.
Coastal areas experience
almost eight feet of flooding.
RON: Okay, we're on our way
to the boat this morning.
Sunday morning after Hurricane Barry.
There's the bayou, coming over the banks.
Just when you think you got it bad,
it could be worse,
you could be these poor souls,
buried, underwater.
NARRATOR: Ron Dufrene
can't afford to wait for the winds
to completely pass.
RON: We're heading out into the Gulf.
Heading to Texas.
We got 400 miles to go
to where I wanna be.
NARRATOR: The Texas shrimping season
opens in two days,
and Ron is three days away.
It's a little choppy,
but we're doing okay.
NARRATOR: Offshore,
rig workers can begin to make their way
back to their platforms.
The shutdown has already
cost the Gulf of Mexico oil industry
almost a billion dollars.
They're not wasting any time
getting back online.
We gotta see how the weather
affects our work.
NARRATOR: The hottest summer
on record passes
with no more hurricanes in the Gulf.
CAPTAIN: Been an absolutely beautiful day.
Been calm,
no wind, very hot.
NARRATOR: As October begins,
marine workers can start to hope
that they may have got lucky.
But sea temperatures
are still alarmingly high.
CAPTAIN: Extremely hot outside today.
Water temperature is 89 degrees.
89.4.
It's so damn hot the seagulls
have to put their ass in the water
just to cool down.
NARRATOR: Warm seas mean
hurricane formation is always a threat,
and two weeks into October,
it's becoming a reality.
A buildup of clouds
by the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico,
is moving slowly eastward.
If it develops into a storm,
it has a run of more than 1,000 miles
over warm ocean,
toward America's Gulf Coast.
These are ideal conditions
for a hurricane.
NARRATOR: In the Bay of Campeche,
west of the Yucatán,
the 190,000 ton Saipem 7000,
the third largest semi-submersible
crane ship in the world,
is building an oil platform,
and they're carrying our cameras.
As the growing storm approaches,
Saipem 7000 has to detach
from the platform for safety reasons.
(MAN SPEAKING)
NARRATOR: They get the ship clear
of the platform just in time.
NARRATOR: The incoming weather
is almost on them.
If faced with hurricane force winds,
the ship could be smashed
into the new platform.
They're safer battling the storm alone.
(MAN SPEAKING)
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
MAN: (OVER RADIO) Come back,
come back, did you say something?
Twenty-two pallets on the risk truck,
we need every net out.
MAN: (OVER RADIO) 10-4.
NARRATOR: On the Texas coast,
skies are clear,
but forecasts are now showing
increasing winds
and cloud beginning to build.
This morning we have
a little bit of a snafu.
We have a lot more equipment
than what we thought
we were gonna have going out.
This is the mad dash.
Winds supposed to get up
to 30-40 miles an hour.
So we're gonna be running pretty hard
trying to get it all out to them.
NARRATOR: Outside most major ports,
there is an offshore anchorage,
where incoming cargo ships queue
for a space to unload,
and outgoing ships can drop anchor
and await their next instructions.
Ryan Marine operate a delivery
and supply service
to ships anchored outside Houston's ports.
Radio's on, radar's checked,
we're good to go.
NARRATOR: If a hurricane develops,
deliveries to ships will be cut off.
They need supplies immediately.
But the bigger the waves,
the trickier the operation becomes.
WORKER: The wind's gonna
blow it all over the place.
Holy (BLEEP)!
NARRATOR: Sea conditions
in the northern Gulf of Mexico
are much worse than forecasts
suggested this morning.
WORKER: It's swinging back this way now!
So I'm having to run away from him.
The wind is having this ship
swinging back and forth
on its anchor chain.
So it's going back and forth
about 30 degrees on each side.
WORKER: Now he's going the other way,
so I gotta chase him.
Holy, hold on!
We've probably got
about two more hours of this.
I'm gonna go in
and shut off the camera now,
save some of the battery for later.
We've seen some pretty strong winds
from the radar,
in fact, we've seen nearly
hurricane force winds from the radar.
NARRATOR: Jon Zawislak,
Field Operations Director of NOAA's
Hurricane Research Division,
is closely watching
the latest data
on the storm as it comes in.
At this point in the hurricane center
still expect those winds
to increase, kind of,
in the next 12 hours or so
as it heads towards this landfall.
You know, this is the kind of storm
that it doesn't look like a hurricane,
it doesn't look like
a tropical storm on satellite
and it might fool some people,
but it does have strong winds.
NARRATOR: The weather system is building,
but its irregular shape means
it's not yet classified
as a tropical storm, and storm warnings
are not being issued.
Jon will now head to NOAA's
Aircraft Operations Base
in Lakeland, Florida,
to fly with the Hurricane Hunters,
into the eye of the storm,
to find out just how bad it really is.
Pretty clear circulation center
we saw earlier today,
plenty of precipitation up to the north,
so there's a lot of slop out there
in the Gulf of Mexico.
But gonna quickly move northeast here
over the next 24-36 hours,
and accelerate towards
the U.S. Gulf Coast.
NARRATOR: The storm
is heading for the U.S.
The question now is how powerful
it will be when it gets there.
CRICO: Got a push boat coming.
No traffic inbound.
NARRATOR: In Louisiana,
the fishing boat Saucy Wench
is heading to sea,
despite the incoming storm.
