It’s a bit mindboggling, but by exploiting physics and geometry, a sailboat can reach speeds faster than the wind propelling it. Steve Mould demonstrates how in this video using some Keep reading
Tag: sailing
Tokyo 2020: Sailing Physics
At first glance, sailboats don’t look much like an airplane, but physics-wise, they’re closely related. Both the sail and hull of a sailboat act like wings turned on their side. Keep reading
Dead Water
In the days before motorized propulsion, sailors would sometimes find themselves slowed nearly to a stop by what they called ‘dead water‘. As discovered in laboratory experiments over a century Keep reading
Swimming, Cycling, and Sailing
Summer brings with it lots of great sports, and whether you love riding a bike, sailing a boat, or just hanging out at the pool, our latest FYFD/JFM video has Keep reading
Reader Question: Rudders
Reader le-mec writes: My question involves “fenestrated rudders”, a Chinese invention that involved cutting diamond-shaped holes in the rudders of ancient Chinese sailing ships (known as Junks). According to several Keep reading
Rio 2016: Sailing and Rule 42
If you watch some of the sailing in Rio, you may hear commentators mention sailors being penalized for breaking Rule 42. Broadly speaking, Rule 42 says that sailors can’t use Keep reading
Dead Water
Sailors have long known about the “dead water” phenomenon, which can bring ships to a near-standstill, but it was only within the last century that an explanation for the behavior Keep reading