Episode 2 The Harbour

or there's a danger she'll hit the blocks on the way out.

You can pick up to a speed of between five and six knots.

at the cutting edge of maritime technology...

Bridge, on the move, Bob. Roger. On the move, guys.

I can't slam these guys, you know. They're MY crew.

You've got to be on the ball. You've got to be alert.

..in the most challenging conditions...

If your feet get caught in that, it'll drag you over the side.

LAUGHTER Oh, my God!

Looking good on starboard side... No, we don't drive a submarine.

The harbour has been closed for the past 26 hours.

VTS, or Vessel Traffic Services, is the nerve centre of the harbour.

'Do you think it's possible for us to go in this afternoon?'

The first ship to come in is the NorthLink ferry.

The regular captain said they're used to the approach in bad weather.

He's making hard work of it, but he's getting there.

the pilot can now try to take a ship out.

When boatmen pitch up, you can let go. Call me when all gone.

Thanks for waiting. Traffic clearance to sail.

Not much chance there, but never mind.

She has been taken apart and is now being put back together again.

New pillars are prepared and lowered.

The steering mechanism has been repaired.

And the thrusters are also ready to go back.

A bit of money's worth to be throwin' aboot, eh?

The oil and gas sector dominates the harbour.

But for most of the last century, it was fishing

when the industry was one of the biggest employers in the city.

Got the start of the first week coming up.

Now there are only two fishing boats left.

Gordon has been a fisherman since he left school at 16.

We've been fishing here now for about 30, 33 years now.

And Jonathan has followed in his father's footsteps.

I was born the year the boat was built.

In the bad weather, like. Things dinna go to plan, like.

There's no-one to bother you out here.

Except him. LAUGHTER

Once the pots are emptied and baited,

This is the dangerous part - shooting the pots over the side.

I just try to shoot my way about six knots if we can.

But most of the time, I'm keeping an eye on Jonathan here.

I've had a few close ones. I have a knife ready just in case.

We had to get it cut real quick, like.

He knows what he's doing. He's keeping out the way.

It's a surprisingly warm day in Aberdeen

and customers in the Crown Anchor are thin on the ground...

A lot of folk's awa' watchin' the fitba' an' that.

Ye ken, I'm goin' to get a tattoo. Your first one? Aye.

You're no' gettin' it on your arse? Well, you'll never see it.

Naebody'll see it on your butt and on your boobs...

I dinna ken, cos on a Saturday night, their heid is nestled...

Their heid's nestled in my chest. LAUGHTER

Ever since he bought the Skua ten years ago,

No need for nobody here to give me a hand.

I've just to take the bait out and put in the fresh bait.

Another precaution is the fob he wears around his neck.

A push of the button alerts the rescue services.

When you're just working yourself, you've to be safe.

There's a minimum size for the crabs he catches.

The good thing about this job is as well, anything small goes back alive.

We'll catch them the next time once they're bigger.

You see, when there is a crab, it's nice crabs.

But it's not been a successful haul.

Then I've got the fuel to think about.

Everybody thinks you're making a fortune out here, you know?

..packed lunch. HE LAUGHS

On the Boy Gordon, they're not having much more luck.

It's real bad, real bad. No crabs, no crabs.

It's poor, very poor. It's the worst I've ever seen.

It's been a bitterly cold spring and the crabs aren't feeding.

That's us finished. Last pot of the day.

If you don't fill enough pots, you don't get no money.

That's just the way it goes, like, in this job, like.

But Gordon's real concern is for his son.

We're goin' away up to Draconian to get my first ever tattoo.

It was tattooist Callum Berry who first suggested it to Val.

I dinna ken if I can do this. You'll be fine. Where do you want it?

I'm nae wantin' something bold that everybody can see cos I'm nae 16!

How about your shoulder or just on your arm here? Yeah, that will work.

No surprises for guessing her first choice of design.

Either that or a pixie. Or I love wolves.

I just want something that's painless.

We could do a little anchor with a crown going through it.

