On Tue, 20 Nov 2012 19:57:05 -0500, JustWait
wrote:

On 11/20/2012 7:50 PM, Wayne.B wrote:
On Tue, 20 Nov 2012 17:29:04 -0500, wrote:

On Mon, 19 Nov 2012 11:00:38 -0500, Wayne.B
wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...v=wnjyusAgk8I#

Wind speed was reported at 20 to 25 knots.

It is impossible to sail faster than the wind.

===

Not so. Wind surfers do it all the time, as do lightweight multi
hulls. Ice boats have been doing it for 100 years.

More correctly stated, it is impossible to sail faster than the wind
in a dead down wind direction, at least on the water. A team of
engineers recently managed to sail faster than the wind, dead down
wind, in a specially designed land sailor on salt flats.

It's all about the addition of force vectors.


I think he is confusing it with the opinion that "it is impossible to
sail faster than the wind, *straight down wind*". These guys just want
to prove you wrong so much they jump in without really thinking things
out...

===

Maybe, but it is a tricky concept to get your arms around, just like
the idea of being able to sail upwind.

"Straight down wind" and "dead down wind" are the same thing.