About " to square away".
I'd like to ask about the meaning " to square away" in this sentence : " We squared away and ran for it". I can't catch the meaning of the action they've done. It's from this :
On the morning of the third day, shortly after eight bells, a cry
that the boat was sighted came down from Smoke at the masthead. All
hands lined the rail. A snappy breeze was blowing from the west,
with the promise of more wind behind it; and there, to leeward, in the
troubled silver of the rising sun, appeared and disappeared a black
speck.
We squared away and ran for it.
Could you explain the meaning? Thank you in advance!

Question

About " to square away".
I'd like to ask about  the meaning " to square away" in this sentence : " We squared away and ran for it". I can't catch the meaning of the action they've done.  It's from this :
On the morning of the third day, shortly after eight bells, a cry         
that the boat was sighted came down from Smoke at the masthead. All         
hands lined the rail. A snappy breeze was blowing from the west,            
with the promise of more wind behind it; and there, to leeward, in the      
troubled silver of the rising sun, appeared and disappeared a black         
speck.                                                                      
  We squared away and ran for it.
Could you explain the meaning? Thank you in advance!

Answer

From the context you provided, this is referring to a maneuver performed on the ship's sails to bring them into a certain position relative to the current wind direction.  More generally, the term "squared away" can mean to organize or put into order.

Ex. (Before leaving, he took some time to tidy the apartment to make sure everything was squared away.)

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