Turning a sailing craft through the wind so that the bow passes through the eye of the wind, switching the side the sail or kite is on.
Tacking is one of the two fundamental turns in any wind-powered sport (the other being jibing). When you tack, you steer the bow of the board or boat into the wind and continue turning until the wind catches the sail on the opposite side. In sailing and windsurfing, this means the boom swings across as you step around the mast.
In kitesurfing, the kite transitions overhead. Tacking is generally considered the safer turn because you slow down as you head into the wind, giving you more control. However, it requires enough momentum to carry through the no-power zone.
Watersports Tracker automatically counts your tacks during a session, giving you data on how many directional changes you made and where on the course they happened.
Example usage
"I logged 47 tacks in my session today — the narrow bay meant a lot of back and forth to stay upwind."
Watersports Tracker records your speed, distance, route, and more — for 24+ sports.