I understand the basic concept for sailboats as the sail acts as an airfoil much like an airplane wing generating lift when air flows over it. But with square sails I can’t grasp how ships that had them ever got from point A to point B without always relying on downwind to move forward.
In: Physics
Imagine the sails being rotated 45° and the ship sailing at right angles to the wind. No problem, right? So why not allow the sails to rotate a little farther and then the ship can turn a little closer to the wind. Square riggers can’t get much closer than 60° off the wind at best, unlike modern racing yachts which can make it to 45°, so square riggers can only make very slow progress into the wind. Mostly they relied on knowledge of prevailing winds in different regions and at different times of the year to minimise the need to sail upwind.
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