A tack is a nautical term both for the lower, windward corner of a sail and, ''separately'', for the windward side of a sailing craft (side from which the wind is coming while under way—the starboard or port tack. Generally, a boat is on a starboard tack if the wind is coming over the starboard (right) side of boat with sails on port (left) side. Similarly, a boat is on a port tack if the wind is coming over the port (left) side of boat. However, confusion can result when a boat is on a 'run', with the wind coming directly from astern and the mainsail and jib/genoa are on opposite sides of the vessel (wing-on-wing). Therefore, the windward side is defined as the side opposite to that on which the mainsail is being carried. On a starboard tack the mainsail is carried on the port side. On a port tack the mainsail is carried on the starboard side. It is the position of the mainsail that determines the tack.

Sail corner

The tack is the corner on a fore-and-aft sail where the ''luff'' (the forward edge) and ''foot'' (the bottom edge) connect and, on a mainsail, is located near where the

boom Boom may refer to: Objects * Boom (containment), a temporary floating barrier used to contain an oil spill * Boom (navigational barrier), an obstacle used to control or block marine navigation * Boom (sailing), a sailboat part * Boom (windsurfin ...

and

mast Mast, MAST or MASt may refer to: Engineering * Mast (sailing), a vertical spar on a sailing ship * Flagmast, a pole for flying a flag * Guyed mast, a structure supported by guy-wires * Mooring mast, a structure for docking an airship * Radio mas ...

connect. On a square sail or a

spinnaker A spinnaker is a sail designed specifically for sailing off the wind on courses between a reach (wind at 90° to the course) to downwind (course in the same direction as the wind). Spinnakers are constructed of lightweight fabric, usually ny ...

, the tack is the windward ''clew'' (lower corner) and also the line holding down that corner; when the vessel changes course to have the other vertical edge of the sail to the wind, the other clew becomes the tack.

Wind direction on sailing vessel

As a point of reference, tack is the alignment of the wind with respect to a sailing craft under way. If the wind is from

starboard Port and starboard are nautical terms for watercraft and aircraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the bow (front). Vessels with bilateral symmetry have left and right halves which ar ...

side of the sailing craft, it is on ''starboard tack'', and if from port, on ''port tack''. The International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea for vessels underway declare that when the courses of two sailing vessels converge, the vessel on ''port tack'' must give way to a vessel on ''starboard tack''. The maneuver of changing a sailing craft's course from one tack to the other with the wind coming across the bow is called tacking; with the wind coming across the stern, it is called jibing for fore-and-aft rigged sailing craft, or ''

wearing ship A jibe (US) or gybe (Britain) is a sailing maneuver whereby a sailing vessel reaching downwind turns its stern through the wind, which then exerts its force from the opposite side of the vessel. Because the mainsail boom can swing acro ...

'' for square-rigged vessels.

References

Bibliography

* West, Gillian, "Basic Cruising Skills", Sail Canada, 2019 (ISBN 978-1-894495-92-9) *Rousmaniere, John, ''The Annapolis Book of Seamanship'', Simon & Schuster, 1999 * ''Chapman Book of Piloting'' (various contributors), Hearst Corporation, 1999 * Herreshoff, Halsey (consulting editor), ''The Sailor’s Handbook'', Little Brown and Company * Seidman, David, ''The Complete Sailor'', International Marine, 1995 * Jobson, Gary, ''Sailing Fundamentals'', Simon & Schuster, 1987 {{Sailing manoeuvres Sailing rigs and rigging Nautical terminology