Sailing-ship shifting onshore around cape (8)
I believe the answer is:
schooner
'sailing-ship' is the definition.
'shifting onshore around cape' is the wordplay.
'shifting' indicates anagramming the letters.
'around' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'cape' becomes 'c' (abbreviation used on maps).
'onshore' is an anagram of 'shooner'.
'shooner' placed around 'c' is 'SCHOONER'.
(Other definitions for schooner that I've seen before include "Old sailing vessel and large glass" , "Two-master; a glass" , "Two-masted sailing ship" , "Sailing vessel used in former times" , "No chores on this sailing ship" .)