How do sailboats move forward when they are against the wind??

>>1057525
drawing the sails in and using momentum from when the wind was with them?

plus i think most modern ones have an onboard motor for that + maneuvering to dock and whatnot

>>1057526
I don't think that would work, because people sailing across the Atlantic would have the wind going against them (right? winds usually go west to east??) the whole time.

Tacking against the wind.

http://www.pitt.edu/~jdnorton/sail/What_it_takes/Tacking.gif

>>1057528
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sailing_into_the_wind

well then here's this article that explains it fairly well

>>1057525
Magnets

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>>1057525
Boats can't go directly into the wind. Some can get very close, and every sail plan has a certain advantage on different points of sail (pic). For example, a racing sailboat can haul very close to the direction of wind, giving them a lot of maneuverability. Ye old square rig merchant ships were very very good at one thing: racing across the ocean with the trade winds at their back. Pretty crummy at everything else.

So glad I took the sailing merit badge. I used to think that sailboats could only go downwind.

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>>1057525
A sail is like an aeroplane's wing.
When wind hits it from the front (as opposed to blowing into it), it creates lift, which with correct sail position pushes the boat to the side and slightly to the front.
The sideways movement is translated into more forward movement by the shape of the boat's hull.

G is the force caused by the wind hitting the sail, V is the resulting force that pushes the boat forwards.

>>1057617

I didn't need a merit badge to tell me what I could sit there and see.

>>1057528

Here in the lesser Antilles wind always goes East to West unless during hurricanes and other unique situations.