The Emperor's New Bow Wave
 

I thought it was my rig (I have all the environmentals turned right down for FPS), but I decided to view a few SH5 vids, and..... THERE IS NO BOW WAVE!!:hmmm:

Sure, sure, there's foam at the bow trailing back over the ballast tanks to a foamy wake, all real purdy and all... but no real bow wave!
Y'know, a vee bow wave propagating out from the... err... bow. :)
Like a dis,
http://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/Bui.../Beclaimed.jpg
http://www.ivorbittle.co.uk/Articles...s/image065.gif
http://www.navy.mil/navydata/cno/n87...midshipmen.gif

On a calm day I have seen my wake astern, but no - never by the bow as you describe. I am thinking that might have been a little difficult to successfully model in variable sea activity levels...

I read long long ago that patrol planes could see the actual wake for miles, finding fleets, ships and submarines by following the wake. Not foam, which disappears fairly quickly, but the wake, which apparently is oily and looks different from the surroundig water even after the ripples are long gone.

Yeah, I guess you are right. I don't think the sea is modeled as a fluid at all, I think our puny PCs might wheeze a bit if asked to do that.