air beginning at the hoist or mast end of the sail and impel the boat
in the direction in which you are steering. Given a certain direction
in which you want to travel, the problem is, by letting out or hauling
in your main-sheet, to keep the sail as nearly as possible at right
angles with the direction of the wind. We must remember, also, that,
while the sail must be kept full, it should not be kept more than
full; that is, its position must be such that, by the least push of
the tiller toward the sail, the sail will begin to shake at the hoist.
It is even desirable in a strong wind, and especially for beginners,
to always let the sail, close to the mast, shake a little without
losing too much pressure. When you are sailing with the wind coming
over the boat from its port side you are sailing on the port tack, and
when you are sailing with the wind coming across the boat on its
starboard side you are sailing on the starboard tack. The port side of
the boat is the left hand side as you face the bow while standing on
board, and the starboard side is the right hand side. An easy way of
remembering this is by recalling the sentence, "Jack left port."

Direction of Wind

Of course, you will see that, if you should forget which way the wind
is blowing, you could not possibly know the right position for your
sail; and this is one of the first requirements for a beginner. It is
quite easy to become confused with regard to the direction of the
wind, and therefore every boat should be provided with a small flag or
fly at its mast-head and you should keep watching it at every turn of
the boat until the habit {183} has become instinctive. It is
convenient to remember that the fly should always point as nearly as
possible to the end of the gaff, except when you are sailing free or
before the wind.

Close to Wind

Sailing with the boat pointing as nearly as possible against the wind
is called sailing close to the wind; when you have turned your bow to
the right or left so that the wind strikes both boat and sail at right
angles you are sailing with the wind abeam; as you let out your sheet
so that the boom makes a larger angle with an imaginary line running
from the mast to the middle of the stern you are sailing off the wind;
and, when your sail stands at right angles to this same line, you are
sailing free or before the wind.

Before the Wind

Sailing free, or before the wind, is the extreme opposite of sailing
close