How does a massive sailing ship “tack” in the same way a dinghy does? Especially those with big rectangular sails like a galleon
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It was more difficult, mostly because square riggers couldn’t sail much closer than 60° off the wind, so they had a bigger angle to turn through. There were many men aboard so handling all the sails at the same time could be done. At least it could be in naval vessels which had huge crews but merchantmen were more likely to wear instead of tacking, if there were plenty of sea room. Wearing means turning away from the wind and then continuing the turn until you were on the other tack, avoiding the need to ever point into the wind.
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