By a method called tacking. The vessal moves in a zig zag like pattern to make head way. A sailing boat can not sail into the wind in a straight line.
In a zig-zag pattern shifting from port to starboard.
I have the older version, actually. Mine is from around the time Christopher Colombus sailed to the Indies.
They used a triangular sail and a square sail that could sail into the wind. The square sail sailed with the wind and the triangular one sailed against it. These ships are called Caravels.
The caravels allowed them to sail closer to the wind than their predecessors.
caravel
the sail catches the wind and keeps the ship going
A ship designed to sail into the wind and navigate close to the shore is called a "schooner." Schooners have a unique sail configuration that allows them to sail efficiently against the wind, and their shallow draft enables them to navigate in shallow waters near the shore. These characteristics make schooners well-suited for coastal and inland waterways navigation.
To sail against the wind, a boat has to 'tack'. This means that instead of sailing straight into the wind (which would get you nowhere) you sail in a zig-zag in the direction you intend to go. On each tack, the wind is on a different side of the sail.
No sailing ship can sail directly into the wind. However by rigging the sails correctly the vessel can be made to sail more closely to the wind.
No wind-powered boat/ship can sail directly INTO the wind, according to the laws of Physics as we know them. Forty-five degrees is about the closest possible angle.
Well, back then people used the traditional square sails. So when the Caravel was built they used triangular sails instead of the traditional square sails which made the ship able to sail against the wind.
In ancient times, ships sailed against the wind by using a technique called tacking. This involved changing the angle of the sails to catch the wind from different directions, allowing the ship to move forward even when sailing into the wind.
A three sided sail is known as a Lateen sail or also a triangular sail. With a four sided sail one is only able to sail against the wind, but with a Lateen sail it is possible to sail more directly into the wind.
The wind blowing the sails is what made the caravels (ships) sail. It balances with the pressure of the wind blowing onto the sail to push the ship across the ocean. Kinda like when you drag your dog if he/she doesn't want to walk. You dragging the dog is like you're the wind, the dog's the ship, and the leash to drag the dog with is the sail. You get it? :D?
They pretty much don't. If a sail-only ship is becalmed, or caught without wind, she is at the mercy of the currents until the wind picks up again.