Sailing into the wind is a

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cour ...

expression that refers to a sail boat's ability to move forward despite being headed into (or very nearly into) the wind. A sailboat cannot make headway by sailing directly into the wind (''see'' "Discussion," below); the

point of sail A point of sail is a sailing craft's direction of travel under sail in relation to the true wind direction over the surface. The principal points of sail roughly correspond to 45° segments of a circle, starting with 0° directly into the wind. ...

into the wind is called "

close hauled A point of sail is a sailing craft's direction of travel under sail in relation to the true wind direction over the surface. The principal points of sail roughly correspond to 45° segments of a circle, starting with 0° directly into the wind. ...

". Sailing into the wind is possible when the

sail A sail is a tensile structure—which is made from fabric or other membrane materials—that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may ...

is angled in a slightly more forward direction than the sail force. In this aspect, the boat will move forward because the

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

(centerline), of the boat acts to the water as the sail acts to the wind. The force of the sail is balanced by the force of the keel. This keeps the boat from moving in the direction of the sail force. Although total sail force is to the side when sailing into the wind, a proper

angle of attack In fluid dynamics, angle of attack (AOA, α, or \alpha) is the angle between a reference line on a body (often the chord line of an airfoil) and the vector representing the relative motion between the body and the fluid through which it is m ...

moves the boat forward.Sailing: From Work to Fun
SEED, Schlumberger Excellence in Educational Development, Inc. Retrieved on: 2010-06-11 Another way of stating this is as follows: In practice, optimal sailing in the direction from which the wind is coming will usually be at a course of around forty five degree angles to the oncoming wind. To reach a particular point, alternating the direction of the wind between the port and starboard side is usually necessary. This is called " tacking."

Discussion

The points of sail clarify the realities of sailing into the wind. One of the points of sail is " Head to Wind." A boat turns through this point on each

tack TACK is a group of archaea acronym for Thaumarchaeota (now Nitrososphaerota), Aigarchaeota, Crenarchaeota (now Thermoproteota), and Korarchaeota, the first groups discovered. They are found in different environments ranging from acidophilic the ...

. It is the point at which the boat is neither on

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

tack or

starboard Port and starboard are nautical terms for watercraft and aircraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the bow (front). Vessels with bilateral symmetry have left and right halves which are ...

tack and is headed directly into the wind. However, a boat cannot sail directly into the wind, thus if it comes head to the wind it loses steerage and is said to be "in irons." Thus boats sailing into the wind are actually sailing "

Close Hauled A point of sail is a sailing craft's direction of travel under sail in relation to the true wind direction over the surface. The principal points of sail roughly correspond to 45° segments of a circle, starting with 0° directly into the wind. ...

" (i.e., with sails tightly trimmed). When one sails closer to the wind than is optimal (i.e., with a too small angle to the wind), it is called "pinching."Dryden, R
Glossary
This phrase is also a colloquial expression meaning "to be reckless."

References

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External links

Counterintuitive Performance of Land and Sea Yachts
Nautical terminology