The main crab season lasts from August until January

and Ricky needed to find another way of earning a living.

I'm being rushed. I'll have to go. A job, very quick.

Sea-Cab's just called in, a last-minute call.

a purpose-built boat to transfer crew and another cargo...

..to ships that haven't made it into the harbour.

This being a new boat, I'm learning as well, so it's all good.

Back in the city, Val's tattoo is well under way.

I used to drive on motorbikes when I was 13, 14.

I never, ever thought about getting a tattoo.

Let's have a look. My arse'll be numb with sitting.

You're just a little darling. Come here.

Since I'm your ex-girlfriend, I'd be as well sleeping with you the night.

Why does your face go reed every time I dee that to you?

I think you would like to sleep wi' me. I think he would.

We'll have your sleeve done in no time.

..and everyone is hoping she can leave ahead of schedule.

We're opening the sluices to let the water into the dry dock now.

Water cascades in at a rate of 11,000 gallons every single minute.

Right, we need the ship's ropes out now.

Once she starts floating, once she comes off the blocks,

We don't want it floating away and then damaging itself.

it can be complex and time-consuming to re-start the engines...

Can you just confirm that once we move you to the gate,

you'll be able to get all your machinery and everything running?

Once I've moved you, we don't have time to sit and wait for hours,

'Will do. Stand by, Joe, for another minute.'

'for the main engines to be fired up.

'The likelihood for that happening is somewhere between zero and small.

'OK, now I can hear something. Stand by.'

We're just waiting for him to start his engines.

If he doesn't get his engines heated up in the correct timescale,

you can cause more damage to the engines. Yeah.

Once the gate opens, the ship has to sail within the hour

or there's a danger she'll hit the blocks on the way out.

It's been a stormy few days and he's leaving nothing to chance.

Now, today, we'll give you a survival suit

and we'll give you a life-jacket as well. No problem.

But once we get out to the channel, it might be OK.

If I would maybe be out fishing, I would be struggling.

Gordon and Jonathan have their own weather problems to contend with.

There seems to be a fog bank coming in just at the south side here.

The only way he can find his pots is by using the tracker.

We're just coming up to one of the sets of gear.

So let's hope there's a few lobsters in the pots.

We've got a good lobster. That's a good start for the day.

Once they give us a lee, it's not a problem, once the ship's swung round.

But if they mistime the jump, they could end up in the sea.

Naebody's willing to go. There you go.

I think you're going to have to jump.

Seafarers are used to going up ladders in rough weather.

Nobody's willing to go on. HE LAUGHS

'This is the best I can do for minimising the swell.'

That's the best that they'll get. But the men are still not convinced.

The guys are saying they'll reassess it in the morning.

Yes, I wouldn't fancy taking a dip in there.

It's only happened to Ricky once or twice before.

On the Boy Gordon, visibility has been reduced to just a few metres.

And they've saved the best till last.

Pot of gold. Yeah, a pot of gold, look. That's what we want.

and possibly 24 kilo maybe of lobsters.

I cooked some crab yesterday, a couple of days ago,

and I think we're going to have a crab salad.

I won't be having crab. He doesn't eat it. I've seen enough of crab.

The Skandi Inspector may not have made it ahead of schedule,

but her engines are now up and running

OK, I'm going to slacken down the starboard wire first.

Even if some of the crew do seem half-asleep.

She's heading off to her next job in the Gulf of Mexico.

Another ten minutes and I turn into a pumpkin.

The guy managed to get it out without even bumping it. It was amazing.

After a 17-hour day, Joe's exhausted.

I'm just closing the gate here. OK, that's it.

I don't know where they sell burgers to 12 o'clock at night.

Coming up, Val refines her sales technique.

Are you nae buyin' that, you miserable little... BLEEP

Fierce Border Terrier - kills for fun.

Hello, I'm Ellie Crisell, with your 90-Second Update.

A state of national calamity in the Philippines. The devastating typhoon

is thought to have killed 10,000 people. Millions have no