Wakes

Added or changed on 12 October 2026

• Every ship under way leaves a wake on the water, under its shadow and hull: never inside a marina, so no boat of any kind wakes the harbour; two arms of foam spreading astern from its quarters at the Kelvin angle (19.5°) and the wash of its screws between them, a ribbon of foam tapering and fading away. The wake runs back along the track the stern has just sailed, straight on past the track's end, so it bends with the ship's turns. Its length and brightness go with the ship's speed now as a share of its top speed: half a length astern at a crawl, three and a half at full speed. A ship coming alongside, pulling out or gliding to its spot moves at harbour pace (a quarter); a ship lying in port, held at a lock or by the weather, lost adrift, carried or towed leaves none (the tug's shows). Ships drawn under 7 px long have none. On the loading screens each ship's wake goes with its crossing speed.