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were sailing

  • past progressive
    of sail.
    sail
    noun
    an area of canvas or other fabric extended to the wind in such a way as to transmit the force of the wind to an assemblage of spars and rigging mounted firmly on a hull, raft, iceboat, etc., so as to drive it along.

Example Sentences

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All three ships were sailing out of the Gulf of Oman on Wednesday with their location trackers active.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026

As Odysseus and his ship were sailing by the Sirens, he knew the Sirens’ song would be irresistible and — if he didn’t resist its allure — fatal.

From MarketWatch ● May 2, 2026

GSF's tracking data showed that most of the remaining 36 boats in the flotilla were sailing close to Crete's south-western coast.

From BBC ● Apr. 30, 2026

The four vessels were "sailing near waters off Taiwan's northern and eastern coasts today", the Taiwanese coastguard said, adding it "immediately deployed large vessels to pre-position responses in relevant areas" and "sent additional support units".

From Barron's ● Dec. 29, 2025

We were sailing right past them now, smooth as silk, big as life.

From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck