Ruth Wöhlk Dec 2, 2010:

turn the boat into the wind, which immediately sets the sail to luffing, whereby it loses its drive power
vira el barco hacia el viento lo que inmediatamente hace que la vela empiece a flamear por lo que pierde su fuerza
Peter, tu explicación no deja nada de desear, no creo que pueda haber más dudas, en esta frase se trata de una acción algo involuntaria, el contrario de lo de orzar, que es virar el barco a propósito hacia el viento para revirar.

Peter Guest Dec 2, 2010:

I apologise. What do you need? Luff. As a noun, this is the grátil in Spanish –the leading edge of the sail. the sail luffs (starts to receive the wind on the leeward –sheltered side) when the boat turns towards the wind, or when the sheet (the rope that controls the angle of the sail to the wind) is freed (loosened). The sail then begins to flap, first by the luff and then down its length. the sail luffs when it gets the wind on its backside.
Luff up means to turn the boat towards the wind when –eventually–the sail will begin to flap. Do not confuse luff up (orzar) with the sail luffing. Luff up (I repeat) means to turn the boat towards the wind. The sail may not luff when doing this. Often, a new helmsman will sail too wide (too far downwind). The skipper will say "Luff up, you careless bast **d!!!!" But he does not mean let the sail start to luff and lose drive. He means sail closer to the wind, not go through the eye of the wind.
I'm sorry I didn't make myself clear and apologise for being short tempered. These things are not so obvious to newcomers as they seem to us ancient mariners.
Good luck.

Ruth Wöhlk Dec 2, 2010:

But Peter is right, his answer is the correct one.

Eduardo López (asker) Dec 2, 2010:

Dear Peter,

My client asked me to research this word further. There's no need to be rude, might I add.

Peter Guest Dec 2, 2010:

Don't you read? Why ara you wasting our time. I answered this correctly yesterday.