Sailing upwind is perhaps one of the most misunderstood aspect of sailing for most beginners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The wind, this invisible force, personified and divinized in mythology and religion, has been harnessed throughout human history, but going against it is somehow harder to grasp intellectually than it actually is. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not surprisingly, one of the first sailing fundamentals you learn when you are new to this world is therefore upwind sailing<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n What does this mean? How does a yacht sail upwind? Read on and you will understand this obscure concept.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let’s start with a simple and short definition: upwind<\/strong> is when going against the wind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, you do not directly go against the wind. That is physically impossible, as you may have already guessed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSailing upwind\u201d means sailing as close to the direction the wind is blowing from as possible. In a word, about 45 degrees away, left or right, from the apparent wind’s direction. You are not going against the exact direction of the wind, but you can move forward against the wind without directly facing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What happens if you cross this imaginary line steering the boat closer into the direction of the wind? The sails start to flap around and the boat slows down. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As an old sea-dogs once said: “flapping sail, unhappy sail!” Or something like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n While sailing upwind means going against the wind, sailing downwind is going with the wind. It is simply the opposite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Obviously, sailing downwind is much easier than sailing upwind. If the sailing concept of upwind and downwind is still obscure to you, try with a bicycle and you should quickly understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another important difference involves how the boat is steered and the sails trimmed when going downwind or upwind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Going upwind, one generally pulls the sails all the way in and then uses them as a guide to steer the boat. When sailing downwind, one usually aims the boat straight to the desired course, and then uses this heading as a guide for how to trim the sails. Upwind sails work like airplane wings. They are trimmed to give lift. Downwind, the air is behind the sails, and they drive the boat by filling and pulling it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let’s have a look at how sailing upwind is actually performed while sailing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat is upwind sailing? <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The main differences between sailing upwind and downwind<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n