On Sun, 31 Jul 2005 09:54:23 -0400, Tim Mueller wrote:

Mic wrote:
http://web.mit.edu/2.972/www/reports...sail_boat.html

"MAIN FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENT: Propel a boat with or against the wind"

http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/sailing.html

* How can a boat sail upwind?

* How can boats sail faster than the wind?

* Why are eighteen foot skiffs always sailing upwind?

We introduce the physics of sailing to answer these and some other
questions. But first:

A puzzle.

http://www.amya.org/sailmanual/part2.html

Part II : Basic sail theory and concepts

http://motor1.physics.wayne.edu/~cin...ceptest48.html

"Sailboat

Say I am out on a saiboat. The wind dies. I suggest putting the grill
in front of the sail as shown below and lighing it. Will this get the
boat in motion? Why? "

http://rec-puzzles.org/new/list.pl/physics

"sail

A sailor is in a sailboat on a river. The current is 3 knots with
respect
to the land. The wind (air velocity) is zero, with respect to the
land. The sailor wants to proceed downriver as quickly as possible,
maximizing his downstream speed with respect to the land.

Should he raise the sail, or not?

Solution"

http://www.chicagoboyz.net/archives/002735.html

Hummm.....

http://www.weathernotebook.org/trans...999/06/04.html

"You're on a sailboat on a lake when the wind suddenly dies. For some
reason, you have a generator and a really big fan on your boat. Will
the fan help you get back to shore?"

http://www.grok.ltd.uk/ansshop/encyc...s/physics.html

Not a sailing link but maybe some answers to lifes questions....
"When should I pour the cream to keep my tea or coffee hottest?"
"Why does the same side of the moon always face the earth?"
http://www.pbs.org/safarchive/4_clas.../4494_idx.html
http://www.physics.ucla.edu/demoweb/..._contents.html
http://www.kawartha.net/~apanter/jro.htm
This link is about J. Robert Oppenheimer..." At eighteen, his father
gave him a 28 foot sail boat which he named...."



See also "Aero-Hydrodynamics of Sailing" by Tony Marchaj.

Marchaj is great.

Two other good references a
1. Bethwaite, High Performance Sailing
2. Anderson and Eberhardt, Understanding Flight