In article ,
"Bob Chilcoat" wrote:

I suspect that it comes from the days of sailing ships. All of your course
decisions are based on the direction of the wind. Tacking, running,
reaching, etc. are all referred to the current wind direction. I'm not sure
I fully understand why FROM was chosen as the convention, but when you're
sailing, you tend to keep the wind in your face unless you're running.

Even more so than today, the old fashioned sailing ships never had the wind
in their face. I sail a J/24, which is a fairly modern design racing boat.
With everything set up right, new sails, and flat water, I can get within
about 35 degrees of the wind. The old square riggers were doing well if
they could get any closer than 60.

This, BTW, is why a toilet on a boat is called the head. On a vessel that
spends most of its time with the wind behind it, you put the toilets up on
the very front (i.e. the head of the boat) for odor control. Even sailors
know not to **** into the wind. It also happens to be the part of the boat
that gets the most water sprayed on it, which is wet and cold for the
users, but does make the apparatus somewhat self-cleaning.