Yes, giant whirlpools exist in the ocean, but ships generally don't sink in them, though they can, especially small ships.
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Most ships can withstand a whirlpool - not something that's in the general design of an ocean going ship. For a small boat it's best to stay out of the way!
Whirlpools are pretty common in turbulent areas of rivers (rapids, base of waterfalls). In natural lakes, there are not many locations which would generate whirlpools, but in man-made reservoirs (like the lake in question), there are a few locations that can generate whirlpools.
Charybdis, the daughter of the sea god Pontus and the earth goddess Gaia, was a deadly whirlpool. Three times a day, Charybdis would pull in and push out water with such force that ships would be sunk.
Smaller whirlpools are generally either currents that can peter out and allow you to escape, or part of water systems that can dash you into rocks and knock you out, or something that can take you into an underwater sinkhole and drown you. But in any case, DO NOT underestimate the force of water.
Sign up for the abc27 newsletters here. The dubious honor of the worst sinking of all time goes to the Wilhelm Gustloff, torpedoed by a Russian submarine on January 30th, 1945. She was crammed to the gunwales with German refugees, fleeing the advancing Russian Army in the waning months of World War Two.
When the two whirlpools become entwined, their linked tails form a U-shaped vortex under the water, which can hold together for up to six months before falling apart.