NO. 15.] ORIGINAL ACCOUNTS. 17 



Sailing vessels often lie in dead-water for several days; towing with a boat is of no 

 purpose; at most the vessel may he turned a little, but as soon as rowing ceases, she 

 resumes her own way. 



"Sharp and deep-drawing vessels are more apt to take dead-water than those that are 

 bluff, or flatbottomed; likewise laden vessels are more subject to it than are light ones. 



"Dead-water occurs mainly in the neighbourhood of river mouths, especially at floodtime 

 in spring and summer. In this respect the following places are specially to be mentioned ' : 



"The Langesund Fjord; the Dramtnen Fjord below Svelvig, aud in the neighbourhood 

 of this fjord; the waters SW. and SE. of Fredrikstad ; the Single Fjord all the way to 

 the Sceken. 



"Furthermore the Moss Sound and several other places in the Kristiania Fjord, count- 

 ing from the port of Kristiania and the cove at Lysaker and as far outwards as beyond 

 Fcerder. 



"Two special cases have been brought to my notice: — 



1) A ship-master sailing from Rodtangen for Drammen in March 1901, there being 

 little water in the river, felt dead-water only beyond Svelirig. (It was at this time uncom- 

 monly high water). Somewhat later, when he made the same journey, the river had increased 

 considerably, and this time, dead-water was experienced below Svelvig and not beyond it. 



2) On May 13th 1901 a sharp-built cutter, sailing for Kristiania, took dead-water on 

 the Single Fjord. A yacht of the same size, but of bluff design and sailing somewhat more 

 slowly, came after her at a speed of about 4 knots. The yacht made an attempt to tow the 

 cutter out of the dead-water, but the result was that both vessels became fast in it. They 

 were lying in dead-water from 10 a. m. the first day to 4 p. m. the next, and during this 

 time drifted four miles back again with the current, against the direction of the steady, 

 fresh breeze, although they had all sails set." 



No. 8. Mr. H. B. Eriksen, shipmaster of Fredrikstad has favoured me 

 with the following very instructive and interesting account. The sketches 

 Figs. 8 and 9, PL IV, are made by Mr. Eriksen himself. 



"During a series of years I sailed between Finland and England — I have made about 

 50 voyages between Kolka and London — and in the Kattegat and Skagerack have been 

 much exposed to dead-water. On this trade I sailed the barque "Martha", 515 reg. tons, 

 about 47 m. in length, 10 m. in breadth and with a draught of about 5'7 m. when laden 

 and 3"8 m. when empty. 



"In my opinion dead-water may be met with at any hour of the day and independent 

 of the direction of the wind, and it only occurs while the wind is decreasing in a light 

 breeze, when the ship has but a low speed. When there has previously been a fresh breeze 

 from W. or NW., the dead-water is less felt, whereas, after a long spell of fine weather, 

 it is much stronger. For this reason dead-water is worst in June and July, and becomes 

 more feeble in the autumn with its heavy westerly storms. If her speed were so small as 

 3 knots, and she were laden, my ship easily got into dead-water, and then her speed was 

 considerably slowed. 



"When the ship takes dead-water, as a rule (not always) three "rips" 2 are seen, 

 stretching across the wake aft of the stern (Fig. 8, PL IV); the steering becomes bad. If 

 the wind decreases, the speed of the ship gets slower, and then the rips come nearer and 

 nearer, and finally come right up to the ship and then disappear. In their place one rip 

 appears on each side of the ship forming with the latter an acute angle and moving farther 

 forward to the bow (Fig. 9, PI. IV). With a very slight wind from due aft both rips are 

 visible, but if the wind blows from the side, the phenomenon is commonly disturbed on 



1 See the map Fig. 1, PI. III. 



■ See the note at the bottom of p. 2. 



