Athwart 2 : When used in navigation, implies across the line of the course; as, we discovered a fleet at day-break standing athwart us, i. e. steering across our way
William Falconer's Dictionary of the Marine, Glossary, Published by South Seas using the Web Academic Resource Publisher, London 1780. (http://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=glos sary, (Mrtm - Brit) {583}