Marinero › Points of sail
A point of sail is the angle between the boat and the wind. From dead into the wind outwards: the no-go zone (in irons), close-hauled at about 45°, close reach, beam reach at 90°, broad reach, and a run with the wind astern. Change the angle and you change the sail trim, the speed and how the boat feels.
Tap any point around the clock, or the no-go zone at the top — the boat turns and trims its own sails, same as the Module 2 course illustration.
A sailing boat cannot sail straight at the wind. Inside roughly 45° either side of the wind the sails stop generating lift, they flog, and the boat slows to a stop — in irons. To get somewhere upwind you zig-zag: close-hauled on one tack, then turn the bow through the wind and go close-hauled on the other. That turn is a tack; turning the stern through the wind, going downwind, is a gybe.
True wind is the wind over the water — what you would feel at anchor. As soon as the boat moves it makes wind of its own, and what you feel on deck is the two combined: apparent wind. It sits further forward than the true wind and is usually stronger, which is why a beam reach feels windier than the forecast and a run feels almost calm. Sails are trimmed to the apparent wind; courses are planned on the true wind.
This is also why the point of sail readout above is a teaching tool rather than an instrument: it works in true wind angles, the clean version of the picture, which is exactly how the course teaches it before adding apparent wind on top.
The points of sail are the boat\u2019s angles to the wind: the no-go zone (in irons) straight into the wind, then close-hauled, close reach, beam reach, broad reach and finally a run with the wind behind you. Each one has its own sail trim and its own feel.
About 45 degrees off the true wind on a typical charter yacht. Anything closer is the no-go zone: the sails stop working, they flap, and the boat slows and stops — sailors call it being in irons.
True wind is the wind over the water — what you would feel standing still. Apparent wind is what you actually feel on deck: the true wind combined with the wind of the boat\u2019s own movement. It is always further forward and usually stronger, and it is the wind you trim the sails to.
A beam reach — wind on the side, sheets about halfway out — is usually the fastest and most comfortable on a cruising boat. Straight downwind feels calm but is slow, because the boat is running away from its own wind.
In zig-zags. You sail close-hauled on one tack, turn the bow through the wind — a tack — and sail close-hauled on the other, repeating until you get there. Downwind you gybe instead, turning the stern through the wind.
Related: the boat & wind explorer for port and starboard and windward and leeward, the knot guides, and the free sailing test.
10 modules, 330+ cards, ad-free. Wind and points of sail is module two — and it is free to start.