The BIGGEST Whirlpools Of All Time

Whirlpools, how dangerous can they be? How deadly are they for human beings, how destructive are they for vessels? Can whirlpools suck ships, boats, or even barges in, or do they pose a danger only for human beings who fall into them?
In these shots you can see how the rafter Steve Fisher got sucked in by a powerful current that the athlete had the bad luck to encounter when descending the Congo River as part of a Red Bull-sponsored competition. Fisher, a world-class athlete, had a run in with the mighty rapids of this African river, yet this was not among the most dangerous whirlpools that exist on our planet, and far from the most dangerous whirlpools that are theoretically possible! Don’t try at home what one of the world’s top rafting pros barely managed to escape from. And that was even with the help of others…
There are whirlpools much more dangerous than along the Congo River! Some of these vortexes in the water pose a threat not only to people but even heavier objects.

A boat?.. A yacht?.. A ship?.. A barge?.. Even giant vessels can face destruction if any of them, separately or together, are sucked into one of these real aquatic monsters!
But let’s start by taking a look at whirlpools themselves. At what they are, how they arise, and what real danger and destructive force they pose.

[Levi_The_One_The_Only]

"Don't try at home."
Gosh dang it better put away my _ocean of water_

[worksmagic]

Water is scary no matter how you look at it. Knowing the capabilities of what huge bodies of water can do is mind blowing.

[sweetsmiles]

I was caught in a whirlpool when I was a child. It was luckily a more shallow area of a lake. My Dad was strong enough to pull me out by my arm. Literally saved my life.

[Flawless]

“Don’t try this at home”

*Continues to stir my finger around the bathtub drain*

[unknownentity]

Ever since I was a child I've been fascinated by whirlpools, black holes, and things that go around and around. Excellent quality video, keep it up.👌

[kof]

3:42 : “water moves at unimaginable speeds”

Literally five seconds later: “speeds of up to 23mph”

[DJVibeDubstep]

Convinced the Naruto whirlpool was caused by a misplaced Rasengan.

[sugarhoneyicedtea]

"Don't try this at home"
*Like i have a whirlpool at my house*

[jsstt]

"Dont try this at home"

Ah dammit I was about to test my new Congo River 😔

[Apexbarbie]

I can just imagine the thought process as you get sucked into one of those😣

[TheFakeyCakeMaker]

I watched this with my son because I stirred his drink and it went round like a whirlpool and he didn't know what one was, so I put this on while he drank his cocoa, he loved it and so did I.

[jeromedavid]

The Vikings and The Samuri were not only great swordsmen but very efficient mariners. I had no idea they both dealt with such dangerous unpredictable sea phenomenons that close to their shores. Very informative video and well done. Thanks mate!

[kevynnecor]

wheres the battle of the flying dutchman and the blackpearl? its the biggest whirlpool ever thanks to Tia Dalma

[BitchItsJules]

Imagine how the Vikings were able to navigate those maelstroms

[AnecdotalPoet]

I Remember, I was with my dad, and my brother at the time, we were about 3 miles off an island in Southern California, where we reside, and keep in mind we had a 32 foot boat. I still remember there was a big ass whirlpool, underwater, and it was spinning our boat in circles. It was that big, trust me, even if you don’t think they could take an a craft, they could. If it got big enough to fully spin the top water, we wouldn’t be here if the engine went out... they aren’t something to mess with. That’s for sure. The one we were caught in, was probably about 50 feet wide. It was a massive whirlpool, when you looked in the water, you could somewhat see it, but on top of the water, it didn’t fully look like one, you could just see the current going in a big circle. One of the craziest experiences I had

[Fizzlefuse]

Funnily enough Ive witnessed a mountainriver whirlpool once when i went wild water rafting a long time ago.
A couple of streams came together and it really looked like something out of a movie.

The instructors I was with luckily were aware of the whirlpool beforehand and it was roped off, and the group had to leave the river and get back in downstream.

When i asked what someone would or rather should do if falling in the instructor explained that, because we were all wearing lifejackets, you would probably need to somehow take off your lifejacket first if there was no chance of getting roped out..
While that sounds strange, he pointed out that because of the current pulling you down and the jackets bouyancy you would be stuck somewhere in the middle... and you'd likely drown (if nobody would be there to pull you out). best bet is to let the current take you, as it did eventually flow downstream.

Not sure if anyone ever had to actually do this, but it wasn't a pleasant thought.

[THISfookindude]

I find it crazy that whirlpools aren’t always visible. Like you could be going for a casual dive and suddenly get sucked 100+ meters into an underwater cave just out of the blue…

[ShadowCryptidUser]

“Don’t try at home”

Wait so you’re telling me I can’t keep my pet whirlpool!?

[midairburrow]

"Dont try at home"

Damn it, was about to make a whirlpool in my ocean of water at my house

[TheBxxKiddo]

First book where I read about the Norwegian Maëlstrom was 20 thousand leages under the sea, when I was a child. The way that Jules Verne describes the situation in which the Nautilus encountered this phenomenon scared the crap out of me for a long time. I wasn't aware that there's a worst whirlpool in Japan, until now.