[lancefisher]

What matters to sailors with respect to the wind is the angle which it meets the boat or the orientation of the boat with regard to the direction of the wind. For that there are dedicated names known as the points of sail which include: close hauled, close reach, beam reach, broad reach, run, and in irons.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_of_sail

[ethbr0]

Good point! :)

But points of sail don't have any handedness, correct? I.e. they're mirrored on both sides of the wind.

As mentioned in another comment, tacking (with its active directionality) is probably the closest to handed-terminology.

[lambdatronics]

>But points of sail don't have any handedness, correct? I.e. they're mirrored on both sides of the wind.

The right-of-way rules in sailboat racing depend on who is on 'port tack' or 'starboard tack' (ie, they differentiate those mirrored halves). There's nothing physically special, though.