Points of sail
Your point of sail is the angle between your heading and the direction the wind comes from.
Reviewed by Ramon Curto, Nautical teacher at IECNPC · Last reviewed:
Drag the boat or use the slider. Angles and trim are teaching guides, not a boat’s performance polar.
Beam reach
The wind is at right angles to the boat, about 90° from the bow.
Sail trim: Partly eased
Tack: Port tack
No-go angles vary; trim to apparent wind and keep clear of the boom.
Worked example
True wind from: 0° · Heading relative to wind: 90°
Beam reach · Port tack · Sail trim: Partly eased
The wind is at right angles to the boat, about 90° from the bow.
How it works
Start with the wind, not the compass. On this wind clock the true wind comes from the top and the heading is measured clockwise from that direction. A heading of 90° puts the wind on your port side and gives a beam reach. A heading of 270° gives the same point of sail on starboard tack. The smaller angle to the wind is what names the point of sail; the side receiving the wind names the tack.
The shaded wedge covers roughly 45° on each side of head to wind. It represents the no-go zone, not an exact limit for every yacht. A boat pointing into it may coast briefly, but cannot maintain ordinary sailing there. Close-hauled means sailing as high as the boat can sustain. As you bear away onto a reach, ease the sheets progressively. The labels mark useful teaching bands; real transitions are continuous and depend on the rig and conditions.
True wind is the wind relative to the water or ground reference. Apparent wind is what you feel aboard, combining the true wind with the effect of the boat’s movement. Trim to the apparent wind: ease a sail until its leading edge begins to luff, then sheet in enough to regain smooth flow. The clock shows only a qualitative starting point. It does not calculate sail forces, speed, heel or the angle of apparent wind.
Both demonstration buttons change from 45° to 315°. Tacking turns the bow through the wind over the short arc; gybing turns the stern through it over the longer arc. During a gybe the mainsail and boom cross the boat. Warn the crew, control the mainsheet and keep heads clear. At exactly dead downwind the wind-side test alone is ambiguous: for Rule 12, the windward side is deemed opposite the side carrying the mainsail.
Recognising points of sail, rigging and safe manoeuvres supports RYA beginner sailing and practical Day Skipper training. Do not assume this diagram replaces supervised practice. For two sailing vessels in sight with collision risk, Rule 12 normally requires port tack to keep clear of starboard tack; on the same tack the windward vessel keeps clear. Other applicable rules, including overtaking, still matter.
- In irons / no-go zone
- Within about 45° of the wind, ordinary sails cannot drive you steadily forward. Bear away to fill them.
- Close-hauled
- Sail as near the wind as the boat can manage, with the sails sheeted in.
- Close reach
- The wind is ahead of the beam; ease the sheets a little from close-hauled.
- Beam reach
- The wind is at right angles to the boat, about 90° from the bow.
- Broad reach
- The wind is behind the beam; ease the sails further.
- Training run
- A very broad reach near a run. This teaching term is not used by every sailing school.
- Run / dead downwind
- The wind comes from astern. Watch for an accidental gybe.
Questions
Can you sail straight into the wind?
Within about 45° of the wind, ordinary sails cannot drive you steadily forward. Bear away to fill them.
What is a beam reach?
The wind is at right angles to the boat, about 90° from the bow.
Which tack is this?
Start with the wind, not the compass. On this wind clock the true wind comes from the top and the heading is measured clockwise from that direction. A heading of 90° puts the wind on your port side and gives a beam reach. A heading of 270° gives the same point of sail on starboard tack. The smaller angle to the wind is what names the point of sail; the side receiving the wind names the tack.
Is true wind the same as apparent wind?
True wind is the wind relative to the water or ground reference. Apparent wind is what you feel aboard, combining the true wind with the effect of the boat’s movement. Trim to the apparent wind: ease a sail until its leading edge begins to luff, then sheet in enough to regain smooth flow. The clock shows only a qualitative starting point. It does not calculate sail forces, speed, heel or the angle of apparent wind.
What changes during a tack or gybe?
Both demonstration buttons change from 45° to 315°. Tacking turns the bow through the wind over the short arc; gybing turns the stern through it over the longer arc. During a gybe the mainsail and boom cross the boat. Warn the crew, control the mainsheet and keep heads clear. At exactly dead downwind the wind-side test alone is ambiguous: for Rule 12, the windward side is deemed opposite the side carrying the mainsail.
Does starboard tack always have priority?
Recognising points of sail, rigging and safe manoeuvres supports RYA beginner sailing and practical Day Skipper training. Do not assume this diagram replaces supervised practice. For two sailing vessels in sight with collision risk, Rule 12 normally requires port tack to keep clear of starboard tack; on the same tack the windward vessel keeps clear. Other applicable rules, including overtaking, still matter.