Forces on sails apart, which generally prevents heeling. Each sailing craft is a system that mobilizes wind force through its sails—supported by spars and rigging—which provide motive power and reactive force from the underbody of a sailboat—including the keel, centerboard, rudder or other underwater foils—or the running gear of an ice boat or land craft, which allows it to be kept on a course. Without the ability to mobilize reactive forces in directions different from the wind direction, a craft would simply be adrift before the wind. Accordingly, motive and heeling forces on sailing craft are either "components of" or "reactions to" the
Sailing into the wind head to the wind it loses steerage and is said to be "in irons." Thus boats sailing into the wind are actually sailing "Close Hauled" (i.e., with sails tightly trimmed). When one "sails too close to the wind" it is called "pinching." This phrase is also a colloquial expression meaning "to be reckless." Sailing into the wind Sailing into the wind is a sailing expression that refers to a sail boat's ability to move forward despite being headed into (or very nearly into) the wind. A sailboat cannot make headway by sailing directly into the wind ("see" "Discussion," below), so