Gripe

A sailing vessel ‘gripes’ when she can not properly sail close hauled (at a angle close to the direction of the wind) due to being incorrectly designed or because she has an imbalance of sail which results in bow (front) heading into the wind when sailing close-hauled. The sails flap around and forward progress is difficult. The term is now used to mean complain. A nautical term that has now become part of everyday language