Sailing VMG (Velocity Made Good) Calculator

Compute the velocity made good (VMG) toward the wind from boat speed and true-wind angle, the key upwind-sailing performance metric.

Boat speed (knots)

Angle to true wind (°)

How to Use the Sailing VMG (Velocity Made Good) Calculator

Enter boat speed in knots.
Enter the angle between your heading and the true wind in degrees.
Click Calculate.

使用例

•Race tactics.
•Sail-trim tuning.
•Understanding polar diagrams.

計算式

VMG = boat_speed × cos(angle_to_wind). Positive values mean closing on the upwind mark; negative values mean running downwind.

よくある質問

What is optimal upwind angle?

Most cruising sailboats sail about 40–50° off the wind for best upwind VMG. Racing boats can pinch closer but lose boat speed.

What about downwind?

Downwind VMG is best reached via broad-reach gybe angles (140–160°) rather than dead-downwind, because boat speed increases faster than the cosine loss.