Flotsam and Jetsam

Although it is unlikely you will ever need to distinguish these words when examining seaborne wreckage, there was once an important distinction. Jetsam consisted of items jettisoned by the ship’s crew in order to lighten the ship. It was often cargo (instead of unruly passengers) and became the legal property of the person who owned the land where it ultimately washed up. Flotsam was everything else, the debris that broke up or washed away unintentionally and was legally the property of the Crown. If you find submerged wreckage and attach a buoy to it, the correct word to describe the wreckage is “lagan,” pronounced “LAG-en.”