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AAW An acronym for anti-aircraft warfare. aback (of a sail) Filled by the wind on the opposite side to the one normally used to move the vessel forward.On a square-rigged ship, any of the square sails can be braced round to be aback, the purpose of which may be to reduce speed (such as when a ship-of-the-line is keeping station with others), to heave to, or to assist moving the ship's head ...
2. To cut down a sailing ship to reduce the number of decks. reach 1. A section of a stream or river along which similar hydrologic conditions exist, such as discharge, depth, area, and slope. [33] 2. In sailing usage, a straight section of water that can be traversed in a single reaching maneuver, without tacking. reaching
A sailing vessel heels when the boat leans over to the side in reaction to wind forces on the sails. A sailing vessel's form stability (derived from the shape of the hull and the position of the center of gravity) is the starting point for resisting heeling. Catamarans and iceboats have a wide stance that makes them resistant to heeling.
European sailing ships with predominantly square rigs became prevalent during the Age of Discovery (15th to 17th centuries), when they crossed oceans between continents and around the world. In the European Age of Sail, a full-rigged ship was one with a bowsprit and three masts, each of which consists of a lower, top, and topgallant mast. [5]
Tacking or coming about is a sailing maneuver by which a sailing craft (sailing vessel, ice boat, or land yacht), whose next destination is into the wind, turns its bow toward and through the wind so that the direction from which the wind blows changes from one side of the boat to the other, allowing progress in the desired direction. [1]
The lowest and normally largest sail on a mast is the course sail of that mast, and is referred to simply by the mast name: Foresail, mainsail, mizzen sail, jigger sail or more commonly forecourse etc. Even a full-rigged ship did not usually have a lateral (square) course on the mizzen mast below the mizzen topmast.
A sailing craft is said to be sailing close-hauled when its sails are trimmed in tightly and are acting substantially like a wing, relying on lift to propel the craft forward on a course as close to the wind as the sail can provide lift. This point of sail lets the sailing craft travel upwind, diagonally to the wind direction. [4]