Saltstraumen is one of the world's strongest tidal currents. A perfect place to go diving, fishing and admiring the power of nature. 1 hour drive outside Bodø, Norway
Seems like a great place for water turbines. Free electricity! As a licenced drone operator let's give a hand to the person than shot this awesome video. ✌
I filmed it several years ago, the area is a protected national park and will NEVER be developed. Here in Norway, most electricity comes from hydropower (from mountains). Building out this place,is a bad deal and will never be accepted by local people
besides the leave it alone factor, it doesnt work like that. to get any work from the water means you have to slow it down. as soon as you slow it down its not as impressive anymore. you are restricting the flow. the whole reason it exists is because the flow is restricted. restrict it more and all you do is reduce the flow. you can restrict flow to the point you get... a dam. a dam doesnt produce any power. its the dam draining through a restriction producing the power. the sweet spot is when the water flows at half the velocity it would otherwise flow at through that restriction. its doing the maximum work on your load... generator... grain mill... water pump... air compressor... you cant get any better than that. why does it always have to be "electricity"?
The energy contained in this water current is laughable compared to the energy from a hydroelectric damn. It is a terrible location for hydroelectric power. Hydro power is all about water pressure from water depth. You have water coming from somewhere high to somewhere low.
@@Asesinathegamer G’day dude, I could do that but it would involve some long travel to get there, you see I live on the east coast of Australia and Broome is in the north west of the country, around 4500 km away from me and across several deserts. Alternatively, here’s a link to a clip from a BBC documentary narrated by Sir David Attenborough explaining the tidal flows in Broome 👍 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-mJ9kdhVJT0U.html
You can see tidal bores like that on the Bay of Fundy between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in Canada. There are a few narrows where the tide "venturies" between rocky headlands. One that looks as severe as this one is in the harbour of a town called Westport on the Brier Neck, Nova Scotia.
Is that Von Karmen vortex shedding though? The whirlpools are forming at the bridge which would suggest it is formed simply by the tide / current running into the funneling obstical of the rock. For Von Karmen vortex shedding the whirlpools would start to form behind the island where the flow of the two channels meets as it it flow around the obstical on both sides ??? I am no expert though, what is for certain is that is a great video ... thanks vegarhl !
We actually mounted a sea kayak expedition to the Lofoten Islands including 2 days playing in this in about 1978 was it? We were student teachers of Outdoor Education at Bede College, Durham and had circumnavigated Ireland the previous year. Great experience in organising expeditions,a great trip, and I did end up getting an OE job eventually. Thanks for filming this and posting. Technology is wonderful nowadays. I wish we had had anything better than an Instamatic in a Plastic Bag
Such an amazing location for generating hydro power. Doubt it will ever happen for environmental, ecological or tourism reasons, but it would be amazingly effective.
The place Is a national park , and will never be built a power station there. We don't need it , we have a lot of hydro electrical power here northern Norway. More than we can use or send to other places.
@@vegarhl Uhh, ya. Did you miss the part where I said it will never happen because of environmental, ecological or tourism reasons? That's basically what a national park is. Its a place where most industry gets banned because of those reasons. I live in central Canada. We have wind and solar farms, but no where near enough to meet demand and the widest body of flowing water to be found in 500 km is less than 15 meters wide and moves at a staggering pace of about 0.4 meters per second. Possibly as fast 3 mps during the spring thaw. Hydro power just isn't possible anywhere near where I live, so its something that I personally find fascinating.
When the current turns, you have about 1 hour to dive in the current. It never comes to a full stop, but is like diving into a river full of life. Have several dives there myself.
@@petersieben8560 Saltstraumen is well known as a main destination for many divers, you should have knowledge, experience and a diver that now the place . But otherwise no "big" problems to diving there. When the current turns, it's like diving in a river at 1 to 3 knots. But the current can reach close to 20 knots at most (normally 10 to 13 knots) .So you dont won't be there at the wrong time and place, then it will be a "fuck around and find out" shit 😆
The bridge has a sail height of 41 metres, the boats are no problem. I live full-time in a sailboat further into the fjord, and go through the Saltstraumen when I go out to sea
@@freeanimals594 Norway has its advantages, but undoubtedly its own in problems. We have a little too much "communist" thinking in many ways, and it has gotten worse in recent years. They said, i am very glad that I don't live in the US .The country is a slow sinking rat ship😆
@vegar blix Holt I understand that! I believe mostly all countries on Earth are going down the drain, except of course, if you're one of the elite and can afford a way out, until death that is! BTW, I never go in the ocean here for many reasons. We live 13 miles from the Gulf. I'll stick with our pool!
