In a drifting condition; at the mercy of wind and waves.

Floating at random. / (of a seaman) Absent from his watch. / (chiefly UK, often with of) Behind one's opponents, or below a required threshold in terms of score, number or position.

(transitive) To abandon a ship at sea / (transitive) To place a person in a ship's boat or raft and leave them

(of a ship) To continue without being steered (usually having been abandoned). / (figuratively, by extension) To be aimless or pointless; to make no progress.

To send a ship, boat or raft out to sea without a crew or resources to steer it.