The art of Sailing!

Seeing a beautiful sailing vessel rounding the point with all her sails hoisted and billowing out as she heels sideways can be a surreal sight. Better yet is to be on the vessel feeling the joy of the thrilling ride and the spray flying off the bow.
     But how does sailing work? How does the ship actually go forward? How is it possible to just have a keel and some sails to make it go?
               Have you ever tried to squeeze the life out of a slippery bar of soap? You'll notice right away that as soon as you apply pressure to both sides the bar shoots out from your hands!


          So just imagine that the sails and the wind is your right hand, and the keel of the vessel is your left hand. The bar of soap is the vessel in the middle. When the sails fill they try to push the boat over but the keel is there to prevent it, creating a standstill and so the boat can't go sideways! The only other option the vessel could take is to go backwards or forwards. The vessel is built for an easier forward movement, so naturally the boat takes the easiest quickest direction, heading towards your next destination!
       So now when you look at a boat sailing out on the bay, you will know what makes that boat go!
             Cheers!
   
         

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