'Deadliest Catch: Dungeon Cove' Sneak Peek: The Little Boat That Could

Deadliest Catch: Dungeon Cove, the spinoff of Discovery’s Emmy-winning reality series, premieres tonight. The show moves the danger from the Bering Sea to the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Oregon. As you can see in the exclusive clip above, some things remain the same: With bad weather on the horizon, rookie Redeemer captain Kenny Ripka needs to land on the crab quickly. But fans of the original Deadliest Catch will notice some differences: The cages for the Dungeness crab are much smaller and circular, and deckhands don’t need to throw the hook to snag the line — they just reach out with it.

Perhaps that makes you think the fishing isn’t as dangerous. But there’s a reason this area is known as the “Graveyard of the Pacific.” For the crews that come in and out of Newport, Ore., the hazard is the bar —the stretch of water that connects the harbor to the open-ocean fishing grounds. They have to cross it, often fighting large, unpredictable swells that can capsize a vessel. We learned just how treacherous it can be when Kenny and his father, Gary Ripka, captain of the Western Breeze, joined us in the studio for a Facebook Live chat Monday. Gary, with 35 years of experience under his belt, said, “A couple years ago, on New Year’s night, I think it was, first bar crossing of the year, we took a 20-foot breaker on the bar. The whole boat went airborne completely and came crashing down. And then the whole stern went under water … and then the next wave ate us. That was a pretty intense thing, ripped all the electronics off the dash. It was not a fun scenario to start your year. And then more than a few years ago, we blew the windows out of a rig, and I got washed out of the wheelhouse. The guy that saved me ended up a few years after that getting killed on the bar. He lost his whole boat, and his crew, and him.”

Watch the full interview below to find out how the Ripkas feel about their “friendly rivals,” the Retherfords, a family on the show with two larger boats in the fleet; how they view Bering Sea crabbers who try their hand in the more fast-paced Dungeness derby (the show follows a pair of them on a new boat as well); and why Gary’s nickname is “The Ripper.” (Hint: It’s appropriate that he’s chatted with Deadliest Catch‘s captain Keith Colburn, who’s known for his temper).

Get a look at the bar in the teaser below:

Deadliest Catch: Dungeon Cove premieres Sept. 13 at 9 p.m. on Discovery.