Honestly, I was always worried about catching the flipped sail during a foiling gybe, like for some reason it would not come back around to me. Then realized moving board catches up with the flipped sail! The other day on a foiling gybe flipped sail and got all the way around and was still in the air, but was so surprised lost balance for a moment and fell into water. So now I realize as long as I have good speed I will catch up to the flipped sail, and also getting better at judging a gust for duration so I have enough wind to complete the gybe.
Select to expand quoteSandman1221 said..
Honestly, I was always worried about catching the flipped sail during a foiling gybe, like for some reason it would not come back around to me...
That's the easiest way to gybe in a strong wind. Let go of your back hand early and gybe around the sail:
You don't even need to hold onto the sail if you give it a little tug to windward before you let go:
Doesn't work for me because I only foil in lighter winds, so I instead have a tendency to get back winded (say coming into gybe with 17kt board speed and 12kt wind speed). I've started to get my technique sorted with Race and twin cam sails, but I went out with a 7.5 RAF (NP Ryde) last weekend and for some reason I seem to have unlearnt my technique . Kept back winding myself in the gybe again 
(GTR+ foil)
Select to expand quotesimonp65 said.. That's the easiest way to gybe in a strong wind. Let go of your back hand early and gybe around the sail:
You don't even need to hold onto the sail if you give it a little tug to windward before you let go:
Or this one 
Select to expand quoteStretchy said..
Doesn't work for me because I only foil in lighter winds, so I instead have a tendency to get back winded (say coming into gybe with 17kt board speed and 12kt wind speed). I've started to get my technique sorted with Race and twin cam sails, but I went out with a 7.5 RAF (NP Ryde) last weekend and for some reason I seem to have unlearnt my technique . Kept back winding myself in the gybe again (GTR+ foil)
After getting blasted off a board a few times and rewatching some good videos - getting backwinded, for me, is usually a symptom not sweeping the sail far enough to the outside of the turn and letting it rotate around the back hand. There still is backwind pressure on the sail but instead of it pushing on you, it just pushes the sail to rotate past you. Yesterday was a very low wind session and was going about 16 in around 8-9 kt wind speed on a 7.7 (IQFoil).
Also, for others, very important to get the front hand all the way up by the boom so the swing weight of the longer boom doesn't pull you off the board.Select to expand quote[b]simonp65 said.
You don't even need to hold onto the sail if you give it a little tug to windward before you let go:
Yeah, that is a great thing to do on a short (fin) board and really helps by spinning the sail around its CoG. It's really fun to spin it and catch it with both hands on the other side. It's really NOT fun to spin it and have both hands miss the other side. 
Good advice Paducah. I think that was my problem, first time with a new sail and I wasn't sweeping it to the outside properly. Maybe because it's a RAF I wasn't reaching down the boom enough. I find it instinctive on the fin because I'm a step gyber, but it's a whole new ballgame with a foil
Good feedback, thanks! The key for me getting all the way around in the air was moving my front foot backwards out of the foot strap about 3/4 of a foot while back foot was on the far-side. After Andy Brandt took my kit for a spin he mentioned that he had both feet all the way back on the foiling gybe and I saw that but it did not register right away. He weighs about 5-10 kg less than me. So moving my front foot 3/4' back seems enough to balance the kit through the gybe for my weight. That was the problem I have always had with my kit (Goya Bolt 135 and AFS Wind95 foil), touching down in the middle or near the end of the gybe, that (weight too far forward) and doing the gybe on the trailing end of a gust when the wind was dropping.
Select to expand quoteSandman1221 said..
Good feedback, thanks! The key for me getting all the way around in the air was moving my front foot backwards out of the foot strap about 3/4 of a foot while back foot was on the far-side. After Andy Brandt took my kit for a spin he mentioned that he had both feet all the way back on the foiling gybe and I saw that but it did not register right away. He weighs about 5-10 kg less than me. So moving my front foot 3/4' back seems enough to balance the kit through the gybe for my weight. That was the problem I have always had with my kit (Goya Bolt 135 and AFS Wind95 foil), touching down in the middle or near the end of the gybe, that (weight too far forward) and doing the gybe on the trailing end of a gust when the wind was dropping.
