On Tuesday, Weather Channel will premiere Iceberg Hunters, the latest installation in its “Braving the Elements” series, and one that could give you a whole new level of respect for that bottle of water you’re never without — or the shot of vodka in your favorite libation.
The series follows the adventures of the Richards family — sporters of the world’s most endearingly curious dialect — who make their living in “Iceberg Alley,” the stretch of the northern Atlantic off the coast of Newfoundland where enormous bergs of the ultra-pure ice coveted by water bottlers and vodka distilleries drift down from the Arctic Circle.
Whyman Richards, 54, is the captain of the Cape Richard, the 38-foot boat he built from scratch with his brother, Dale. A lifelong fisherman by trade, Whyman decided to expand his horizons to harvesting ice for a local water bottler and is proud of his dangerous vocation.
Dale Richards, 48, is Whyman’s brother whose job is to break down icebergs into smaller chunks with his rifle, then operate the crane that hauls the pieces out of the sea.
Travis Richards, 33, is Whyman’s eldest son, who left the family’s small Newfoundland town to study interior design. With a flexible schedule, Travis decides it’s time to learn the family trade and discovers that a college education will only get you so far when an iceberg is looming and you’re the new guy on the boat.
On the series premiere, “It’s a Good Day for Huntin’ Bergs,” the Cape Richard crew are hampered by forgotten equipment, fog and conflicting ideas about the best way to shoot an icerberg.
Check out preview videos here, then tune into Iceberg Hunters, Tuesdays at 9/8CT on The Weather Channel.
Photos: Weather Channel