Your destination is dead upwind. Boat A points as high as possible at 4 knots; Boat B eases off to a slightly wider angle and makes 6 knots but points further from the mark. Which is likely making better progress toward the mark?

Boat B, because its higher speed can win more VMG despite the wider angle

Boat A, because it points closest to the mark

Boat B, because its higher speed can win more VMG despite the wider angle

⛵ The Fastest Way There Isn't a Straight Line

On a long leg, the shortest route to your destination is rarely the fastest — or the most comfortable. Recall from earlier cards that a boat sails poorly straight into the wind (the no-go zone) and often struggles dead downwind too. So when your destination lies directly upwind or downwind, sailing straight at it means a slow, uncomfortable crawl or no progress at all.

The key idea is VMG — Velocity Made Good — your speed in the direction you actually want to go, not your speed through the water. Imagine your mark is dead upwind and you can't point at it. Sailing hard on the wind at 6 knots but 45° off course only advances you toward the mark at 6 × cos(45°) ≈ 4.2 knots of VMG. Sail too close to the wind and you slow down; bear away too far and you're fast but pointed the wrong way. The best VMG sits at a sweet-spot angle in between.

So good passage planning means choosing your points of sail, not just your compass course. When the mark is upwind you zig-zag on close-hauled tacks; when it's downwind you may sail deeper broad reaches and gybe across. And comfort counts on a long leg: a beam or broad reach is faster, flatter, and drier than pinching hard upwind, so it's often worth steering a slightly longer course to ride an easier, quicker angle.