Maelstrom
This whirlpool's just claimed a hapless ship. All that's left are a few bits and pieces tangled in the rigging, making circuits 'round the center.
The answer is an English word. You'll know it's right when you have it. To check your answer, remove the trailing slash from this page's URL and add "-xxxxx", where "xxxxx" is the answer in all lowercase. If you've tried it and are really stuck, the solution is here, though I'd ask that you feel slightly sheepish when clicking the link.