Sounds silly I know as how hard is it to straighten your arm..? yeah right. I'm struggling with straightening it so I keep space between me & the rig. Anyone else gone through this stage & got any tips on how to get the brain to make the arms do what i want..

If you really grab far back enough on the back hand you have a better chance of straightening you front arm going into the gybe, as well as leaning into the turn.

ejmack said...

If you really grab far back enough on the back hand you have a better chance of straightening you front arm going into the gybe, as well as leaning into the turn.

Sue, forgot this bit in the sequence, so add that in as you get ready to turn board.

swoosh said...

Always look where you want to go, not at hands/feet whatever. I find looking where I want to go helps prevent lots of gumby stuff like having the sail too close etc. When I enter a gybe I usually do a quick shoulder check to make sure noone is at the gybe exit. Once I enter the gybe I'm looking around the mast at the inside of the gybe and where I want to go. If you don't look where you are going you have no chance of seeing bumps etc and reacting to them, you may as well close your eyes and hope.

I also find raking the sail back a little on entry helps me see the entry a bit better and focus on where I'm going rather than what my feet and hands are doing, as well as keeping some rig/body separation. Usually when I bin a gybe or do a gumby one, it's because I've taken my eyes off where I'm going.

Ive noticed that when I forget to focus on the exit I usually dont gybe real well.It does really help!

Windxtasy said...

Think about turning the board by leaning the rig forward rather than with pressure on the downwind rail. Let the rig pull you forward and over to carve the board.

Practice on dry land, even on a non windy day certainly helps.

I was bringing the rig to windward a bit over the front of the board as I sheeted on ( bit like the scoop you do on lightwind gybes) but then noticed it was too far away when I went to grab it as I exit..I do boom shaka although not very good at grabbing far down & reefing it back up.Looking at the video it looks like the rig needs to be tipped into the turn more as I oversheet which would then put it in a better spot to grab as I exit.
Another problem I have is straightening out , too sharp a turn at the end or not turning properly at times which is why I need to practise the footwork on ground..
O do get the occasional brilliant one Just that I know all the flaws & bad habits will show up once I go back to summers choppy water..

I've heard of gaffa tape on the elbow being used to good effect!

Been trying to get this jibe thing down pat for over 15 years and I still at it!

But my best result has been when I don't think about it too much, just keep focused and looking into the direction of the turn.

Watch Karin explain how to gybe in the second of these three vids

As a general gybe practice, after watching Guy Cribb, i setup board(less fin), with mastfoot, mast bottom section and boom in garden and stepped thru the gybe.
First of all very slowly noting that i had everything correct, then faster, then with eyes shut (I've not done that bit on the water!)

Windxtasy said...

Watch Karin explain how to gybe in the second of these three vids

Good vid Windxtasy. Pictures speak a 1000 words

steveBayside said...

As a general gybe practice, after watching Guy Cribb, i setup board(less fin), with mastfoot, mast bottom section and boom in garden and stepped thru the gybe.
First of all very slowly noting that i had everything correct, then faster, then with eyes shut (I've not done that bit on the water!)

I practised a bit on land but definitely need to go and do more! Tomorrow if it doesnt rain..

This is bringing back flashbacks.....

One of the other tips someone gave me is bend the knees and use the bow and arrow position.

Bow and Arrow - as in front arm straight back arm sheeted in (and having the wide hold on the boom) this actually pulls you forward over the board.

The gybe is probably one of the more complex moves in windsurfing, so many things need to happen in a short space of time and then all the variable depending on wind and water state.

Beaglebuddy said...

When Cribby does the rig flip and the old back hand becomes the new front hand, as he reaches under he grabs the other side of the boom with an underhand grip instead of an overhand grip, wondering how many people do that.
When he does a boom shaka, sailing out clew first, he extends the front arm throwing the rig forward while letting go of the back hand which enables it to slide towards the mast clamp, so he's not really sliding his hand back in a boom shaka he's pushing the rig forward and letting the boom slide thru this back hand.
I have one of those T boom bras with a small mast pad connected to the boom bra, this keeps me from grabbing the mast.

