How a Sidewind Pushes a Sailboat Forward
The sail refuses obedience. When a boat meets a sidewind, its curved cloth does not merely get shoved sideways; set at an angle to the apparent wind, it creates a pressure differential, and the resulting aerodynamic lift points partly forward rather than simply away from the breeze.That force is the trick. A sail acts as an airfoil, much like an airplane wing, although its task is stranger: instea...More
loading...