Inormation on ships and sailing:
Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2016 12:28 pm
I have tried to simply the glossary of ship descriptions and sailing vocabulary so we can picture the game easier.
As future Captains' of vessels you will be expected to know and understand basic terms. Pinpointing accurately on a bare ocean map where exactly a ship is, what direction is it going and how fast it travels can be complicate so I hope the following helps.:
Points of Sailing:
There 9 possible Points of Sailing - a specific heading relative to the current direction of the Wind.
Each PoS has a given name, for example.
Broad Reach is defined as a heading of about 45° either to the left or to the right of the direction in which the wind is blowing.
Broad Reach can be used to describe the heading of a ship - I.E. the ship is heading ~45° off to either side of the wind's direction.
It can also be used to describe the position of an object relative to the ship. For example, if an enemy ship is at Broad Reach, we must turn ~45° off the wind's direction in order to head directly towards it.
If the wind is blowing from east to west, as occurs often in the Carib, Broad Reach would be both North-West (NW) and South-West (SW). Of course, since wind direction tends to change, the direction of Broad Reach changes with it. It will always be 45° off the wind's current direction, wherever the wind is heading at the time. here is a visual to help us understand.
[img] [/img]
I will just picture the three main positions and you can work out the others. Different classes of ships will operate best sailing in a certain wind direction. Small fore-and-aft rigged pinnaces actually have 'Beam Reach' as their best sailing point. This is due to their masts being able to swivel with the wind instead of the fixed mast square rigged vessels like Brigs.
[img] [/img]
You will need to also sail into the wind direction as you come back and forth between islands. Close Hauled is the most effective.
The names of the positions are:
Running ...going exactly in the wind direction, also known as Before the wind.
Running Broad Reach...going 22.5° off the winds direction, either left or right.
Broad Reach...sailing at 45°
Broad Beam Reach...67.5°
Beam Reach ... exactly perpendicular to the wind, sailing at 90°
Beam Close Hauled...sailing into the wind, the angle is 112.5°
Close Hauled....135°
Wind Hauled....157.5° into the wind. Very few ships manage this course of direction for long,
Against the Wind...sailing directly into the wind.
[img] [/img]
As future Captains' of vessels you will be expected to know and understand basic terms. Pinpointing accurately on a bare ocean map where exactly a ship is, what direction is it going and how fast it travels can be complicate so I hope the following helps.:
Points of Sailing:
There 9 possible Points of Sailing - a specific heading relative to the current direction of the Wind.
Each PoS has a given name, for example.
Broad Reach is defined as a heading of about 45° either to the left or to the right of the direction in which the wind is blowing.
Broad Reach can be used to describe the heading of a ship - I.E. the ship is heading ~45° off to either side of the wind's direction.
It can also be used to describe the position of an object relative to the ship. For example, if an enemy ship is at Broad Reach, we must turn ~45° off the wind's direction in order to head directly towards it.
If the wind is blowing from east to west, as occurs often in the Carib, Broad Reach would be both North-West (NW) and South-West (SW). Of course, since wind direction tends to change, the direction of Broad Reach changes with it. It will always be 45° off the wind's current direction, wherever the wind is heading at the time. here is a visual to help us understand.
[img] [/img]
I will just picture the three main positions and you can work out the others. Different classes of ships will operate best sailing in a certain wind direction. Small fore-and-aft rigged pinnaces actually have 'Beam Reach' as their best sailing point. This is due to their masts being able to swivel with the wind instead of the fixed mast square rigged vessels like Brigs.
[img] [/img]
You will need to also sail into the wind direction as you come back and forth between islands. Close Hauled is the most effective.
The names of the positions are:
Running ...going exactly in the wind direction, also known as Before the wind.
Running Broad Reach...going 22.5° off the winds direction, either left or right.
Broad Reach...sailing at 45°
Broad Beam Reach...67.5°
Beam Reach ... exactly perpendicular to the wind, sailing at 90°
Beam Close Hauled...sailing into the wind, the angle is 112.5°
Close Hauled....135°
Wind Hauled....157.5° into the wind. Very few ships manage this course of direction for long,
Against the Wind...sailing directly into the wind.
[img] [/img]