"Ian" wrote in message
oups.com...
On 14 Oct, 15:28, (Steve Firth) wrote:

If one is motoring in a calm on a flat millpond then there is an
apparent wind equal to the speed of the boat from dead ahead. Hoist a
sail and you can make no use of that wind, agreed. However that only
applies if you maintain the same course. Now do what any sensible
bloke
would do and adjust your course to make use of the wind as well as
the
motor.

Umm. What happens to the apparent wind from dead ahead when you turn
and make "dead ahead" a different direction?

Ian


That's where unimaginative folks go astray. If there's no wind and the
only wind is the apparent wind, in this case a wind from straight ahead,
you can turn the boat through 360 degrees and the wind will continue to
be directly on the bow. In other words the apparent wind, when there is
no other wind, is the sole function the speed and direction of the boat.
It will always come from dead ahead provided the vessel is moving
forward.

Wilbur Hubbard