man is to make headway
against the wind, he must sail his boat as near dead against the wind as
it will go.

The cutter type of yacht will move against a wind that is blowing at a
very small angle on her bowsprit. As soon as she reaches the limit of
her course, the yachtsman turns her bow at a small angle so as to bring
the wind on the opposite side of the vessel, and in this way a second
course is started. These courses are repeated in a zigzag fashion until
the yacht arrives at her destination. This zigzagging, or "tacking," as
it is called, is illustrated in Fig. 141. It will be seen that the yacht
starts at _B_, and makes 3 tacks before she arrives at her destination,
_A_. Each time she touches the shore she is "put about" and set upon a
new course, or "tack."

[Illustration: FIG. 141]

It will be understood that tacking is slow work, and a greater distance
must be traveled than would be covered by a power-boat, which would be
able to go in a straight line. However, with wind-propelled craft this
is the only way in which progress can be made against the wind. The
left-hand side of a yacht viewed from the stern is called the port side,
while the right-hand side is called the starboard side. Thus a yacht
sailing with the wind blowing on her port side is on the port tack,
while if the wind is blowing on the starboard side she is said to be on
the starboard tack. From this the reader will see that Fig. 142 shows an
impossible case.

[Illustration: FIG. 142]

[Illustration: FIG. 143]

[Illustration: FIG. 144]

[Illustration: FIG. 145]

The sails in front of the mast that are placed nearest the stern of the
yacht act in such a manner as to turn the bows in the direction of the
arrow, as illustrated in Fig. 146, and the sail or sails abaft the mast
turn the boat in the direction of the arrow _A_. The boat thus revolves
upon the center of the mast much as a weathercock revolves upon its
pivot. If there is more than one mast, all the sails carried abaft the
mainmast serve to turn the boat in the direction _A_. The work of
sailing depends greatly upon the skill in balancing these two effects so
that the boat will progress in a straight line. To do this the sails are
set in a greater or less angle in relation to the center line of the
boat. The less the angle that a sail makes with the center line of the
boat, the greater is its power to determine in which direction the boat
will steer. The more the yachtsman slacke