slatch n Cp OED ~ 2 'brief respite or interval' naut obs (1625-1769). See also SWATCH n. An expanse of open water in an ice-field.
[1882] P 54-69 I have seen [swatch] in a news item in the Harbour Grace Standard, 25 Mar, written as slatch, about old seals off Cape Spear in slatches. 1909 BERNIER 7 Slatches are considerable pools of open water in the ice.
