Can a sailboat sail faster than the wind?

Question

I remember reading they can but don't know if it's true, and if so, in what mode(tack, etc.)?

Answer 1

Yes, it is related to relative velocity. Sailing with the wind behind you, you can't go faster than the wind. But at an angle, you can increase the force on the sails relative to wind velocity (but then friction with the water will be the limiting factor)

Answer 2

Yes, there are a few extremely efficient hull/sail combinations that have been able to exceed the speed of the wind. This is because of the lift generated by the sails that actually sucks the boat forward into the low pressure area created in front of the sails. The apparent wind to the boat is faster than the actual wind so the boat sails to the apparent wind and exceeds the speed of the true wind. This is done while sailing on a reach where the sails are taking advantage of an optimum balance between being pushed by the wind and generating lift ahead of the sails.

Answer 3

Certainly can! if you use the apparent wind, you should be able to achieve significant speeds much faster than the wind speed, Sand /land yachts use this principle ,they mostly set race courses so that the land /sand yacht achieves greatest speed on the beam reach with the sail hauled in tight.

Pick up a manual on advanced sailing techniques to find out more.

Answer 4

An extreme example of a boats that can easily sail much faster than the wind speed are ICE YACHTs.  

Fast racing multi hulls, cats and tris also regularly spend a lot of time traveling faster than the wind.  The limitation is how fast they can get through the waves.  

Ice yachts, because they travel on a level surface, don't have to battle through waves and have very low friction sail very fast.  Even with relativity small sails and low wind speeds.

The best ice yachts regularly do 8 times the speed of the wind, going faster than 80 miles per hour in wind speeds in the low teens.

Answer 5

That is a great question. Sometime in the late 1950's I went to Newport RI to stay with my uncle. He worked at the U.S, Naval Academy. He was designing what he called a hydrofoil sailboat.

I helped him build one of the models. He later built a full size model which was quite successful. I was a bit young to understand the math and physics, but all  knew was this design went faster then the wind. He also wrote a book about this boat.

I doubt that the book is in print now. His name was Bearnard Smith and as far as I know he was the first to develop this. ????

Answer 6

contrary to what you may think some sailboats can travel faster than the wind. has nothing to do with tide and water movement. has to do with the sail acting as an airfoil(like the wing of a plane)and pulling boat through  water. A super effecient hull, sail and light weight  all contribute to boat performance.

Answer 7

Yes, because the wind can come in gusts, so the wind can billow the sails and then die down. And the boat is also being propelled by the movement of the water beneath it, which adds to its speed.

Answer 8

Reed, ignore the first two answers. Paratile was getting close. However, my friend cat38ski has hit it on the nail. It is relative to apparent wind. The hot new "Reaching Boats" can build there own apparent wind as their speed increases and thereby reach "Hull Speeds" surpassing that of "True Wind Speed". A few excellent examples are Melges 24, Melges 32, Farr 40.

I've had a lot of time on a Melges 24(not mine though) and can attest that it's quite a blast!

So, the definitive answer is Yes...and on a Broad Reach...close reach is not as fast, nor is a Beam reach. Although they still scream.