Tack
The lower forward corner of a fore-and-aft sail.
On a mainsail it is secured near the gooseneck; on a headsail it is attached near the bow, furler or bowsprit. Tack also names the vessel’s relationship to the wind—port tack or starboard tack—and the manoeuvre of turning the bow through the wind.
These meanings are related but distinct. Sail-corner loads, tack fittings and control lines must suit the sail and rig, while collision-rule use of “tack” depends on which side the wind is coming from.
