Super Typhoon Hits New Season of 'Deadliest Catch': Watch a Sneak Peek

Deadliest Catch fans have seen some big weather on Discovery’s long-running docuseries, but as our exclusive sneak peek at Season 11 (premiering April 14) shows, a super typhoon bears down on the crab-fishing fleet in the Bering Sea.

"There are some of the biggest waves we’ve seen in the entire series," Jeff Conroy, executive producer for Original Productions, tells Yahoo TV. "On top of that, we see a wave knock a boat on its side. They recover, but there’s almost a near mutiny following."

Joseph Boyle, executive producer for Discovery Channel, is quick to add that there’s another storm later that’s also one of the worst the fleet’s faced in decades. “I know what happens, I’ve seen the raw footage, but then I see it again and I’m still chilled to the bone,” he says. “What these guys go through is amazing — both the captains and the crews that are out there capturing it… Everything that you see on camera means that somebody was capturing it, and that alone is sort of astounding.”

Mother Nature isn’t the only cause of drama. After years of keeping a lid on Bairdi crab quota, new government regulations have increased the inventory by 400 percent. “Everyone is trying to get through their King Crab as fast as possible because the competition is on for the Bairdi,” Conroy says. “That’s a big deal for these guys because on the one hand, it’s this great opportunity to make a bunch of money. On the other hand, it’s a really hard crab to catch. It hasn’t been fished as much over the years — it was protected and allowed to grow again — so it’s not like everyone has their hot spots. Guys like [Capt. Sig Hansen] can pull out their old charts. Other guys can try to figure out where they last caught ‘em. But it’s a whole new game. You’re seeing rivals have to decide whether they’re gonna work together to figure that out.”

Related: 'I Threw Her to the Wolves': Sig Hansen Brings His Daughter Aboard 'Deadliest Catch'

Boyle teases “surprising turns of fate” as veterans like Capt. Keith Colburn and Capt. Johnathan Hillstrand navigate the difficult season. It will be one of milestones for fan favorites Josh Harris and Jake Anderson. “Things are gonna happen this season that the audience has been waiting for years to see,” he says. “It’s the beginning of the circle becoming complete.” With Edgar Hansen and Elliott Neese, viewers will get what Boyle describes as “a really hard look, and a really honest look, at the toll that this life takes on these guys.”

Here, Conroy breaks it down boat-by-boat.

Northwestern: For deckhand Jake, it’s time to prove himself as a fisherman, a father, and as a captain: “This is gonna be Jake Anderson’s most emotional season ever,” Conroy says. “We’re gonna experience what I would consider the biggest things in his life, and they’re all on-camera.” Edgar, meanwhile, is still grappling with whether he can be the partner brother Sig wants. “He’s given more responsibility, but is it too late? Has he put so much time into being out at sea, and being beaten down by the Bering Sea, that he’s too worn down?”

Related: 'Deadliest Catch': Jake Anderson on His 'Humbling' Return to Sig Hansen's Boat

Cornelia Marie: Josh (who still has Capt. Casey McManus in the wheelhouse) will continue to try to step out of his late, beloved father’s shadow and earn the respect of his crew. A bum engine will lead to a late, frustrating start. “Josh is the guy who can’t get a break,” Conroy says. “He’s trying to get to a level where he can captain his own boat, but essentially, he’s trying to get this small business back on the ground. Between repairs and crew issues and everything else, he’s got everything stacked against him.”

Cape Caution: Capt. Wild Bill Wichrowski will be learning to accept his son/engineer Zach for who he really is. “I think Bill has been trying to make up for some time away from his son by giving him the crash course to manhood,” Conroy says. “With age comes wisdom, and I think he’s realizing that his son has a lot to offer, and it may not be exactly the same things that he thinks he should be offering.”

Time Bandit: Johnathan will be dealing with his own family issues. “He was put in a hard, hard position last season,” Conroy says. “We saw the tension between his son [Scott] and his brother [Capt. Andy] hit the breaking point. So he’s stuck in the middle and you can see it on his face — he’s feeling the weight of his world. His brother is stepping up in terms of the overall business, but it’s leaving Johnathan as the man driving the boat.”

Wizard: Keith will go through several crewmen, so yes, “Keith will be yelling,” Conroy confirms with a laugh. “He starts the season with a sucker punch. Even though the quotas are huge this year, they’re in co-ops. One of the guys in his co-op bailed out, which basically meant that Keith lost a ton of King Crab quota to catch. So the way he has to make money is, he has to take advantage of the Bairdi quota and catch more. But of course that’s a hard way to make a living.”

Keith will also have a surprise crew member, which Conroy will only describe as “very unique” for the show. (It’s not a celebrity. “You’re getting it here first, Sylvester Stallone is on the boat,” Conroy jokes. “It’s more like someone you wouldn’t expect.” Guess away!)

Saga: Elliott will again try to balance his dreams of having a family and a successful business — and of putting his demons to rest. “Elliott is a very raw and real story. It’s not a rosy happy ending,” Conroy says. “But I will say it’s honest, it’s bare, and it’s difficult. His personal problems do not end.”

Other teases:

* We see more pranks, including one captain’s boat getting stolen. “It’s one of those kind of pranks where it seems very funny when you look back at it, but it’s not funny at all at the time,” Conroy says. “He does not take it well at first.”

* There will be more blood. “We do have our fair share of injuries. We don’t come up short there. And we’re still out there [filming], so we’re still rackin’ ‘em up,” Conroy says. “The Coast Guard did not get the season off.”

Season 11 of Deadliest Catch premieres April 14 at 9 p.m. on Discovery, preceded by the captains’ pre-show, The Bait, at 8 p.m.