Downwind Sailing
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Correct downwind sailing is not as simple as most people perceive it, it is not just letting the wind push you from behind the entire time, it is a series of moving of the sails and turns to keep the boat at top speed in the direction of the mark. This is a diagram of the way wind moves over the sails of a boat. This is a correct way of sailing downwind in the sense that both sails are being affected by wind on their surfaces. This technique is only used when sailing downwind when a boat has a main sail and a jib.
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This diagram shows an incorrect use of the sails when sailing downwind. To achieve the top speed when traveling downwind, all of the surface area of the sails must be used. If the jib (the front sail) were to be set in front of the main sail, then it would not get straight natural wind, but instead the choppy and disturbed air that has already been used by the main sail. This only allows the force from the main sail to be u
Photos taken from: www.macgregor26.com