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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]
A tack is the windward side of a sailing craft (side from which the wind is coming while under way)—the starboard or port tack. Generally, a craft is on a starboard tack if the wind is coming over the starboard (right) side with sails on port (left) side. Similarly, a craft is on a port tack if the wind is coming over the port (left).
The word nautical derives from the Latin nauticus, from Greek nautikos, from nautēs: "sailor", from naus: "ship". Further information on nautical terminology may also be found at Nautical metaphors in English , and additional military terms are listed in the Multiservice tactical brevity code article.
Glossary of nautical terms (M–Z) Index of articles associated with the same name This set index article includes a list of related items that share the same name (or similar names).
Stays are ropes, wires, or rods on sailing vessels that run fore-and-aft along the centerline from the masts to the hull, deck, bowsprit, or to other masts which serve to stabilize the masts. [1] A stay is part of the standing rigging and is used to hold a mast upright.
The ship is close-hauled and the sail is now controlled by the tack rather than the sheet. The tack of a square-rigged sail is a line attached to its lower corner. [1] This is in contrast to the more common fore-and-aft sail, whose tack is a part of the sail itself, the corner which is (possibly semi-permanently) secured to the vessel.
In sailing, heaving to (to heave to and to be hove to) is a way of slowing a sailing vessel's forward progress, as well as fixing the helm and sail positions so that the vessel does not have to be steered. [1] It is commonly used for a "break"; this may be to wait for the tide before proceeding, or to wait out a strong or contrary wind.
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.