Phil, sorry, but you’re wrong. It is possible to travel straight downwind faster than the wind. The mechanisms that Tao outlines don’t have the limitation you think they have. This quote:
But if this is the only dimension one exploits, one can only sail up to the wind speed |v_0| and no faster...
doesn’t mean what you think it means. Reread the quote carefully, paying attention to the words “the only dimension”. Then reread the paragraph that follows it in the post, then take a hard look at Figure 4 and the paragraph that follows it, then come back. You’re just embarrassing yourself.
Phil, sorry, but you’re wrong. It is possible to travel straight downwind faster than the wind. The mechanisms that Tao outlines don’t have the limitation you think they have. This quote:
doesn’t mean what you think it means. Reread the quote carefully, paying attention to the words “the only dimension”. Then reread the paragraph that follows it in the post, then take a hard look at Figure 4 and the paragraph that follows it, then come back. You’re just embarrassing yourself.