Sweet! One of the big advantages of having your lift more forward relative to your feet means that as you go into a gybe and slow down the foil does not stall, because you have body weight you can shift to the tail and keep the foil up. Sliding front foot backward pre gybe would have the same effect though
Select to expand quoteSandman1221 said..
Good feedback, thanks! The key for me getting all the way around in the air was moving my front foot backwards out of the foot strap about 3/4 of a foot while back foot was on the far-side. After Andy Brandt took my kit for a spin he mentioned that he had both feet all the way back on the foiling gybe and I saw that but it did not register right away. He weighs about 5-10 kg less than me. So moving my front foot 3/4' back seems enough to balance the kit through the gybe for my weight. That was the problem I have always had with my kit (Goya Bolt 135 and AFS Wind95 foil), touching down in the middle or near the end of the gybe, that (weight too far forward) and doing the gybe on the trailing end of a gust when the wind was dropping.
I'm wondering then if you need more shim on the back wing so that you can stay in the front strap, or move the front strap backwards.
Also may explain the desire to move the lines forward and load up the back hand because this puts more pressure on the back foot to point upwind.
Select to expand quoteaeroegnr said..Sandman1221 said..
Good feedback, thanks! The key for me getting all the way around in the air was moving my front foot backwards out of the foot strap about 3/4 of a foot while back foot was on the far-side. After Andy Brandt took my kit for a spin he mentioned that he had both feet all the way back on the foiling gybe and I saw that but it did not register right away. He weighs about 5-10 kg less than me. So moving my front foot 3/4' back seems enough to balance the kit through the gybe for my weight. That was the problem I have always had with my kit (Goya Bolt 135 and AFS Wind95 foil), touching down in the middle or near the end of the gybe, that (weight too far forward) and doing the gybe on the trailing end of a gust when the wind was dropping.
I'm wondering then if you need more shim on the back wing so that you can stay in the front strap, or move the front strap backwards.
Also may explain the desire to move the lines forward and load up the back hand because this puts more pressure on the back foot to point upwind.
Well kit flys good the way I have it, 0.5 mm shim in front of stab., it may have to do with sail pressure reducing during the foiling gybe and so reducing foil lift, that requires moving front foot back. Now Andy was foiling on my kit with chest waders that had rubber boots so he did not get his front foot into the strap when just foiling. But again his lighter weight is an issue for balancing the kit.
And I did not desire to move lines forward, Andy told me to! But I have kept them that way because it allows me to go upwind easily using just back hand to sheet in as needed, that is helping to prevent arm soreness because I then do not have constant pressure on front arm pulling on boom going cross wind or more so upwind.
Select to expand quoteSandman1221 said..aeroegnr said..Sandman1221 said..
Good feedback, thanks! The key for me getting all the way around in the air was moving my front foot backwards out of the foot strap about 3/4 of a foot while back foot was on the far-side. After Andy Brandt took my kit for a spin he mentioned that he had both feet all the way back on the foiling gybe and I saw that but it did not register right away. He weighs about 5-10 kg less than me. So moving my front foot 3/4' back seems enough to balance the kit through the gybe for my weight. That was the problem I have always had with my kit (Goya Bolt 135 and AFS Wind95 foil), touching down in the middle or near the end of the gybe, that (weight too far forward) and doing the gybe on the trailing end of a gust when the wind was dropping.
I'm wondering then if you need more shim on the back wing so that you can stay in the front strap, or move the front strap backwards.
Also may explain the desire to move the lines forward and load up the back hand because this puts more pressure on the back foot to point upwind.
Well kit flys good the way I have it, 0.5 mm shim in front of stab., it may have to do with sail pressure reducing during the foiling gybe and so reducing foil lift, that requires moving front foot back. Now Andy was foiling on my kit with chest waders that had rubber boots so he did not get his front foot into the strap when just foiling. But again his lighter weight is an issue for balancing the kit.
And I did not desire to move lines forward, Andy told me to! But I have kept them that way because it allows me to go upwind easily using just back hand to sheet in as needed, that is helping to prevent arm soreness because I then do not have constant pressure on front arm pulling on boom going cross wind or more so upwind.
Yeah. If you adjusted your straps or shimming, you would need to adjust your riding style for regular riding eg more weight on front foot.
Select to expand quoteSandman1221 said..aeroegnr said..Sandman1221 said..
