How to Sail Against Wind: A Simple Tacking Guide.

Valheim has a number of mechanics which are not explained to you by design, how to effectively sail your ship / boat against oncoming wind is one of these and in this guide i'll quickly explain what tacking is and how to do it.

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So, what is tacking and how do i do it?

Tacking is a maneuver used by sailboats to navigate against oncoming wind by turning it's bow at a 45° angle relative to the direction of the wind, this is because of the no-sail zone which covers approximately 90° directly in front of the ship, where wind will hamper or stall movement.


This is a mechanic in Valheim, your boat has a no-sail zone of 90° in front marked by a blackened out section of the wind direction ring, it has been highlighted in a red arc here.

Turning your ship at the closest degree outside the no-sail zone will allow you to move in the desired direction at an acceptable speed, this is considerably more preferable than navigating in a straight line against wind by using your rudder to slowly row the ship or waiting for favorable wind in most situations.

Also it's more fun and engaging than either option.





By turning to 45 degrees towards either side when directly facing the wind and then repeatedly turning at an opposite 90 degree angle, we can zig-zag against the wind by using it to our advantage and easily reach our destination.
Remember: When about to perform each tack you should drop your sails (change to Speed 1/Rowing) so you don't lose too much momentum when turning through the no-sail zone.

However, your destination will not always coincide with the exact direction of oncoming wind while still flowing against you, for tacking to be effective you must identify and take the most favorable tacking angle at the correct time/length and compensate for deviation so you don't overshoot or come too short of your destination.











Here's a picture which i stole off wikipedia exemplifying multiple tacking intervals which travel the exact same amount of distance (even if one looks longer or smaller, they aren't), although in-game they are situational, the 3rd maneuver which requires a single turn/tack is only possible in open ocean and wind may change halfway through, while the first interval maneuver is viable on channels (attempt with a Longship at your own risk) but tedious to perform, they might also take different amounts of time depending on conditions and user error/deviation, occassionally tacking at all may not even be worth the effort i.e. in narrow channels or whenever wind direction is very inconsistent.

TL:DR

1.- Deploy your sail.

2.- Face the wind~

3.- Turn left or right to the angle of your convenience where wind moves you but as close to the edge of the no-sail zone which is preferable for your destination course.

4.- Zig-zag to victory.

Bonus Ducks: How to sail faster on good wind

You read all that overglorified text for explaining something which can easily be summarized as just "turn left or right repeatedly"?
Good, then i'm gonna let you in on a secret about another "hidden" mechanic.



Sailing crosswind (wind from your side) is way faster than sailing tailwind (wind from your back).
Notice how the wind direction ring HUD is bright gold/yellow at port and starboard*? (Directly 90° to your sides) And how it's greyed out (but not black) at your back?
This is because when you're on tailwind, you can only go as fast as the wind goes, but by going crosswind, you generate lift like a plane's wing! Yay aerodynamics!
With strong wind you can travel fast enough to capsize if combined with rough sea! Be careful during storms.

Now empowered with this knowledge, go out there and destroy your ship by smashing into a rock you didn't see at full speed, right outside the plains.
May the wind be forever at your side!


* Also did you know that the left and right side of ships are called port and starboard for a very simple reason? Indeed they are akin to a direction/instruction label of sorts.
Port (left) faces, well... port, land, a harbor, it's the side used for loading/unloading a ship: In-game this is where your climbing ladder is located on the Karve and the direction you should use for "parking" your boat.
Starboard (right) is a liguistic butchering/evolution of the words "steer" and "bord" (old english for "side of boat"), because this is where the steering oar is always at!
Now you too can easily identify what each side is named and annoy your friends with completely unnecessary nautical terminology.

[rolypoly]

Excellent guide.
Is it worthwhile to tack with backwind?

[Paul Woods]

this does not save time considering the minimum speed provided by paddling and that turning your boat adds a significant amount of time loss in addition to increasing the effective distance to your trip

[Cat]

hehe ha

[Everything]

just row against the wind. why make it overcomplicated?

[JesTa]

EXCELLENT! Thanks much

[djschmidt1214]

tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttoooooooooooooooooooo ifnde and bony

[Richard Trains]

or just use moder power

[Kyo21943]

@Elvenkind
Uh, sorry but i'm not sure what errors are you exactly pointing at?
You've further cemented that starboard originates from the board/side the steering oar (not rudder) was located at?

As for the port aspect, the guide was made considering English only, not the terminology of other languages even if English originates from them.
Though it is nice to know the details you've mentioned and the history of these words, sailing terminology is very old, numerous and specific which can make it hard to follow, understanding it accross different languages can be even more convoluted, thanks for the input!

[Elvenkind]

You were wrong in some of the things you said here:

Starboard (right) is a linguistic butchering/evolution of the words "steer" and "bord" (old English for "side of boat"), because this is where the steering oar is always at!
Now you too can easily identify what each side is named and annoy your friends with completely unnecessary nautical terminology.

In fact starboard come from the board you steer with. This word remained in use, even after the steering was transferred from the right side to the rudder. Most of the most general words that have to do with "ship" all is rooted in the same Germanic language. In most Germanic languages, except English, the port side is often call babord ("back board", because when a man was steering his ship with the steering oar, he would have his back to the left.

[NotATree]

very good. I did not know a side wind was better than a tailwind.