I personally think you should never grab the other side underhanded, it should always be from overhand to overhand. I say this because if you ever want to progress your sailing onto freestyle etc everything is done overhanded and it's a far more natural way of controlling the rig. Sure sailing along I often run my forward hand underhanded but if i'm ever doing anything related to maneuvering the rig while not in the harness (gybe, freestyle etc) it's always done overhand-overhand; choose alternative methods at your peril*

*not aimed at you BeagleB just generally.

Beaglebuddy said...

When Cribby does the rig flip and the old back hand becomes the new front hand, as he reaches under he grabs the other side of the boom with an underhand grip instead of an overhand grip, wondering how many people do that.
When he does a boom shaka, sailing out clew first, he extends the front arm throwing the rig forward while letting go of the back hand which enables it to slide towards the mast clamp, so he's not really sliding his hand back in a boom shaka he's pushing the rig forward and letting the boom slide thru this back hand.
I have one of those T boom bras with a small mast pad connected to the boom bra, this keeps me from grabbing the mast.

I used to grab overhand but retaught myself to do it his way & it's much better! I did notice recently when I was having a post mortem in the water that I had reverted to my old habits so made a point to fix it. You can grab much further back & stay low..
I make an effort to slide my hand forward boom shaka but I think that's why I'm in trouble. If I did it his way the rig would be in the right spot to sail off on the exit.grr more things to relearn. It's tempting to stay with my bad habits as I get most of my gybes & plane out reasonably often but I know if I learn the right way I'll be so much better..I don't want to fall in all the time as I relearn..
Ps - Not likely to do freestyle so underhand will suit me.

Windxtasy said...

sboardcrazy said...

Thanks.The video is ok but but I prefer the Guy cribb one I have. It breaks it down more . Also a few things - in the first gybe he grabs the mast as he gybes which is a bad habit to get into.
The 2nd one she uses overhand grip to grab the other boom which tends to make you stand up and you cant grab as far back.So that's not as good in chop.
Not that I can do it.. But I like the way Cribby does it..He also does the hand change with the least amount of grabs..
If only it was as easy to do as critique..

I agree that grabbing the boom directly with an underhand grip is ideal, but used this video to demostrate bearing away by tilting the mast forward and using that force to tip you forward and carve the board.

ah ok sorry I missed that point..Will have another look.I should be out today its blowing a gale! too busy..

If you want to know how far you should lean forward going into a gybe, stay hooked in into your harness. The rig will pull you forward, but the power will release and become neutral as you turn down wind. Keep leaning, begin to move the sail forward so the mast is over your outside rail. When you begin to feel power in the sail again (you will be sailing clew first) release the back hand as you complete your foot work, reach under grabing boom under grip, sheet in and sail out.

Try sailing into the gybe still hooked in. Move your backhand back 20 cm on the boom. Turn down wind and sheet in hard. This will lift you forward out of your sailing position (your harness will unhook automatically). Keep leaning forward hard bending your knees. Put all your weight on your boom as you lean. Keep carving through the gybe all the way around until the sail is neutralizes and lays down and sinks into the water. The purpose of this is to show you how far you can commit leaning forward, and how much pressure you can lean onto the boom through the down wind part of you gybe. If your half hearted you will not be able to push the sail down onto the water!!

Once you've done this a few times try to use the same amount of commitment but start switching feet and flipping your sail to complete a gybe. If your not committing enough into the gybe the board doesnt stay on rail, flattens out and becomes very prone to chop etc, making it very hard to stay balanced.

Hopefully you'll realize that the as long as there you have wind passing over the outside of your sail it will not touch the water (there's pressure there). Before you know it you'll be doing lay-down gybes.

When you initiate the gybe, do you change from underhand to overhand on the front hand?