this is just my take on gybes 
maybe a lot of the difficulty many folk have with gybing is because of being told the old addage of "go as fast as you can, imagine the mast is glued perpendicular to the deck of the board, get through the turn and just let the sail flip itself".....and it does, but it's usually much too late, and hanging off balance with most of the sail weight to the outside of the sails pivot point (in blue below), and to the outside of the turn, which then throws you off balance etc
you want the "pivot point" perpendicular with the board's deck, but not the mast. The pivot point can be considered a line drawn from the top of the leech to the mast base, or something close to it. (sail shape will influence it a bit)
i see most folk having the angle of the sail so that the pivot point is as shown in blue on the left, and most of them don't gybe well
those who do gybe well and who gybe effortlessly, tend to flip the sail using the pivot point as shown on the right in green
the trick to flipping the sail early without getting off balance or being flung about by the wind, is to keep the rig out in front of you using roughly 45 degree bent elbows, then force the sail to "spin" on the axis shown in green - move your front hand right up as close to the mast along the boom as possible, tilt the mast tip slightly to the outside of the rotation just before you start to spin it, it gives you a bit of leverage to generate the spin, then create a "U" shape motion with your front hand, i.e. pulling towards yourself, then away and at the same time towards the centre of the gybe. This spins or "flicks" the sail around effortlessly. Larger, heavier sails will need a bit more exaggeration of the the tilt and flick, while small camless sails need very little, especially if you are planing fast into the gybe
If you do this just as you are heading downwind, or slightly after, the sail will feel light and spin with minimal effort. You can virtually start the spin, totally let go of the boom, let it rotate hands free, and then catch it with both hands on the other side, provided you continue to maintain your bodies lean into the turn and ride the board like a surfboard.
There is a sweet spot in timing for all this, and it only comes with a bit of practice, but once you get the hang of it, you can plane out of gybes in much less wind
The diagram below is entering a gybe with the left hand / foot forward. Hope it helps a bit
A friend of mine used to focus 80% of his sessions on gybing trying to perfect them when they already looked perfect to me.
He was easily recognised as he usually seemed to just let the sail go and leave his arms where they were and the sail just rotated and landed back into his hands.
He was always well banked over when doing it and it seemed to be a combination of the carve, timing, and gravity. I think he must have given the boom a little flick to initiate it.
I've done boom-to-boom flicks, but have to put much more effort and motion into the flick than he did. I think I my fault is that my hand doesn't move right up beside the mast during the flick.
My foot change comes after I have the power on again with that type of flick gybe.
Awesome diagram and advice from the master! I'll be taking this with me next time.
Oh, and my gybes have improved since starting this thread. Carving better and find myself making an increasing proportion of fully planing gybes.
Top drawer!
This is my go-to video for improving my gybes.
Flat water and strong steady wind makes it easy to progress.
You dont see gybing tutorials on choppy short waves and marginal gusty winds - and there's a good reason for that
Sue, the best piece of advice about good gybes I have ever read is right here in this thread.
Keep the front arm straight as you carve.
It was a real light-bulb moment for me when I did that the other day.
I realise now that I have often done that, especially for lay-downs, but I never realised it.
Like a good golf swing, where the left elbow stays dead straight, it made all the difference to consistency.
Just realised that HC has gone to some trouble to teach us all a "flick-spinny thing".
Careful guys !!!!!
. Seriously though whatever works and feels comfortable whilst keeping the board on the plane will probably be right. If you look at Sailquik's gybe you'll notice just how smooth his transition and transfer of weight is. He keeps body movement down to a minimum. Of course it is being done on extremely flat water although the principles remain the same.
. Seriously though whatever works and feels comfortable whilst keeping the board on the plane will probably be right. If you look at Sailquik's gybe you'll notice just how smooth his transition and transfer of weight is. He keeps body movement down to a minimum. Of course it is being done on extremely flat water although the principles remain the same.
Force it to happen, and your body will have to lean forward into the turn to follow it.
Bending your elbow means pulling your hand back, which lets your body weight fall back.
