‘Deadliest Catch’ Star Hilariously Laying on Crabs Showed the Joys of a Successful Haul

After a hard-fought season, there’s nothing quite so beautiful to the Deadliest Catch stars than seeing their final haul make it to shore. During the coldest months of the year, the stars wrestle with huge cages, rough waves and lonely nights. Most of the time, all of the pain and pressure pays off, amounting to a full cage or two. Sometimes, though, all of the effort is in vain, and the crews have to come home empty-handed.

The crew on the Northwestern knows what it feels like to pull an empty cage out of the Bering Sea, and at the end of a slow season, they needed nothing short of a miracle to save their salaries. During the same time, captain-in-training Mandy Hansen was getting ready to prove her worth to the crew and her father. This last batch would determine if the crew would have a liveable salary and if Mandy would graduate to captain.

Just as fans began to hold their breath for the young captain, the Deadliest Catch crew let out a chorus of cheers. Their first cage was chock-full of Opilio crabs. The second yielded even more, reaching over 700 crabs total. Once back at shore, a crew member celebrated the immense haul by making crab angels, fanning his arms over the crustaceans.

Watch the team send off another season in the clip below.

‘Deadliest Catch’ Captain-in-Training Aces Final Test

After training beside Sig at the helm of the vessel, Mandy had to demonstrate her skills by choosing a destination to lay their cages. Finding a fruitful batch of crabs takes an advanced knowledge of the sea, population and weather conditions. If Mandy correctly noted all three of these factors, she would have a harvest ahead of her.

Following the reveal, Sig gave his daughter his seal of approval, cementing her promotion as fellow captain of the Northwestern.

In the past, the Deadliest Catch father admitted that watching Mandy take control of the vessel was “nerve-wracking,” adding that he expects her “not to be perfect.”

“She’s been doing great. I’m proud of her. Who wouldn’t be?” the Deadliest Catch star told Hollywood Life.

Meanwhile, Mandy shared that the road to becoming captain has been tough, but ultimately rewarding. She has since learned from her rookie mistakes, such as wearing rings while on deck.

“In the beginning, of course, it was hard,” Mandy said. “It only got worse the longer I was out on deck because my hands were hurting so bad. They got so sore. I mean I couldn’t move my hands. I always wear rings. Of course, you can’t wear jewelry up there, but I couldn’t even get it past my nail line afterward.”