Editing Sailing (section)

====Downwind====
[[File:18foot skiff Kiel2008.jpg|thumb|[[18ft Skiff]], flying a sprit-mounted asymmetrical spinnaker on a broad reach]]
A sailing craft can travel directly downwind only at a speed that is less than the wind speed. However,  some sailing craft such as [[iceboat]]s, [[land yacht|sand yachts]], and some [[High-performance sailing|high-performance sailboats]] can achieve a higher downwind [[velocity made good]] by traveling on a series of broad reaches, punctuated by jibes in between. It was explored by sailing vessels starting in 1975 and now extends to high-performance skiffs, catamarans and foiling sailboats.<ref name=Bethwaite>{{cite book|last =Bethwaite|first=Frank|title=High Performance Sailing|publisher=[[Adlard Coles]] Nautical|year=2007|isbn = 978-0-7136-6704-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WTRLAAAAQBAJ}}</ref>

Navigating a channel or a downwind course among obstructions may necessitate changes in direction that require a change of tack, accomplished with a jibe.

=====Changing tack by jibing=====
{{Further|Jibe#For various sailing craft}}
''Jibing'' or ''gybing'' is a sailing maneuver by which a sailing craft turns its [[stern]] past the eye of the wind so that the apparent wind changes from one side to the other, allowing progress on the opposite tack. This maneuver can be done on smaller boats by pulling the tiller towards yourself (the opposite side of the sail).<ref name=Keegan/> As with tacking, the type of sailing rig dictates the procedures and constraints for jibing. Fore-and-aft sails with booms, gaffs or sprits are unstable when the free end points into the eye of the wind and must be controlled to avoid a violent change to the other side; square rigs as they present the full area of the sail to the wind from the rear experience little change of operation from one tack to the other; and [[windsurfer]]s again have flexibly pivoting and fully rotating masts that get flipped from side to side.