Good feedback, thanks! The key for me getting all the way around in the air was moving my front foot backwards out of the foot strap about 3/4 of a foot while back foot was on the far-side. After Andy Brandt took my kit for a spin he mentioned that he had both feet all the way back on the foiling gybe and I saw that but it did not register right away. He weighs about 5-10 kg less than me. So moving my front foot 3/4' back seems enough to balance the kit through the gybe for my weight. That was the problem I have always had with my kit (Goya Bolt 135 and AFS Wind95 foil), touching down in the middle or near the end of the gybe, that (weight too far forward) and doing the gybe on the trailing end of a gust when the wind was dropping.
I'm wondering then if you need more shim on the back wing so that you can stay in the front strap, or move the front strap backwards.
Also may explain the desire to move the lines forward and load up the back hand because this puts more pressure on the back foot to point upwind.
Well kit flys good the way I have it, 0.5 mm shim in front of stab., it may have to do with sail pressure reducing during the foiling gybe and so reducing foil lift, that requires moving front foot back. Now Andy was foiling on my kit with chest waders that had rubber boots so he did not get his front foot into the strap when just foiling. But again his lighter weight is an issue for balancing the kit.
And I did not desire to move lines forward, Andy told me to! But I have kept them that way because it allows me to go upwind easily using just back hand to sheet in as needed, that is helping to prevent arm soreness because I then do not have constant pressure on front arm pulling on boom going cross wind or more so upwind.
Hahaha, yeah he used the same waders as that when demonstrating a regular fin jibe with my kit, not using straps, showing me how to do it.
I perpetually enter jibes too slow whether foil or fin. I've come a long way but still much to improve on myself. When I focus on forcing front arm forward and straight and sheeting in I almost make it all the way around.
Select to expand quoteAfter getting blasted off a board a few times and rewatching some good videos - getting backwinded, for me, is usually a symptom not sweeping the sail far enough to the outside of the turn and letting it rotate around the back hand. There still is backwind pressure on the sail but instead of it pushing on you, it just pushes the sail to rotate past you. Yesterday was a very low wind session and was going about 16 in around 8-9 kt wind speed on a 7.7 (IQFoil).
If there's less than about 12 knots of wind the gybe turns into more of a downwind tack. By sweeping the the sail to the outside you're doing a sort of helicopter tack as you pass through the apparent wind.
In light winds I give a tug with the back hand before moving the rig outside the turn to rotate. Good days I can almost do the hands free gybe, I'm sure it'll happen eventually. Currently working on ducks and 360s which are similar.
Gybe should be all front foot with the old back foot just behind the opposite strap. If you have to shuffle the front foot back there is some balance adjustment to be done, probably explains inability to use larger front wings in moderate wind and also lack of progression on gybes.
Select to expand quotethedoor said..Sandman1221 said..
Good feedback, thanks! The key for me getting all the way around in the air was moving my front foot backwards out of the foot strap about 3/4 of a foot while back foot was on the far-side. After Andy Brandt took my kit for a spin he mentioned that he had both feet all the way back on the foiling gybe and I saw that but it did not register right away. He weighs about 5-10 kg less than me. So moving my front foot 3/4' back seems enough to balance the kit through the gybe for my weight. That was the problem I have always had with my kit (Goya Bolt 135 and AFS Wind95 foil), touching down in the middle or near the end of the gybe, that (weight too far forward) and doing the gybe on the trailing end of a gust when the wind was dropping.
Sweet! One of the big advantages of having your lift more forward relative to your feet means that as you go into a gybe and slow down the foil does not stall, because you have body weight you can shift to the tail and keep the foil up. Sliding front foot backward pre gybe would have the same effect though
You are right, that is what I now do, slide front foot backward pre gybe just before I start the turn. Andy wanted me to move rear foot all the way across the board before starting gybe, so foiling straight cross wind with rear foot on other side while maintaining level flight and direction. Now I am adding front foot back just before I enter gybe, keeps board up through the gybe!
Select to expand quoteGrantmac said..
In light winds I give a tug with the back hand before moving the rig outside the turn to rotate. Good days I can almost do the hands free gybe, I'm sure it'll happen eventually. Currently working on ducks and 360s which are similar.
