Duck Jibe

[whitenucks]

Thanks to everyone for their advice and encouragement on how to jibe. On my recent trip to Hatteras,I finally started to get the hang of it! Stepping forward before flipping the sail made all the difference, as it seemed to carry the board through the turn more, and also put me in a better position to stay up if I did start to stall out. Now that Ive got the feel of the basic jibe, I want to start working on the duck jibe. Any tips on the best way to learn this ? If you raise the clew as youre going into the turn, will the wind automaticly shift the sail at the right point?

[adeimeen]

Duck jibe be the funnest to learn because it feels so ackward. Anyway, Im learning to duck and I find that once you go into a regular jibe, reach back for the clue earlier than you would flip the sail on a regular jibe. This will take the wind off the sail while you are trying to catch the boom from the new side. Good luck!

[daveofl]

Make sure you grab the clew end of the boom all the way at the end. I find that helps.

Dave O

[behrreich]

Its very important to change the sail very early on a duck jibe. You should make the sail change almost immediately after you start your carve. If you wait until the point in your turn where you normally change the sail for a carving jibe, then youve waited too long and you wont be able to flip the sail. Therefore, you cant decide to duck jibe at the last minute. Make your decision before you turn.

Once youve changed the sail, you need to continue carving through the turn. Dont change your feet until you are virtually finished with the turn. If you dont complete the carve, the sail will try to rotate out of your hands, making things even more difficult.

Practice your sail change on the ground with a small sail. If you can make the sail change automatic, you wont be distracted by it on the water and you can concentrate more on carving the board.

I hope that helps!

Bill