Using this "tacking" technique, and traveling at an angle as close to the wind's direction as possible, sailors can reach a point in any direction, regardless of the direction of wind. Got a question?

The most important skill on a racing sailboat is observing the wind. Read how a pro looks for wind on the water ...

Have you ever wondered how a sailor can sail boats into the wind? It just doesn't quite seem logical. As it turns out, it's because a sailboat is a lot like a plane.

Normally a boat sailing upwind will sail approximately 45° into it, then “tack” 90 ° across the wind until they’re at another 45° angle from the wind, this time facing the opposite direction.

“In both sailing and running a company, you have a goal and usually there is no straight line from the starting point to the goal or finish line, so you are tacking along the way,” Anderman said.

Now there's a purpose-built Sailing GPS that not only accounts for the tacking that sailboats do, but can can tell you the optimal tacking angles and your Tacking Time to Destination (TTD).

Sea of Thieves' sailing is wonderful, but part of why it's so wonderful is that it's also pretty difficult to get right. Dealing with the wind, the weather, and even just easily-forgettable ...

Professional sailor, Greg Fisher, outlines the essentials of sail trim and boathandling for light-wind sailboat racing success.

There’s a lot to it (for a beginner), but classes can get you out on the lake and into the wind.