In a recent Veritasium video, they discuss that a sailboat can travel further downwind than the wind speed. Steve Mould, in a reaction video, explained how a boat can travel faster than the wind at an angle, but not really how it can end up further down wind than the actual wind speed. I’m having trouble connecting these explanations…Links below for both videos.
https://youtu.be/u5InZ6iknUM
In: Physics
You sail when wind is pushing you. Wind pushes you unless you’re travelling the same speed (assume there’s no propellor or anything just a sail). More particularly it’s the speed in the wind direction. So if the wind is blowing north at 3mph you can be going no more than 3mph north. However there is nothing stopping you going 3mph and 4mph east at the same time. This means you’re actual speed is 5mph (pythagoras). You receive the force pushing you east through the use of the sail as a wing. Even though the wind is blowing north, the sail’s shape makes it feel a force east (lift) in addition to the force north (drag).
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