Gybe should be all front foot with the old back foot just behind the opposite strap. If you have to shuffle the front foot back there is some balance adjustment to be done, probably explains inability to use larger front wings in moderate wind and also lack of progression on gybes.
I only practice gybes using the AFS F1080 wing, their largest, and Aerotech FreeSpeed 5.8 sail (what Andy taught me on), think I need to move front foot back pre gybe because I am on a fin slalom board, the extra length of board (243 cm overall) effectively increases the nose weight (on top of actual extra weight of nose) and that wants to drop the board when sail pressure/foil lift is reduced during foiling gybe.
Select to expand quoteSandman1221 said..Grantmac said..
In light winds I give a tug with the back hand before moving the rig outside the turn to rotate. Good days I can almost do the hands free gybe, I'm sure it'll happen eventually. Currently working on ducks and 360s which are similar.
Gybe should be all front foot with the old back foot just behind the opposite strap. If you have to shuffle the front foot back there is some balance adjustment to be done, probably explains inability to use larger front wings in moderate wind and also lack of progression on gybes.
I only practice gybes using the AFS F1080 wing, their largest, and Aerotech FreeSpeed 5.8 sail (what Andy taught me on), think I need to move front foot back pre gybe because I am on a fin slalom board, the extra length of board (243 cm overall) effectively increases the nose weight (on top of actual extra weight of nose) and that wants to drop the board when sail pressure/foil lift is reduced during foiling gybe.
That'll make some difference. I notice a big difference in the strap/mast base position of the FoilX vs. the Blast I was foiling on with Slingshot gear, especially since I nearly ran them back to back recently. I only attempted a couple on the FoilX so far, but it felt wayyyyy easier on that with only a 4.4. Also, the whole IQFoil kit was good because even though jibing a 9.0 is a PITA at least everything is consistent and I could only blame myself.
Hoping the good sea breezes start kicking in because I want more practice of this myself.
Board geometry is part of the problem but shimming can help. If you don't have the mast base fully rearward you'll want that too but realistically it won't be enough unless you get a new mast track put in.
Select to expand quoteGrantmac said..
Board geometry is part of the problem but shimming can help. If you don't have the mast base fully rearward you'll want that too but realistically it won't be enough unless you get a new mast track put in.
Agree, but really like the long nose, has saved me sooo many times, just the other day the southern rays were swarming for mating season, hit a couple I could not see deeper down, knocked me out of flight but was able to land the board and get right back up on the foil in a pretty seamless move!
Do have the mast base all the way back, wish it could go farther for the foiling gybe and just too see the effect, but for flights it is perfectly balanced with the AFS Wind95 foil. Just need to remember to slide front foot back just before entering the gybe. Actually makes switching feet at end of gybe easier since I already have the front foot out of the strap.
Select to expand quotesimonp65 said..After getting blasted off a board a few times and rewatching some good videos - getting backwinded, for me, is usually a symptom not sweeping the sail far enough to the outside of the turn and letting it rotate around the back hand. There still is backwind pressure on the sail but instead of it pushing on you, it just pushes the sail to rotate past you. Yesterday was a very low wind session and was going about 16 in around 8-9 kt wind speed on a 7.7 (IQFoil).
If there's less than about 12 knots of wind the gybe turns into more of a downwind tack. By sweeping the the sail to the outside you're doing a sort of helicopter tack as you pass through the apparent wind.
Good point. This also helps, though, for me when doing jibes while going deep in higher winds especially if I'm OP'ed. Getting the sail to the outside helps the board come around. Select to expand quoteGrantmac said..
Gybe should be all front foot with the old back foot just behind the opposite strap. If you have to shuffle the front foot back there is some balance adjustment to be done, probably explains inability to use larger front wings in moderate wind and also lack of progression on gybes.
I'd be tempted to move the front straps back a hole, myself. Gwen said it a long time ago and I've tended to agree that the board should be set up so it flies level in that position of front foot in strap and back foot just in front of the strap (no weight on the harness). Makes jibes super easy. I can't see banging into a well powered jibe and moving the front foot back from the strap at the same time. Sounds like a recipe for disaster in windy or very light conditions. If it works for someone - that's great but I'd see it as something to be unlearned later. If you look at the pics simonp65 and ayzmuth posted, one can see how easily the riders are foiling in that position mid jibe.Select to expand quoteaeroegnr said..
