On a sailboat, directions are defined relative to the two important reference points: the boat and the wind.

Relative to the Boat

The illustration below shows the terms that are used to describe directions with respect to the boat. Naturally, forward or ahead describe the direction pointing to the front of the boat, off the bow. The opposite direction, behind the boat, is called aft or astern. The directions to the side of the boat are abeam.

Directions Relative to the Boat

While looking forward, the right side of the boat is the starboard side and the left side is the port side. Remember, these directions are always relative to the boat. So if you’re facing forward, the starboard side is to your right, but if you’re facing aft, the port side is to your right. The major benefit of defining directions with respect to the boat is that they don’t change based on which way you’re looking.

Forward and aft tend to describe locations within the boat or parts of the boat, such as the forward deck, while ahead and astern tend to describe movements, e.g., full speed ahead.

Relative to the Wind

Aside from the boat, a sailor must also know the wind. Figure 3 shows the common ways to describe a location or direction relative to the wind. The direction into the wind is known alternately as upwind, windward, or aweather, while that pointing away from the wind is called downwind, leeward, or alee.

Directions Relative to the Wind

Changes in Direction

It is also important to be able to describe changes in direction aboard a sailboat. Turning into the wind is called heading up or luffing up, while turning away from the wind is known as bearing away or falling off.

Since the angle with respect to the wind changes during a turn, the angle and shape of the sails must be changed accordingly (we’ll discuss this in more detail later). When the boat heads up into the wind, the crew must sheet in or harden up the sails, bringing the sails closer to the centerline of the boat. When the boat bears away from the wind, the crew must ease off or loosen up sails, letting the wind push them further away from the centerline.

The reasons why these changes in sail characteristics are necessary will become clear later during the discussion of how a sailboat works. For now, the terms are simply given as reference.

Changes in Direction