The Christine Rose : Crews : Bering Sea Gold : Discovery Channel

THE CHRISTINE ROSE

MEET THE CREW

From left to right, Cody Moen, Steve Pomrenke, Shawn Pomrenke, and Robbi Wade.

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Built in 2009, The Christine Rose is more than three times larger than any other gold dredge in the waters off of Nome, Alaska. This 80-foot river barge is armed with an excavator, five diesel engines, twin propellers and two-35 foot stakes that can be lowered to anchor the dredge to the ocean floor. Instead of sucking silt off the bottom through a hose (like almost all the other rigs), this behemoth scoops the bottom with its excavating arm. In action, it looks like a steel dinosaur feeding off the ocean floor. In bad weather, The Christine Rose mines after all the smaller dredges have been forced to shore. Owner Steve is looking for a haul in the two million dollar range this season.

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STEVE POMRENKE, 59 — OWNER
Steve is by far the most successful gold dredger on the Nome scene. In 2010, he and his team carved a small fortune in gold off the ocean floor. Steve grew up on a dairy farm in Minnesota, became a mechanic, and then in the 1990s, owned his own open pit gold mining operation. Gruff and no-nonsense with a sometimes combative relationship with his son Shawn, Steve drives his dredging team hard.

SHAWN POMRENKE, 36 — CO-OWNER
Shawn is a master plumber by trade and the crew's captain and chief engineer. As driven as his father, Shawn makes his living from the five-month dredging season — but constantly has side projects going on and sometimes lets the small details of upkeep of The Christine Rose fall by the wayside. He wants to take over the barge's operation from his father, but has a lot to prove to the old man about his ability to keep the craft running smoothly and on the gold.

ROBBI WADE, 34 — DECKHAND
Robbi started logging at 16, but quit after 10 years when he almost severed his foot. This will be his first full season on The Christine Rose. A little rough around the edges, Robbi tells it like it is, struggles with authority and at times clashes with his mates on The Christine Rose.

CODY MOEN, 27 — DECKHAND
Cody's got an engineering degree and has worked with heavy machinery in logging and construction. Last season he went diving for a few other dredging companies and had a close call underwater when his leg got sucked into a 10-inch dredging hose. Talkative and gregarious, Cody's first season on The Christine Rose proves to be fraught with danger.

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