set sail

Idioms  

1. Also, make sail. Begin a voyage on water, as in Dad rented a yacht, and we're about to set sail for the Caribbean, or We'll make sail for the nearest port. These expressions, dating from the early 1500s, originally meant “put the sails in position to catch the wind,” and hence cause the vessel to move.

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Example Sentences

Skippers of nearly 130 yachts set sail on a "bumpy" Sydney-Hobart ocean race Friday, many scattering rose petals for the Bondi Beach shooting victims as they ventured into rolling seas.

From Barron's

"A ship of the American company Chevron has set sail from our country carrying Venezuelan oil bound for the United States, in strict adherence to regulations and in fulfillment of the commitments undertaken by our oil industry," Rodriguez said on Telegram.

From Barron's

It launched the Treasure ship last year, the newest Destiny ship in November, and the Adventure is expected to set sail in Asia in March.

From Barron's

The most recent norovirus outbreak on a cruise ship reported by the CDC is on the ship AIDAdiva, which set sail on Nov. 10 from Germany.

From Los Angeles Times

“He really loves to be in the soup in every aspect of the film, every department but especially the score. To him, it’s almost spiritual. We’re preparing this thing to set sail and it’s a very special period for him. I couldn’t deprive him of that. So essentially I was staying at my girlfriend’s place in Queens and we were working out of a 7-by-8 editing room in midtown. Also Sarah, his wife, was pregnant and gave birth during the creation of the score.”

From Los Angeles Times