stood away large

[enkidu68]

Hi friends,

A nautical term was not found by me.
(Captain Singleton by Defoe)

and she stood away large with the wind at E.N.E. taking no notice of our signal, but
making for the Cape de Bona Speranza;


Stood away large: means ship was sailing under sail at far?

 

[GreenWhiteBlue]

"Large" means sailing straight downwind, with the wind coming from abaft the beam (that is, from behind the ship's widest point; it is also known as "running before the wind.") The word large is still commonly used this way, although only in the figure of speech "by and large", which is not generally recognized by those who use the expression to be a combination of sailing terms.

 

[Thomas Tompion]

Large in this context means on a tack such that the wind was coming from behind the ship.

I think to stand away means to move away from another boat at sea.

So this means that the other ship went away from them on a tack such that the wind was coming from behind them - that would make them more difficult to catch, of course, in that they go faster, but some ships escape a chase by being able to sail closer to the wind - ie. at a tighter angle into the wind - than others.

 

[enkidu68]

Thank you so much.