A waterborne transport mode in which a vessel is propelled by the wind acting on its sails rather than by an engine, the principal means of maritime transport for most of human history before the steamship and diesel engine made mechanically powered shipping practical and reliable. Sailing carried people, goods and armies across oceans and along coastlines for millennia; it has been displaced almost entirely as a mode of practical cargo and passenger transport, surviving today chiefly in a small revival of wind assisted commercial cargo vessels and in recreational and competitive use.
Facts
Core ConcernWind-powered propulsion of vessels across water using sails 1 Connections
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Sailing
WikipediaHistory section, Sailing article
Throughout history, sailing was a key means of propulsion that gave greater mobility than overland travel.
In Group: Sail-Powered and Submerged Vessel Modes, Lead section
Sailing employs the wind-acting on sails, wing sails or kites-to propel a craft on the surface of the water (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ice (iceboat) or on land (land yacht) over a chosen course, which is often part of a larger plan of navigation.
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