Fly Out

A descriptive sailing expression for a sail or line running outward rapidly after it is released or loses restraint.

A sheet can fly out through a block or fairlead and a sail can blow out to leeward when its control is released. The phrase is not a single standard technical manoeuvre and its intended meaning should be made clear in training or crew instructions.

Rapidly moving rope can burn, strike, snag or run completely out, while a flogging sail and fittings can injure people or suffer damage. Control lines should retain a stopper or sufficient tail where appropriate, and hands and bodies should be kept out of bights and moving leads.