Sailor Speak of the Week – Deadwater

Definition

Noun

• The part of a wake immediately aft of a vessel.

Origin

15th century.

Comments

This is effectively an area of negative turbulence or an eddy formed by the ship’s run aft as it passes through the water. One reason for the term is that the water passes away more slowly than the water along the sides.

References

Kemp, P. (1994). The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. Oxford University Press.

Rogers, J.G. (1985). Origins of Sea Terms. Mystic Seaport.