I realize a sailboat can’t go directly at the wind (or maybe it can🤷🏽♂️) but for the life of me I can’t picture it going anywhere but where the wind is bowing.
Also, lets say you were in a round pond, could you sail to any point you wanted to in the pond with the wind blowing steady in one direction?
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[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5InZ6iknUM&t=573s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5InZ6iknUM&t=573s)
This video has a really cool visual explanation.
Modern sailboats can do this to a much greater extent than old sailing ships with the square sails. But essentially the sail creates a wing and creates a “lifting” force. An important part of this mechanism is that the sailboat needs a “keel” which is a solid vertical piece that sticks down in the water to keep it from moving sideways. Not only can it sail at an angle towards the wind, it can actually go faster than the wind.
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