Backing Sail (naval combat)

A maneuver which holds back the movement of the ship during the movement execution phase by the crew pushing the boom to windward, applying the force of the wind upon the opposite sail surface. This is a difficult maneuver, requiring strength and crew coordination, one demanding a crew quality of no less than average.

Captains that wish to order a ship to hold back so that it can move forward at a precise moment (important for avoiding a collision), should, when logging movement, indicate which factors of the ship’s movement allowance will be used to back the sail.

For example, a ship with 5 factors might wish to move only two hexes forward, but to do so either late or early in the round, rather than have that movement spaced evenly from the beginning of the round to the end (see simultaneous movement). Thus, the captain would indicate in the log, using a “B” for backing the sail and an “A” for moving ahead, as A-A-B-B-B, whereas the normal distribution during the round for those two forward movement (without backing the sail), would be (using “O” for not moving), O-O-A-O-A.

It can be difficult to see the usefulness of the manouevre without a complete familiarity of the rules and the manner in which the ships will be moving continuously around each other during the combat round, but captains with experience are sure to find occasions where backing the sail will be necessary.

See Naval Combat