I have been sailing for nearly 4 years but my success rate with gybes has been getting worse. Gone from about 30% to 10%. Always sailing in the bay which is choppy. I have watched the Guy Cribb cd about a dozen times.
Can people share any break through moments/tips or sudden realizations they discovered that helped them to greatly improve their success rate? Or is is a gradual thing that only improves over many years? (hope not)
Any suggestions?
Make the effort to go sail somewhere with very flat water.
And ToW (Time-on-water) is king.
Start bearing away to build some decent speed. Bend your knees and commit and that means really commit to the turn. Overhand grip if not already and straighten front arm (pushing sail forward and upright) whilst sheeting in back hand as you initiate turn. As you pass through downwind direction release back hand (even give the sail a little push depending on how strong the wind is)
Resist moving all over the board with your feet and don't lean back as this stalls the board very quickly - in fact if you remeber to lean forward towards the mast track this keeps the sail nicely powered and keeps the board trimmed nicely.
Also try and find some swell to help you around as plowing into the back of a wave tends to throw everything into disarray.
This is going to sound odd, but try duck gybes.
When learning I got pissed off with falling in all the time so I figured that if I was going to end up in the water anyway why not do it in style.
Then what do you know, pulled off my first planing gybe albeit an ugly duck gybe but planing out. Something about board control that the duck gybe forces you to concentrate on which is transferrable back to a normal gybe.
Didn't score me any chicks though.
I'm still struggling along but the dry land rig flip practise made an amazing difference! I used to have to think about doing boom shaka but after 5 mins practise on the land the flip happened naturally on the water.
.Now just got to get the other 50 things right..
Best ever -
It is not a 180 deg turn, it is 120deg at most. Broad reach to broad reach, once back in the straps and planing then you can round up a bit.
Imagine a K - the up and downie bit is your sailing direction. The bent bit is your gybe path. Think "KKKKKKKK" as you initiate
The bay is where I learnt to gybe and it aint easy, its easy in bigger swell or flatter water, the bays chop/swell is difficult for gybing.
You need to work out how to use the chop/swell pick your lines, and timing it right, and think quick hands on the rig flip, and a relaxed attitude towards whether you make it, try and enjoy the feeling, and using the swell chop to your advantage, but you gotta work the proper lines/timing, experiment.
I think having someone filming you would help you to identify what is the main issue.
Best leap forward for me was a couple of light wind days spent doing them slowly. Next time I tried at speed they were much easier. Guy Cribb will give you the same advice... it's just that most people ignore that bit.
Don't we all love talking about this. Everyone has their opinion so I'll hit you with mine. I think too much is made of the sail flip. If you get the speed thing going, the sail pretty much looks after itself. I concentrate on the board especially if it is choppy. I figure if you can't get it around and pointing roughly the right direction, nothing else you try is going to mean much. Bear away, keep sheeted in, weight forward and guide the board around. You have to ride the chop, watch for the bumps and with bent knees ride over them and keep trying, it will come eventually.
I don't think there is a magic movement that if you do it it will all work. Every time I go out I improve a little bit, it's just the way it is. TOW.
Bend both knees to absolute maximum not into the board but forward into the sail to start, then forward to the front of the board as it carves.
And rotate sail very early and fast.
I find a floatier board with smaller sail is easier especially if you prefer the chicken gybe in rough water.
Thanks everyone. I have added many of these tips to my long list of tips I have on my iPhone notes. I try to read them just before I rig and pick 2 or 3 to focus on for a particular session. 15 to 25 knts predicted for tomorrow so looks like more TOW
try multiple short runs about 200+meters then gybe ,another 200+meters and gybe and so on, etc. practice, practice, practice, after a while it will click, this worked really well for me all those years ago.
Best advice I was given in the last few years on new style gear was to;
1) don't slow down and go into the gybe at speed. This makes the sail light with apparent wind or something.
2) hold the boom with back hand further back, then slide front hand to towards mast as you drive into the turn.
Can you use the bay chop\swell to help bring the board around? This is usually a bit more forgiving, helps your balance as the board surfs down the swell and gives you time to think about the sail. If you've got speed up you may have to skip of a few bits of chop as you turn and pick the last one to help bring the board around.
I tend to grab the mast under the boom with my back hand as the sail flips to act as a pivot.
Dry land practice has helped me the most. You can get all the tips and watch all the videos but unless you can put it all together without thinking in less than 3 seconds, you're lost.
Go over the routine on your finless board with sail on land until you can do it all without thinking.
Bill, I've been sailing as long as you. My biggest progression jump was ditching boards that didn't work for me. You might be having the same problem. The next jump was keeping low and moving the back hand back (as Staley mentioned). I have stuffed knees so I had a tendency to stand up. This is like putting the brakes on, and can't push the board around. The back hand seems to allow me to apply pressure to the leeward (carving) rail and push it around in the turn, and stops the board jumping around.
6 Things to remember.
1. HEAPS OF SPEED
2. LEAN FOWARD
3. USE THE RAIL NOT THE TAIL
4. LOOK WHERE YOUR GOING NOT AT YOUR FEET.
5. STEP FOWARD
6. FLIP LATE
Best Tips ever, head off the wind heaps get heaps of speed, i even pump the sail to go even faster.
LEAN FOWARD and into your turn!!!!!!
If you look at my picture over there <<<<< see how far foward i am leaning foward and over the inside rail.
That is a main one, so much so that the way i learned to do full planning gybes was to do hand drag ones, take your back hand off and lean down to drag it in the water on the inside of your turn in front of the front strap.
This teaches you how far you can actually lean foward and to weigh the inside rail and not the tail, 99% of people who are learning or even pull most of the always lean back when gybing, this kills all your speed.
Bend the knees. Lowers your centre of gravity, helps to absorb the chop and gives you greater control.
My tip - once you've turned your body, you shall continue to turn the board by pressing on your heels. This is useful especially if you don't have enough speed or tend not to finish the 180degrees turn and find yourself in a backwind position.
Look out of the gybe where you want to go. I have to force myself to do it but gybes improve 100% when I do. Looking up and out completely changes your stance and weight distribution
Already done 100 000 waterstarts so that's the up side, shark will need to be quick if they want to get me!
Well the quickest way to learn I reckon is on one tack. Find some flat water, sail for about 200-300m, then turn the board, sail back to where you started and tack. Then do it again 20 or 30 times. Then go for a sail. Once you master one tack, then the other will follow quickly. As others have pointed out, the most important part is carving the board, so concentrate on this aspect, worry about catching the sail when you've mastered the carve.
Happy sailing
