Glossary · Sailing & navigation
Point of sail
Also called: Allure, allures, points of sail
The boat's direction relative to the wind: close-hauled, beam reach, broad reach, running.
A sailing boat cannot move straight into the wind. Depending on the angle between its course and the wind, it is close-hauled (as close to the wind as possible, around 40 to 50°), on a beam reach (wind at 90°), on a broad reach (wind from behind, off to one side) or running (dead downwind). The points from beam reach to running are called downwind sailing.
Each boat has its favourite angles: foiling boats are especially fast when reaching, between close-hauled and broad reach.