When sailing in to the wind the sails flap. You can’t get any wind into the sails, which makes sailing impossible. You have to change the course to by the wind and put the sails either to port or starboard. When the wind is coming directly from the side you have to reach and you can reach on both sides. Reaching means that you put the sails so they catch as much wind as possible. Other ways to sail a ship are by the wind or beam wind. By the wind means, that the wind don’t come directly from the front or the side but between them and beam wind is almost the same but the wind comes between the back and the side of the ship. When the wind blows from the rear of the ship its called running. In running you aim to put the sails straight and equally on the both sides of the ship. Tacking means the situation when you are for example sailing by the wind on the port side and suddenly the wind direction changes and you have to switch the sails to the starboard side. Gyp is the same than tack but it happens only when the ship is running so when you are going by the wind you are tacking and when running you are gypping. Usually when the ship has to tack or gyp it needs the whole crew of the ship because it’s a big operation to change the ships course. Everyone has to be ready on their own spots and when the captain gives the order brace the yards the whole crew starts to pull the ropes to get the sails in the right direction.
Dictionary
Port = Paapuuri
Starbord = Tyyrpuuri
In the wind= Vastatuuleen
By the wind = Sivuvastainen tuuli
Beam wind = Sivumyötäinen tuuli
Running = Myötätuuleen
Tack = Venda, Käännös vastatuuleen
Gyp = Jiippi, Käännös myötätuuleen
– Elias Larsen, Vili Kinos, Nabil Odda & Samuli Kivinen