@@freeanimals594. Good…you stay there where crime is rampant. I’ve had my cc data stolen every single time I’ve visited Florida…it was stolen by such upstanding people as gas station attendants, hotel check-in clerks, wait staff, etc. It seems like EVERYONE there is in to identity theft. You can keep that redneck state! (Went to hi school in Pensacola, and have only BAD memories of your “southern hospitality”).
@@vegarhl I wonder though, with this kind of tidal flow, if there are not some other similar area where the tides could be harnessed to create hydropower. Most of the gear to do this is out of sight, under water. This Saltstraumen has fascinated me for years. The bridge looks a bit sketchy though. I'm sure it's strong, but doesn't look like much.
@@savagemako17 The bridge is solid, built on rock and not in the sea. We have many places in Norway with a lot of with a lot of ocean currents, especially in northern Norway we have up to a 3.5 m height difference. But we have a lot of hydropower plants from the mountains, which are easier and cheaper to build / maintain. Have yet to hear about the use of tides for power production in Norway, and i do not think it will be necessary anytime soon. i just hope places like Saltstraumen can be left in alone, and not be destroyed by greedy developers as we see in other countries. We already have a "war" between politicians who want windmills and the people who can't stand them.
@@vegarhl Thank you for the reply. As I said, the Saltstraumen for me has always been a beautiful but scary and I'm sure can be deadly! I hope it always remains as it is today. I love the entire setting with a fascinating little village, I'd like to visit one day. I've seen the fish that are pulled out of there and I've seen videos of people diving there. There are crazy rock formations under the surface where you can see the erosion from the currents and sand/pebbles. This explains some of the boiling water above. A very magical place. I'm a US citizen and can tell you first hand, NEVER let any US developers near your land or your country, if you want to keep nice things nice.
I'd like to see the bottom where its constantly scoured by the currents. If it's a tidal flow does that mean that it reverses? How's the fishing? And the underwater life? There has to be some interesting mutations in most everything in that kind of environment.
yes there are tides that go in and out. Here the tide leaves the fjord. Underwater there is a rich wildlife and kelp forest, it is possible to dive there for about 1 hour when the current turns, it is never still so it is like diving in a river with 1 to 3 knots of current. I Have dived there several times myself
The area is a protected national park and will NEVER be developed. Here in Norway, most electricity comes from hydropower (from mountains). Building out this place,is a bad deal and will never be accepted by local people
i wish someone would drop a few cameras down in sealed bubbles... make em neutrally bouyant. throw in a co2 bulb and pop it after a time delay, so they come to the surface afterwards. hit me up! seems like an easy enough thing to make. just um... need a few dollars for materials :)
The trail of the boat lasted long enough that it was like you imprinted it in a solid. My ears are popping even with the sound off. That's a lot of mass moving very fast.
The current turns every 12 hours, at its strongest the current is 20 to 24 knots, but at its weakest around 1 to 3 knots (45-60 minutes) and it is like diving in a "river" but in the sea. Have many dives there myself ,and there are many film clips from there online
Especially in winter, we can have good visibility. The whole area is full of wildlife and is covered by large fine kelp forests. A lot of nourishment in waters here that come with the current , vs other more open areas
The fishing is good , but it also brings local problems, with contamination from lost fishing equipment. Local divers have for several years done clean-up operations. Something that can be a challenge in a place like this. I have even filled a 10 liter bucket with many kilos, just on a 30/40 minuts dive my selfe
Yes unfortunately there are lots of fishing hooks and lines down there. Bodø diving club is there often and picks up several 100 kilos a year, but it is a losing battle :(
you will definitely have a bad day, but people have fallen in and survived when the current has been strong. +- 30 minutes before the current turns, you can dive there. i have dived there many times, it is a nature experience which is far in between
@@vegarhl Это похоже на полноводные горные реки. Там есть две опасности - когда долго не даёт всплыть на поверхность до следующего вздоха воздуха и если под водой человек за что-то зацепиться или течением прижмёт к рельефу дна.
Then you lose a good dive ;) If you dive when the current turns and with local knowledge, then there is a problem for most people diving here. But would not recommend diving, when the current is like in the video
