You don't need complicated instrument to determine true wind direction. At the expense starting another argument, I will restate that you can determine the approximated true wind direction by simply averaging your close hauled headings on starboard and port tack.I can settle this once and for all.
A broad reach is when I forget to pass DW the Ketchup and she has to get it herself.
OK, before getting to the end of this thread, it always seemed logical that close hauled referred to the sail, not the boat. If you are hauling your boat, then it is on a trailer. Beam reach would mean the boat beam. I think the real problem lies in the fact that even though points of sail refer to boat position relative to true wind, no one really knows for sure what true wind is, unless they have instruments that are calculating it on the fly. Its only one's best guess. So over time, the meaning has been corrupted, because we are trying to reference to a point we can't really define, once we are moving, so we get lazy and just go by apparent wind. Words are meant to describe or communicate facts. So if we are trying to communicate the direction of sailing, we would have to describe it relative to something that is constant. Apparent wind is not a constant, therefore it doesn't communicate much.
Maybe we could just create some new terms to describe sail trim besides close hauled, that would imply apparent wind. Sail trim angle relative to apparent wind is usually pretty consistent regardless of the boat speed and wind speed.
This is based on the premise that "close hauled" means sailing as close to the "no sail" zone as possible, making progress against the true wind direction. It does not mean that your sails are trimmed in tight as you try to maximize speed.
If you know your boat's tacking angle, which can be determined by averaging the headings on both tacks.... you can not only determine approx. direction, but more importantly, you can detect changes in true wind direction by watching your compass as you sail a straight line, close hauled course.
Dinghy racers do this ALL the time... many classes don't allow electronic instruments.. like tack tick race compasses that memorize headings and detect wind shifts for you.