short-tack

English

Verb

short-tack (third-person singular simple present short-tacks, present participle short-tacking, simple past and past participle short-tacked)

1. (nautical) To tack several times in rapid succession when sailing upwind in a narrow waterway.
   • 2010, Mike Perham, Sailing the Dream, page 143:

     I started short-tacking every hour down the coast, heading further offshore, as I knew I'd find better wind there.