fetch, to

The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea | 2006 | 699 words | Copyright

fetch, to, to reach, or arrive at, some place or point, particularly in conditions of an adverse wind or tide. The word is used only in relation to sailing vessels when close hauled or on a wind, and implies being able to arrive at the desired point without having to tack to windward. Fetch also signifies the distance of open water traversed by waves before they reach a given point; the longer the fetch, the higher the waves generally are, and the more strongly the swell will run after the wind has dropped. It is also used to indicate the distance a vessel must sail to reach open water, thus a yacht can anchor in an inlet on a coast, and have a fetch of so many miles to reach the open sea.

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