Olson Marine

In Alaska, almost everything is on an island. And when logs need to get from the island on which they’re harvested to the island on which they’ll be processed, it’s Olson Marine to the rescue. One of the last remaining logging tug boat companies in America, Olson is a family-run business whose playground is some of the roughest water in southeast Alaska. Owner Rick Olson has an impressive fleet of nine barges and tugboats that can each haul thousands of tons of timber as big as three football fields. But the real challenge is navigating the massive haul through a maze of jagged islands, hidden deadheads, strong currents and unpredictable weather that often springs up on a moment’s notice–and making it to the mill all without losing a single log along the way.

That’s the job for Olson’s top crew and its tug, the Avery O. Led by captain Rodney Wills, this three-man crew spends their entire summer on the Pacific Ocean transporting million of dollars of logs day in, day out, for stints as long as long as three months at a time. Rodney, mate Dale Willis and deckhand Robert Lucero live, work, eat, sleep and breathe Olson Marine–and they have all the harrowing stories to prove it. And this year, they’re adding a new guy to the crew. To succeed, this greenhorn–an old face in a new place–will need to check his ego, prove he can keep up and win over the toughest critic of all… Captain Rodney.