University of Southampton researchers have announced new discoveries about the tacking maneuver, an important sailing technique used to beat upwind. Researchers Christiana Mavroyiakoumou with NYU’s Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences and her colleague Silas Alben studied the phenomenon. They unpack the complicated political, military, and institutional dynamics that make this politically tricky move so difficult. The study, published in the journal Physical Review Fluids, provides a starting point to develop more efficient sail designs. It serves as a way to increase the effectiveness of autonomous sailboats.
Tacking, or beating, is when a sailor sails a boat back and forth in a zig-zag course to use the wind from different directions. For all of its importance to successful sailing, it’s still one of the hardest moves for sailors to get down pat. Mavroyiakoumou and Alben’s research provides important, practical understandings of the attributes that lead to effective tacking. These findings do have practical implications for both recreational and scientific sailing applications.
Understanding the Tacking Dynamics
Their goal was to better understand the sail flightpath during different sailing tacks and using different sails. Their investigation highlighted three primary factors that significantly influence the maneuver’s success: sail stiffness, tension prior to encountering wind, and the final angle of the sail in relation to the wind.
Generally speaking, the less flexible a sail (the flatter it is), the easier successful tacking will be. This result lends credence to the role of sail design in making ships more maneuverable. High pre-tension on an untacked sail on which wind has yet to be established helps with successful tacking. The study’s authors discovered that turning an optimal 20 degrees into the wind improves navigation following a tack. This simple change greatly increases the likelihood of people moving successfully.
Whatever the answer may be, these new findings clear up the science underlying this tricky, complicated maneuver. They provide key sail design principles to create sails that further maximize performance.
Implications for Autonomous Sailing
The implications of Mavroyiakoumou and Alben’s research goes far beyond the art and science of sailing. The study’s connotations have great importance to oceanographic research, especially when it comes to the usage of autonomous sailboats. By understanding the dynamics of tacking engineers can design more efficient and reliable autonomous systems. Their in-depth understanding enables them to effectively tap into wind energy.
As autonomous sailing technology matures, the researchers’ framework will help facilitate better algorithms that control how sailboats navigate. This could lead to advancements in marine research and environmental monitoring, allowing these vessels to operate with greater autonomy and improve data collection in oceanographic studies.
Future Directions in Sail Design
The study acts as an introduction to a series of future innovations in sail design. By using the information gained about sail stiffness, tension, and angle, designers will now be able to design sails to optimize tacking performance. Sailing solutions and technology are quickly colliding with modern-day engineering disciplines. This kind of integration will allow boats to be as efficient as possible while allowing them to be more capable in varying sailing conditions.
The paper published online July 17, 2025. DOI 10.1103/37xg-vcffMavroyiakoumou and Alben’s work sheds light on the necessity of simplified modeling to understand complex physical phenomena such as tacking.