I've come a long way but still much to improve on myself. When I focus on forcing front arm forward and straight and sheeting in I almost make it all the way around.
If you aren't already doing this, make sure you are exiting off the wind and staying off the wind until powered up; and not trying to carve back up to a reach. Start your jibe at 4 o'clock and exit at 7:30. Exiting downwind helps you maintain the glide and flip the sail earlier. The Clearwater guys really keep a straight front arm and bent knees. Inspiring to watch them go around. Also, try to jibe in the gusts when possible (and the gusts aren't insane). Don't worry about the power as it shuts off as soon as you begin the carve.
Select to expand quotePaducah said..simonp65 said..After getting blasted off a board a few times and rewatching some good videos - getting backwinded, for me, is usually a symptom not sweeping the sail far enough to the outside of the turn and letting it rotate around the back hand. There still is backwind pressure on the sail but instead of it pushing on you, it just pushes the sail to rotate past you. Yesterday was a very low wind session and was going about 16 in around 8-9 kt wind speed on a 7.7 (IQFoil).
If there's less than about 12 knots of wind the gybe turns into more of a downwind tack. By sweeping the the sail to the outside you're doing a sort of helicopter tack as you pass through the apparent wind.
Good point. This also helps, though, for me when doing jibes while going deep in higher winds especially if I'm OP'ed. Getting the sail to the outside helps the board come around. Grantmac said..
Gybe should be all front foot with the old back foot just behind the opposite strap. If you have to shuffle the front foot back there is some balance adjustment to be done, probably explains inability to use larger front wings in moderate wind and also lack of progression on gybes.
I'd be tempted to move the front straps back a hole, myself. Gwen said it a long time ago and I've tended to agree that the board should be set up so it flies level in that position of front foot in strap and back foot just in front of the strap (no weight on the harness). Makes jibes super easy. I can't see banging into a well powered jibe and moving the front foot back from the strap at the same time. Sounds like a recipe for disaster in windy or very light conditions. If it works for someone - that's great but I'd see it as something to be unlearned later. If you look at the pics simonp65 and ayzmuth posted, one can see how easily the riders are foiling in that position mid jibe.aeroegnr said..
I've come a long way but still much to improve on myself. When I focus on forcing front arm forward and straight and sheeting in I almost make it all the way around.
If you aren't already doing this, make sure you are exiting off the wind and staying off the wind until powered up; and not trying to carve back up to a reach. Start your jibe at 4 o'clock and exit at 7:30. Exiting downwind helps you maintain the glide and flip the sail earlier. The Clearwater guys really keep a straight front arm and bent knees. Inspiring to watch them go around. Also, try to jibe in the gusts when possible (and the gusts aren't insane). Don't worry about the power as it shuts off as soon as you begin the carve.
Thanks I probably am coming upwind too soon. A lot of my jibes have been under pressure due to sandbars or shore, I should enter further upwind and leave myself more room.
I really want to sail with the Clearwater guys but man, work and driving over to that spot very difficult. Hopefully I'll get some good jibes in and take the time to go. It's taking me longer than I want but I guess my experience level is low and I have to overcome some bad self-taught techniques.
My foot stays in the strap until I'm powered up on the new tack. I haven't see a single competent foiler pull a foot out before initiating the gybe.
Having both feet out puts you even further from the mast base, which is already too far ahead on that board. Makes it far harder to get the rig balanced so it rotates easily.
Select to expand quoteaeroegnr said..Paducah said..simonp65 said..After getting blasted off a board a few times and rewatching some good videos - getting backwinded, for me, is usually a symptom not sweeping the sail far enough to the outside of the turn and letting it rotate around the back hand. There still is backwind pressure on the sail but instead of it pushing on you, it just pushes the sail to rotate past you. Yesterday was a very low wind session and was going about 16 in around 8-9 kt wind speed on a 7.7 (IQFoil).
If there's less than about 12 knots of wind the gybe turns into more of a downwind tack. By sweeping the the sail to the outside you're doing a sort of helicopter tack as you pass through the apparent wind.
Good point. This also helps, though, for me when doing jibes while going deep in higher winds especially if I'm OP'ed. Getting the sail to the outside helps the board come around. Grantmac said..
