How can sailboats go faster than the wind speed?

Question

Is it the apparent wind created by forward momentum? Is it possible to go downwind faster than the wind speed?

In: 315

Answer 1

Here is a simple toy analogy, which explains how it works:

[DOWNWIND VMG GREATER THAN WINDSPEED ANALOGY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRnckbYeoRs)