This training video will help you to understand the different points of sailing that a sailing
boat can achieve, and the dynamics of the wind on your boat.
In short what makes your boat move forwards.
Sails do not work if you point the boat straight at the wind, they simply flap.
The sail will only work if it sits at an angle of more than 45 degrees to where the wind
is blowing from.
The area where sails don’t work is called the no go zone.
You can sail in any other direction apart from this zone.
Any point of sailing where the boat has the wind on its left, is called port tack.
And any point of sailing where the wind is coming from the right hand side, is called
starboard tack.
It’s very important to have an understanding of where the wind is blowing from, and is
fundamental to everything that you will do in the boat.
To help you, you can use a masthead burgee which will point towards the wind.
Flags ashore are another indicator.
Ripples on the water also blow from where the wind is coming from.
A flapping sail works like a flag and will lie in the same direction that the wind is
blowing from.
It’s useful to understand how a sail works.
If you sail with the wind behind you, it’s easy to see what happens, the wind simply
pushes you forwards, but how does a boat sail across or towards the wind like this?
Here we see a cross section of a mainsail, the aerodynamics of a sail work in a similar
way to an aircraft wing.
The air travelling across the outside edge generates lift, which will blow the boat sideways.
By pushing down the centreboard to suit the point of sailing, the sideways slip is reduced
and the boat drives forwards through
the water.