Gybe should be all front foot with the old back foot just behind the opposite strap. If you have to shuffle the front foot back there is some balance adjustment to be done, probably explains inability to use larger front wings in moderate wind and also lack of progression on gybes.
I'd be tempted to move the front straps back a hole, myself. Gwen said it a long time ago and I've tended to agree that the board should be set up so it flies level in that position of front foot in strap and back foot just in front of the strap (no weight on the harness). Makes jibes super easy. I can't see banging into a well powered jibe and moving the front foot back from the strap at the same time. Sounds like a recipe for disaster in windy or very light conditions. If it works for someone - that's great but I'd see it as something to be unlearned later. If you look at the pics simonp65 and ayzmuth posted, one can see how easily the riders are foiling in that position mid jibe.aeroegnr said..
I've come a long way but still much to improve on myself. When I focus on forcing front arm forward and straight and sheeting in I almost make it all the way around.
If you aren't already doing this, make sure you are exiting off the wind and staying off the wind until powered up; and not trying to carve back up to a reach. Start your jibe at 4 o'clock and exit at 7:30. Exiting downwind helps you maintain the glide and flip the sail earlier. The Clearwater guys really keep a straight front arm and bent knees. Inspiring to watch them go around. Also, try to jibe in the gusts when possible (and the gusts aren't insane). Don't worry about the power as it shuts off as soon as you begin the carve.
Thanks I probably am coming upwind too soon. A lot of my jibes have been under pressure due to sandbars or shore, I should enter further upwind and leave myself more room.
I really want to sail with the Clearwater guys but man, work and driving over to that spot very difficult. Hopefully I'll get some good jibes in and take the time to go. It's taking me longer than I want but I guess my experience level is low and I have to overcome some bad self-taught techniques.
Every time I've been around them, they've been super nice, friendly and helpful. You'll learn a lot even by osmosis. Hope you have the opportunity sooner rather than later. Amazing group of young men and women.
Sandman, it is true that you will finally catch up to the flipped sail as you continue to turn but successful gybing takes a bit more input from the rider. If your board is balanced as you say, you are probably dropping close to the water at the end as you have lost too much speed. Speed during a gybe is your friend, your foil is much more stable at speed. That's why most people advise to gybe on a gust. When you go into the turn oversheet and lay down the sail a bit (not full on like a pro) this will help keep some speed up and turn a bit tighter in the first part of the gybe. The aim should be to keep power in the sail as long as possible and to get power on as soon as you can. It's a very fine line to know when to flip though.
Going into a gybe from a downwind run can be very different from going up wind into a gybe though.
The gybes above were mostly from off the wind. Going a fair bit faster than the windspeed it is so easy to get backwinded. In this situation I only oversheet momentarily as I enter the gybe before the flip. You may need to help the sail around the first part of the flip with the backhand. Then just try and keep everything as smooth as possible until you can catch the sail. Because I am still going faster than the windspeed at this point there is very little power in the sail. I try to fly out of these quite high so I can drop down on the foil to create a bit of acceleration. Once you have a bit of power back in the sail head back to a reach or up wind.
A lot of these gybes are up wind to up wind which I find a lot less technical. Because going up wind I am only going a similar speed to the wind the chance of being backwinded is far less. I can stay oversheeted a bit longer and carve a bit harder and when I flip, the sail comes round much quicker. Also because I am probably going slower than the wind speed the sail is powered up as soon as I catch it.
The only way to learn is go out and do it again and again and again. Forget long runs of foiling bliss for a while and just gybe. You will be surprised how quickly you get it. I wish I had done it 12 months before I did. The drifting round waiting for things to come to you like many of us have done will get you so far but you have to make it happen.
Can you spot my crash on the tracks?
Select to expand quotePaducah said.....If you look at the pics simonp65 and ayzmuth posted, one can see how easily the riders are foiling in that position mid jibe.
The way I wrote this, it looks like the comment was addressed directly to Grantmac which was not my intention. Should have simply said, "If one looks at the pics, etc."
Sorry for any confusion.
Select to expand quoteSwindy said..
