Talk:Tack (sailing)

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[edit] Red=Stop Green=Proceed

How old might this convention be?

The is a Navigation Act of about 1850.

Railway signals started using these colours around 1930.

Tabletop 06:29, 24 May 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Tacking

The section on tacking as a maneuver is inaccurate to my knowledge, though only subtly. Tacking refers to the process of beating a course up wind, back and forth, while "coming about" refers to the actual method of turning (to be distinct from jibing, the other possible method). Modern sailboats (marconi rig) will sometimes tack heading downwind without coming about as well, due to their much greater speed on a beam reach. Unfortunately, my "source" on this is limited to the way it's been described by the sailors (yachters) that I've spoken to. Is there a source for the current version that I can investigate? siafu 30 June 2005 04:11 (UTC)

Yes and no, depending on the exact form of speech. "To tack" is a synonym for "to come about". "Tacked" is similar; it is used about equally for "came about" (as in "I tacked out of his path") and "beating to windward" ("I tacked up to the mark"). "Tacking" may mean "coming about", but you are correct that for this particular form it is more common for it to mean "beating to windward". The meaning is usually obvious from the context. Noel (talk) 18:15, 23 September 2005 (UTC)