I just finished building a model of a pirate ship and want the flags to be pointing the right direction. Should the flags be blowing to the bow because the wind is behind the ship, or to the stern as the ship drags the sails along?
Looking at paintings they seem to mostly be blowing to the stern, however there are some that have them blowing to the bow aswell; so I figured it’d be best to ask people who have experience.
I think it might be a bit of wishful thinking that a square rigged ship could run close hauled. At least that’s my impression of pirate ships.