Lateen Rig

The lateen rig is a triangular fore-and-aft sail set on a long yard slung at an angle from a short mast, of Mediterranean and Indian Ocean origin and in use since late antiquity. It let a vessel sail closer to the wind than the square sail and was central to the dhow and the caravel, giving Portuguese explorers the windward ability to work back up the African coast. Many later ships combined a lateen mizzen with square sails forward. The rig remains a defining feature of traditional Mediterranean and Arab craft.