Nautical Term: Slack water

Definition of Slack water

Slack water is a term used s to describe the condition of the tide when there is no horizontal motion. In other words, it’s the point when the incoming and outgoing tides are at their weakest. For instance, in a paragraph about river navigation, a sailor might say, As we approached the narrowest part of the river, the sailor checked the tide tables and announced that we had reached slack water. It was the perfect time to make our way through the shallow waters of the river’s narrowest section.

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