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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 ...
Sailing into the wind is a sailing expression that refers to a sail boat's ability to move forward despite being headed into (or very nearly into) the wind. A sailboat cannot make headway by sailing directly into the wind ( see "Discussion," below); the point of sail into the wind is called " close hauled ".
For many sailing craft 45° on either side of the wind is a no-go zone, where a sail is unable to mobilize power from the wind. Sailing on a course as close to the wind as possible—approximately 45°—is termed beating, a point of sail when the sails are close-hauled. At 90° off the wind, a craft is on a beam reach.
Also ship's magazine. The ammunition storage area aboard a warship. magnetic bearing An absolute bearing using magnetic north. magnetic north The direction towards the North Magnetic Pole. Varies slowly over time. maiden voyage The first voyage of a ship in its intended role, i.e. excluding trial trips. Maierform bow A V-shaped bow introduced in the late 1920s which allowed a ship to maintain ...
Glossary of nautical terms may refer to: Glossary of nautical terms (A–L) Glossary of nautical terms (M–Z) This page was last edited on 21 December 2024 ...
Windward and leeward directions (and the points of sail they create) are important factors to consider in such wind-powered or wind-impacted activities as sailing, wind-surfing, gliding, hang-gliding, and parachuting. Other terms with broadly the same meaning are widely used, particularly upwind and downwind. [3]
Points of sail: the shaded area is the "no-sail" zone. Beating to windward on short (P1), medium (P2), and long (P3) tacks, each with a progressively wider corridor over the water. Sails are limited in how close to the direction of the wind they can power a sailing craft. The area towards the wind defining those limits is called the "no-sail zone".
The concept of weather gage is still useful in modern yacht racing, although the term is rarely used. The sails of a boat disrupt the wind to leeward; this disruption is often called "dirt" or "dirty air". An overtaking boat on a downwind course can position itself to focus its dirty air on the boat ahead of it.