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Stays (Nautical)Stays are the heavy ropes on sailing vessels that run from the masts to the hull. A ship sailing upwind by zigzagging must either tack (turn into the wind, through a small angle) or wear (turn away from the wind, through a large angle). Tacking is trickier than wearing because there is less time, and because there is a point in the turn when the ship is pointing directly upwind and so must depend on its momentum to continue the turn. If the sails are not adjusted in time the ship loses momentum and can't complete the turn; it has to stop and wear instead. On a fore-and-aft-rigged vessel such as a sloop it's easy to tack because the sails can be moved on their booms; on a square-rigged ship the operation is much more complicated. The term arises because on a square-rigged vessel, a fore-and-aft sail between the foremast and the bowsprit (known as a staysail or jib) is used to keep the ship turning as it passes through the eye of the wind. A staysail is so-called because it is rigged using the stays (which support the masts fore and aft, as opposed to the shrouds which suport them sideways). To miss stays is an unsuccessful attempt to tack. See also * Glossary of nautical terms
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