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The smaller the angle between the direction of the true wind and the course of the sailing craft, the higher the craft is said to point. A craft that can point higher or sail faster upwind is said to be more weatherly. [11] Pinching occurs as a craft's point of sail approaches the no-go zone and its speed falls off sharply. [4]
All sailing craft reach a constant forward speed (V B) for a given wind speed (V T) and point of sail, when the forward driving force (F R) equals the forward resisting force (R l). [8] For an ice boat, the dominant forward resisting force is aerodynamic, since the coefficient of friction on smooth ice is as low as 0.02.
A polar diagram, or polar plot, is a graph that shows a sailboat's potential speed over a range of wind speeds and relative wind angles. [1] It normally consists of the right side of a line chart with the radius representing the yacht speed and the angle representing the wind direction blowing from top to bottom. Several lines are normally ...
Velocity made good, or VMG, is a term used in sailing, especially in yacht racing, indicating the speed of a sailboat towards (or from) the direction of the wind. [1] [2] The concept is useful because a sailboat cannot sail directly upwind, and thus often can not, or should not, sail directly to a mark to reach it as quickly as possible.
It could be used to find the altitude of the Sun or determine local time. It let sunlight shine through a small orifice on the rim of the instrument. The point of light striking the far side of the instrument gave the altitude or tell time. All those mentioned were the traditional instruments used until well into the second half of the 20th ...
The speed of the craft at a given point of sail contributes to the "apparent wind"—the wind speed and direction as measured on the moving craft. The apparent wind on the sail creates a total aerodynamic force, which may be resolved into drag —the force component in the direction of the apparent wind—and lift —the force component normal ...
Instruments used to plot a course on a nautical chart. In navigation, the course of a watercraft or aircraft is the cardinal direction in which the craft is to be steered.The course is to be distinguished from the heading, which is the direction where the watercraft's bow or the aircraft's nose is pointed.
The wind-powered speed record is by a vehicle with a sail on it, Greenbird, with a recorded top speed of 202.9 kilometres per hour (126.1 mph). Other wind-powered conveyances include sailing vessels that travel on water, and balloons and sailplanes that travel in the air, all of which are beyond the scope of this article.