page_title: Sailing
section_title: Downwind
hierarchical_section_title: Sailing / Course under sail / Downwind
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Ein 18 foot Skiff im Kieler Hafen.
context_page_description: Sailing
  employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the water, on ice or on land over a chosen course, which is often part of a larger plan of navigation.
  A course defined with respect to the true wind direction is called a point of sail.
  Conventional sailing craft cannot derive power from sails on a point of sail that is too close into the wind. On a given point of sail, the sailor adjusts the alignment of each sail with respect to the apparent wind direction to mobilize the power of the wind. The forces transmitted via the sails are resisted by forces from the hull, keel, and rudder of a sailing craft, by forces from skate runners of an iceboat, or by forces from wheels of a land sailing craft to allow steering the course.
  In the 21st century, most sailing represents a form of recreation or sport. Recreational sailing or yachting can be divided into racing and cruising. Cruising can include extended offshore and ocean-crossing trips, coastal sailing within sight of land, and daysailing.
  Until the mid of the 19th century, sailing ships were the primary means for marine commerce; this period is known as the Age of Sail.
context_section_description: A sailing craft can travel directly downwind only at a speed that is less than the wind speed. However, a variety of sailing craft can achieve a higher downwind velocity made good by traveling on a series of broad reaches, punctuated by jibes in between. This is true of ice boats and sand yachts. On the water it was explored by sailing vessels, starting in 1975, and now extends to high-performance skiffs, catamarans and foiling sailboats.
  Navigating a channel or a downwind course among obstructions may necessitate changes in direction that require a change of tack, accomplished with a jibe.
caption: 18ft Skiff, flying a sprit-mounted asymmetrical spinnaker on a broad reach
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