The Whirlpool Diamond Necklace
2nd Largest Whirlpool in the World
I’ve been to the world’s second largest whirlpool on the Maine-Canadian border. The whirlpool spins twice a day on an incoming tide. I visited the sea glass lady in Lubeck. She and I, and a diesel trawler captain, went out early one morning in May. The mayor of Lubeck helped find someone with a big enough boat in Eastport to take us out. Before I went to Eastport, I asked if all the snow was gone yet. Sea glass lady assured me it was all gone except perhaps for some in the woods.
While we waited for our boat, we went down onto a fine stone beach. They have between 15 to 20 foot tides in Eastport. The tide was coming in and moving and rising so fast that we had to walk backwards. The boat was 35 feet long and had a flat bottom- important for not getting sucked into a whirlpool. The whirlpool was big. I was surprised by several things.
First- that it was several miles off of Eastport. It took almost 30 minutes to get to the site. I’d always pictured a single a single vortex spinning down into a dark void. It turned out to be one whirl, then two, then a dozen. Some were 100 foot wide or more, some small, maybe 10 feet across. Some going clockwise while others went counterclockwise.
Across the water, I could see that there was an actual pitch to the water. Flat out then dropping a foot or two toward the center while spinning. The whirlpool did not just stay in one place, it spun while traveling up the bay. It’s closer to the Canadian border and not too far away from Deer Island. Apparently, there are some rocks beneath the surface that two incoming currents hit to create this spin.
History reports lost fishing boats and lost sailboats with keels that get caught in the current. If you were in a 10-foot rowboat you might have a hard time rowing out because of the slope and spinning water. However, with the trawler we passed over the origin spot several dozen times. I took videos. Nautical charts make note of the whirlpool and recommend avoiding the area.
Our necklace is made from 14 karat yellow and white gold with an earth-mined diamond to represent a boat. The 23.7mm measurement is just shy of an inch, which means it’s a pretty good size.
I was surprised to find most people in Eastport had never been to see the whirlpool-fear perhaps. This is an important piece of jewelry for any boater who has encountered moments at sea when you feel a bit puzzled by what you are experiencing.