Sandman, it is true that you will finally catch up to the flipped sail as you continue to turn but successful gybing takes a bit more input from the rider. If your board is balanced as you say, you are probably dropping close to the water at the end as you have lost too much speed. Speed during a gybe is your friend, your foil is much more stable at speed. That's why most people advise to gybe on a gust. When you go into the turn oversheet and lay down the sail a bit (not full on like a pro) this will help keep some speed up and turn a bit tighter in the first part of the gybe. The aim should be to keep power in the sail as long as possible and to get power on as soon as you can. It's a very fine line to know when to flip though.
Going into a gybe from a downwind run can be very different from going up wind into a gybe though.
The gybes above were mostly from off the wind. Going a fair bit faster than the windspeed it is so easy to get backwinded. In this situation I only oversheet momentarily as I enter the gybe before the flip. You may need to help the sail around the first part of the flip with the backhand. Then just try and keep everything as smooth as possible until you can catch the sail. Because I am still going faster than the windspeed at this point there is very little power in the sail. I try to fly out of these quite high so I can drop down on the foil to create a bit of acceleration. Once you have a bit of power back in the sail head back to a reach or up wind.
A lot of these gybes are up wind to up wind which I find a lot less technical. Because going up wind I am only going a similar speed to the wind the chance of being backwinded is far less. I can stay oversheeted a bit longer and carve a bit harder and when I flip, the sail comes round much quicker. Also because I am probably going slower than the wind speed the sail is powered up as soon as I catch it.
The only way to learn is go out and do it again and again and again. Forget long runs of foiling bliss for a while and just gybe. You will be surprised how quickly you get it. I wish I had done it 12 months before I did. The drifting round waiting for things to come to you like many of us have done will get you so far but you have to make it happen.
Can you spot my crash on the tracks?
Thanks Swindy, I have been working up to it carefully to avoid getting hurt or damaging equipment, but now I can handle too little wind by going to a planing gybe, and know how to bail if I lose my balance during a powered foiling gybe. I practice in one location where the water is fairly flat, but getting ready to practice in another location that has more waves. Yeah, hard to give up the long runs but starting to do it.
Sandman, a couple times you mentioned "slide the front foot back before starting the jibe" or words to that effect. I guess that means you take the front foot out of the footstrap to slide it back, correct? Other comments above lead me to believe this is so.
Also, since others talk about moving the front footstrap back, what I don't see is anybody commenting on how the foil will tend to breach as soon as you start to rotate the sail since it loses its mast base pressure during rotation. Maybe the comment about putting the leeward foot just aft of the leeward footstrasp counteracts this.
This is a good discussion, by the way.
Select to expand quoteGrantmac said..
My foot stays in the strap until I'm powered up on the new tack. I haven't see a single competent foiler pull a foot out before initiating the gybe.
Having both feet out puts you even further from the mast base, which is already too far ahead on that board. Makes it far harder to get the rig balanced so it rotates easily.
Assume you are referring to me Grantmac. What Andy Brandt told me to do was to stay balanced over the foil during the foiling gybe. Not sure why you are hung up on mast base, but for my kit I need my front foot back to stay balanced over the foil, and of course so did Andy. Have to assume you are not a teaching professional who travels all over the country teaching people on their equipment, based on your lack of understanding about how a particular kit (in this case a fin slalom board) influences foot position during a foiling gybe.
Select to expand quotesegler said..
Sandman, a couple times you mentioned "slide the front foot back before starting the jibe" or words to that effect. I guess that means you take the front foot out of the footstrap to slide it back, correct? Other comments above lead me to believe this is so.
Also, since others talk about moving the front footstrap back, what I don't see is anybody commenting on how the foil will tend to breach as soon as you start to rotate the sail since it loses its mast base pressure during rotation. Maybe the comment about putting the leeward foot just aft of the leeward footstrasp counteracts this.
This is a good discussion, by the way.
Yes segler, front foot slides backward out of the foot strap about 8-9" just before entering the gybe on a fin slalom board like the Goya Bolt, with rear foot all the way across the board just in front of the rear foot strap, so that I am balanced over the "AFS Wind95 foil", which is what Andy Brandt taught me to do. Need to be balanced over the foil in order to maintain a level flight during the gybe. When weight is forward of the foil the nose gets pushed down to the water as the sail depowers during the flip. I have done that many times by keeping my front foot in the strap through the gybe, and so learned to transition to a planing gybe, which was actually good and useful to learn.
