The sailboat is an enduring symbol of human ingenuity and persistence on the sea. Its basic structure has not changed much since ancient times, but as the technology evolved over thousands of years, so did its ability to carry people and cargo at surprisingly high speeds.
The main part of a sailboat is the mast, a tall pole that secures the sails and holds a flag at the top. Sailors can tilt the mast to catch wind at a variety of angles, which makes them free to sail wherever the breeze blows. The sails capture the force of the wind and send it to the keel, a long, flat plate that extends beneath the boat. The keel’s broad, flat surface creates sideways force by displacing water on the underside of the ship in the opposite direction that the wind is pushing the ship. This counters the boat’s heeling moment and restores balance to the craft.
To understand how this happens, think of a sailboat moving through water at its hull speed, or 48 mph in Thebault’s case. The boat is powered by the constant force of the wind in its sails and the weight of the keel and hull. As the boat moves through the water, it generates a bow wave with crests at bow and stern that have a well-formed trough in between.
The trough of the bow wave reduces friction, which translates to increased speed. Sleek racing sailboats are built to maximize this effect, but even large recreational sailboats can gain considerable velocity by reducing drag and resistance. Specialized iceboats, which glide on the ice with very little drag, are able to travel more than three times the speed of the wind.
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