Into the whirlpool

Bakevja means rotating water: that's it on the right, beneath the snowy mountains surrounding a Norwegian fjord, where a current approaching 20 knots creates the world's strongest whirlpool. Erling Svensen dived the icy maelstrom.

MY WHOLE BODY was trembling, but I couldn't decide whether I was more nervous or excited. I was about to dive in the world's strongest whirlpool. I had put all my faith in my buddy Vebjrn, who had dived here before and insisted it would be safe.
A body of seawater stretching 3km long and 150m wide, with depths ranging from 20m to 100m, lay before us. This was Salstraumen, at the south of the Saltfjord inlet in northern Norway.
The terrain is wild and spectacular. In mid-winter it is plunged into darkness round the clock, and in summer it is lit up with the midnight sun. Now it was February and the sun was out, but the mountains were still covered in snow. As we kitted up I scanned the horizon for a white-tailed eagle. No luck.
Vebjrn went first. He jumped off a precipice which I was told reached 60m under water. I followed nervously, signalled "OK", and we began our descent.
The site was called Bakevja, which literally translated means "rotating water". At full moon the current here can change in minutes, reaching up to 20 knots. When the tide flows, the swirling water hits the rock and causes a downward pressure. At the surface it thrashes about and can be dangerous even for the large boats that venture here. A few years ago two divers were dragged 80m into the deep before they were able to fight their way free.
We caught the water between tides, when the current was at its weakest. We estimated that we should have up to an hour before it picked up again.
Visibility was close to 40m. As we descended, the anemones and sponges covering the rocks gradually lost their colour. Soon everything looked white. A lumpsucker rested on a ledge as we stopped to admire nature in this rough but fabulous form.
When we rose a few metres, our surroundings burst into a rainbow of colours. I thought even the Red Sea would have a hard time competing with this. Sea anemones and horse mussels were everywhere. I turned around and caught a shoal of coalfish passing by, searching for food.
Wolf-fish (see cover) are common at Salstraumen. They grow to an impressive size and pass the time cracking open hard-shelled creatures like crabs and urchins between their fearsome teeth..
Salstraumen is a haven for anglers, particularly during the summer months. Recently a world record was set when a 30kg coalfish was landed at the mouth of the inlet.
Vebjrn signalled to me. He had found two large lumpsuckers lodged between two stones. I just managed to catch them on film before they escaped into the deep.
We were now at 15m and immersed in a forest of seaweed. The kelp had grown enormous in its struggle to avoid being swept away with the tide. We could see how many fishermen had delved into these waters by the hundreds of spoon baits lodged in the weed.
Half an hour into the dive the current began to pick up, but we kept going. We moved out of the whirlpool and the scenery changed. We found large deadmen's fingers, mussels, sea cucumbers and bread-sponges. The rock, shaped by the current over thousands of years, looked like a pile of slates. I found a beautiful nudibranch in a groove and thought it was incredible that an animal could survive in such a place.
As we came to the end of the dive, my buddy signalled from the side of the cliff, where he had found a large pot-hole stretching straight through the rock. It was impressive, more than 5m high and wide enough to swim through. We rose to the surface, and I looked up to the sky, just in time to see the white-tailed eagle circling above.

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FACTFILE
Getting there: By air to Bodo, then 25 minutes by car.
When to go: Best time to dive is between February and March when the days are light and visibility up to 40m. During summer, visibility can drop to 15m.
Dive shop: Polar Dykk in Bodo offers rental equipment.

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Appeared in DIVER - November 1997

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