Points of Sail - Reaching

Reaching

When the boat is traveling approximately perpendicular to the wind, this is called reaching. A 'close' reach is somewhat toward the wind, and 'broad' reach is a little bit away from the wind (a 'beam' reach is with the wind precisely at a right angle to the boat). For most modern sailboats, reaching is the fastest way to travel. On some boats, the beam reach is the fastest point of sail; on others, a broad reach is faster.

Read more about this topic:  Points Of Sail

Famous quotes containing the word reaching:

    Slow, slow, as a fish she came,
    Slow as a fish coming forward,
    Swaying in a long wave;
    Her skirts not touching a leaf,
    Her white arms reaching towards me.
    Theodore Roethke (1908–1963)

    A criminal trial is like a Russian novel: it starts with exasperating slowness as the characters are introduced to a jury, then there are complications in the form of minor witnesses, the protagonist finally appears and contradictions arise to produce drama, and finally as both jury and spectators grow weary and confused the pace quickens, reaching its climax in passionate final argument.
    Clifford Irving (b. 1930)

    The woman who does her job for society inside the four walls of her home must not be considered by her husband or anyone else an economic “dependent,” reaching out her hands in mendicant fashion for financial help.
    Mary Barnett Gilson (1877–?)