We're heading down the bayou now
after being stuck on land
for four days due to repairs
for our autopilot system.
We got some risks, risk that the trip
might not be profitable,
'cause we might not have enough time
to put enough fish on the boat.
The other risk we have is there's
a big storm coming this weekend.
NARRATOR: The path of the storm
puts them on a collision course, for now,
but Sean and his first mate Crico,
are gambling on being able
to skirt around the worst of it.
SEAN: We got our first couple of sets out.
You can see it's already
a little choppy out here.
Tropical depression off of Mexico
and working its way up here,
looks like projected path
is going to hit Alabama,
just miss Louisiana.
Well, that's what we're dealing with,
so maybe we'll get
some storm action this trip.
I'll show you what it's like
to be on the back deck.
Oh man.
Yep pretty rough out there.
NARRATOR: 200 miles south, the approaching
weather system is still disorganized.
But it now has sustained winds
over 40 miles per hour
and is upgraded
to tropical storm Nestor.
All these lightning storms.
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
Doesn't even look real does it?
NARRATOR: Those who have
chosen to stay at sea,
must now live with their decisions.
It's too late to turn back.
The Cox Oil rigs
are now bracing for impact.
RODNEY: (OVER PHONE) Let's just
hunker down and ride this thing out.
It does look like
it's moving pretty quickly.
You guys there in Mobile,
Main Pass, West Delta, Grand Isle,
stay safe, don't take any chances,
we're not looking for any heroes.
This is Bill Hill, it's October 18th.
We've got a tropical storm coming through,
and it should be hitting us
in about three hours.
Just been having a meeting and all,
about what we're gonna do out here.
Weather's looking pretty rough though.
Waves just started picking up.
BILL: I'm here at Mobile 916
watching the seas roll in,
the clouds roll in
from tropical storm Nestor.
We got eight-foot seas,
roughly 40 mile an hour winds.
There you can see, y'all,
to the southwest,
the dark clouds rolling in
from the leading edge of it.
NARRATOR: Eight-foot waves are hitting
the base of platform Mobile 916,
but the center of Nestor
is still three hours away.
In Lakeland Florida,
the Hurricane Hunters
are preparing to get airborne.
Jon will be leading the data gathering.
The storm has moved north,
seeing decent tropical storm winds.
We're gonna leave out of here Lakeland,
lot of weather en route,
there's a lot of that rain
in the storm is on the
actually, the east side between us
and the center,
so we're gonna be trying
to get through that.
NARRATOR: The vast reach
of Nestor is still impacting
the Saipem 7000.
As the storm rages,
their vessel becomes a shelter
for an unlikely visitor.
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
The ship is so huge,
that a flock of exhausted birds
have landed on it,
looking to hide from the storm.
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
Here's some pictures of the birds.
Look at these guys.
Poor guys.
I think they're scared about
the electrical storms happening here.
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
NARRATOR: Hundreds of tiny birds,
migrating from the U.S. to South America,
are now perched
on any available surface of the ship.
MAN: Not the best sight.
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
JON: Definitely some
really strong thunderstorms
out to our east right now.
We're getting a lot of lightning.
NARRATOR: Jon and the
Hurricane Hunter flight are now in Nestor.
JON: Yeah still seeing 50-55 knot
surface winds.
We're getting a significant wave height.
We're really interested in those
wave heights near the center,
to the north and the east.
Because that's what's about to be
experienced in the Florida Panhandle.
NARRATOR: The flight will provide
essential data for forecasters
to predict what ships in the Gulf,
and Florida residents,
can expect to face in the morning.
Nestor is showing no sign of weakening.
So we're here, about to do a testimonial
with the master,
see what he thinks about this weather.
So Captain, what do you think
about this weather?
Well, it's nice in the cabin here.
NARRATOR: Sadly, the crew
can't stay in the cabin,
they have four miles of line to haul in.
NARRATOR: The wind is gusting
harder and harder,
hurling rain sideways into the boat.
(SEAN WHOOPING)
(CRICO SPEAKING)
(INDISTINCT SHOUTING)
CRICO: You could feel the pressure drop.
You know something's not right.
You got to try not to panic.
Hold on!
Hold on, Sean!
(PANTING)
Watch the bandit, watch the bandit.
(COUGHS)
CRICO: We had a lot of gear in the water,
thousands of dollars' worth of gear,
and thousands of dollars'
worth of fish on that gear.
I couldn't take a chance
of leaving it out there like that,
and losing all of that.
JOSH: Yeah.
NARRATOR: After 45 minutes,
Crico and the crew
start to emerge on the other side
of the storm.
(CRICO SPEAKING)
You're staring in the face of death
at that point.
(JOSH SPEAKING)
But, I made it.
NARRATOR: Pressed
by a cold front to the north,
tropical storm Nestor was unable
to form the circular shape
of a conventional hurricane,
preventing it from intensifying.
But it's still brought four feet
of storm surge to parts
of the Florida coastline,
and a deluge of rainfall.
And in the Tampa region,
a tornado outbreak in Nestor's outer bands
caused damage valued at over $100 million.
This hurricane season
will be remembered in the Gulf
for weird, unruly storms
and hurricanes that defied prediction.
But as the world's climate shifts further
from its baseline level,
this season of surprises
looks like a forerunner
of much more yet to come.