Glossary · Sailing & navigation
Downwind
Also called: Portant, au portant, vent arrière, running, grand largue
Points of sail with the wind coming from behind the boat.
Downwind, the boat is pushed by the wind and sets its largest sails. Dead downwind, racing boats are often slower than when sailing a little higher: they zigzag, linking gybes. It is the point of sail of the long runs in the trade winds and the Southern Ocean.