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Apparant wind

Forum - Sails and Sail Trim - Apparant wind
Module Content - Sea Talks3
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Student
Constantin Moullas
Brossard, QC, Canada
Skipper Level V
Status: Really Big Time Sailor
Qualified days: 302
Apparant wind
Posted 2017, Jan 05 00:40
When travelling down wind, it seems to me that there are situations where the apparent wind direction can be the same and even move rearward? The course material indicates that it is always forward? Am I missing something
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Grant Headifen
Reply 2017, Jan 05 01:56
It is always coming more forward than the true wind. more forward does not mean from the forward part of the boat. ie if true wind is 150 relative to bow then apparent wind might be 135 relative to the bow. Of course if dead downwind then the directions are same but apparent is reduced in magnitude over true.
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Student
Sam Carli
Portland, OR, USA
Skipper (small keelboat) Level I
Status: Sailor
Qualified days: 0
Reply 2017, Jul 09 00:27
Right, I think that could be clarified in the module - for example one of the questions works through the true wind at the top of the mast being 'behind' the apparent wind at the boat, due to the increased speeds from the wind shear - 'behind' is being alluded to speed rather than closer in DEGREE to the true wind heading.
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Student
Mark Howe
San Juan Capistrano, CA, USA
Crew Level 0
Status: Sailor
Qualified days: 0
Reply 2019, Jul 07 00:22
Yes. Another puzzle is when pie diagrams show the 5 points of sail. We know from experience that going from Close-haul to beam reach is a bigger piece of pie than from beam reach to run, but the diagram indicates the opposite. This is because the diagram is showing the apparent wind that we feel on the boat rather than the true wind which is constant. The apparent wind closes very rapidly with the true wind as we approach a run. Actually this explanation will unravel when sailing in high winds because true and apparent wind angles get much closer together.
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Student
Sebastian Miller
Kanata, ON, Canada
Crew Level 0
Status: Sailor
Qualified days: 0
Reply 2021, Aug 01 21:22
Travelling forwards at any velocity will always move the apparent wind towards the front of the car.
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