So, first of all, I really enjoyed the sail trim mechanics in the first alpha sessions.
Figuring out you could trim the sails to the wind direction felt really rewarding and it was the first time I saw a game that had me (or us) do it actively on my own.
I made some forum posts in the past (For example that we need more splashing when crashing down from a wave top into the valey behind it and I think we still need more ;)) but did not have the time to join in on further alphas.
So here is what I got to say about sailing after tens of hours in the Beta!
Sailing on a sloop, at least thats what I learned in sailing school, is fastest on beam reach.
While running from the wind, you could theoretically reach the same speed as the wind, as the mainsail would act like a reverse-parachute (the same way a spinnaker sail works).
Actually, due to the friction and the diminishing apparent wind (boat velocity & true wind), it's a good bit lower though.
When sailing perpendicular to the wind though, the sails, when trimmed tightly, act like a wing! Additionaly, the apparent wind can reach a higher speed than the true wind when the ship is sailing on a reach.
In the game, i still found that it is fastest (or at least feels fastest) to sail dead on with the wind! Especially the Galleon, with its 3 sails lined up, should lose out on that course though, as it's losing a good bit of sail surface due to the two front sails being in the wind-shadow of the one(s) behind them.
Also, while I can understand, that the game has to be friendly to people who have no sailing experience at all, it seemed to me that tacking up the wind close-hauled wasn't any faster than going directly into the wind! If it really is, I feel like that needs a bit of a rebalance! Tacking, when done with a good crew, is actually fun and a good challenge as well as a nice separation of good crews and excellent crews!
If my observations are wrong, please correct me! (and ignore my appeal to change those mechanics!). Otherwise, consider to make at least some minor changes to make the game beginner friendly but still enjoyable to the sailers under us! :)
And as a special wish, if there is still work put into future changes to the ships, consider Spinnaker sails! They could be viable on long hauls while making it harder to change direction!
TLDR:
Sailing mechanics seem to be a bit off, e.g. tacking against the wind seems slower than going straight into the wind.
