Tacking (sailing)

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] Sailing vessels are unable to sail higher than a certain angle towards the wind, so "beating to windward" in a zig-zag fashion with a series of tacking maneuvers, allows a vessel to sail towards a destination that is closer to the wind that the vessel can sail directly.

A sailing craft, whose course is downwind, jibes (or "wears" if square-rigged) by having the apparent wind cross the stern from one tack to the other.^[2]^[3] High-performance sailing craft may tack, rather than jibe, downwind, when the apparent wind is well forward.

^ Keegan, John (1989). The Price of Admiralty. New York: Viking. p. 281. ISBN 0-670-81416-4.
^ Sailing, American (2010-01-01). Sailing Made Easy: The Official Manual For The ASA 101 Basic Keelboat Sailing Course. American Sailing. pp. 48–51. ISBN 978-0-9821025-0-3.
^ McEwen, Thomas (2006). Boater's Pocket Reference: Your Comprehensive Resource for Boats and Boating. Anchor Cove Publishing. pp. 186–. ISBN 978-0-9774052-0-6.

[1] Keegan, John (1989). The Price of Admiralty. New York: Viking. p. 281. ISBN 0-670-81416-4.

[:0-2] Sailing, American (2010-01-01). Sailing Made Easy: The Official Manual For The ASA 101 Basic Keelboat Sailing Course. American Sailing. pp. 48–51. ISBN 978-0-9821025-0-3.

[McEwen2006-3] McEwen, Thomas (2006). Boater's Pocket Reference: Your Comprehensive Resource for Boats and Boating. Anchor Cove Publishing. pp. 186–. ISBN 978-0-9774052-0-6.

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