full foil jibe before 70

[NOVAAN]

Yes. That makes it all so clear. Just got to do it. For me I think the issue is getting the foot more on the rail. The few that I have made I went right into the strap. Foil day tomorrow I'll give that set up a try...Thanks for the post..

[fathomfathom]

[django]

Okay, a couple of things. First, flat water is imperative when learning. Even the smallest chop will complicate things. Eventually, you'll learn to use the chop to keep extended through the turn, but that will only mess you up as you're learning. I have two foiling jibes; a long, swoopy turn and a quick carving turn. I have to be pretty powered for the latter; like a 6.3 in 20 knots powered. The sail gets layed down some, and the flip and the footwork are fast and the radius is tight. My percentage on this one is about 35%, but getting better. Rail pressure is key, just like in a regular tight jibe, as is commitment and the sail flip is extremely aggressive. With this one, you don't care about the water state, because the jibe takes all of 3 secs. And you can do it reach to reach. It's pretty easy to pull off, once you know how to do it. Did I say you have to be wicked powered?

The swoopier one, the racing jibe, is designed to eat up as much downwind distance as possible. I use this a lot when I've foiled into an area that I know I'm going to have to pump like crazy to get out of if I were to tack. (I use an old Mike's Lab L7 for a board and it's hard to pump up in marginal conditions. It's also effin bullet-proof.) You need to maintain as much foil pressure as possible through the whole jibe, because the pressure on the foil will degrade midway and you'll lose height and bottom out before you can repower the foil. Start by bearing off and moving your rear foot to the leeward rail, like in a Formula jibe. You can use the sail to initiate if you want, but honestly you need to forget about using your arms after the board turns to about 25 or 30 degrees to dead downwind. I suspect your trouble is less to do with your foot pressure and more to do with your depending on the rig too much. You can complete a foil jibe, side to side, without ever using the sail. Try it. As you reach nearly dead downwind, you will be losing height unless you are doing this wicked powered or the stars have aligned just so. At this point, the inside rail is still down and you move your formerly front foot back to where your formerly rear foot is, kind of opposite each other over the centerline. This shifting of weight will cause the foil to load and the board will rise again. Good news! But don't overdo, or you'll just pop out. You can even let go of the formerly rear hand at this point; the foil will do all the work. The board will level and you'll feel a tippy little wiggle side to side; the foil is very tender at this point because your weight is concentrated in a very small area. You can see this in lots of jibing videos, by even really skilled sailors. It's subtle to witness, but feels very unstable at first on the board. Continue to keep turning the board under the rig, but don't really sheet in. Sheeting in at this point will most definitely turn the board back down. As the board comes under the rig, slide your new front foot forward as you sheet in, and release pressure on the rail. The board will straighten out under you, and the forces of the rig and the foil will align and start to light up. Don't sheet in too hard or you'll probably pop out of the water until you get that new front foot far enough forward to counteract the reengaged lift from the foil. Trying to do the old trick of coming out of the jibe clew first and letting the wind flip the sail is VERY low percentage. It can be done, but only after you can do the jibe the right way. I wind up saving a jibe that way when something has gone wrong in the process. A further point is that I have two main jibes, but the jibes I do fall somewhere between the two poles: depending on whether I think I'll have the pressure coming out as I did going into the jibe; what the water state is and what piece of chop looks good; and how tired I am (the first 5 foiling jibes are totally hero; the next 20 are increasingly ragged). And finally, set up for all jibes like you're going to foil through; eventually you will. Disclaimer: all of this is from someone who is 67, using a meter mast and a .9 meter wing, and sailing Berkeley pretty powered most of the time.

TLDR: Don't depend on the rig so much. Use the power in the foil and your weight to get the height you need and maintain it though the jibe. Speed is less important than weight distribution and position. Try turning downwind and let the sail flag. You'll be surprised how far you can go on the foil alone if you move your weight around.

Hope this helps. Let us know.

[dllee]

Wow.
The guy I was watching is a Berkeley sailor. He windsurfed 4.2 on Tuesday.

[dcharlton]

I'm trying strapless (both front and back foot). I'm liking the feeling of control over the board and think it may help. One way or another, I will get my foil jybe down before the end of August!!!!

DC

[LUCARO]

For me the best thing was delaying the foot switch until after the sail flip, like a carve gybe. Sail flipping and foot switching at the same time creates lots of variables and made it very difficult for me to maintain the right board height

My foil gybes are the most consistent maneuvers of all my windsurfing skills, and this is my system

Gybe a) If I am powered up on sub 5.5m sail then it kind of goes like this.

1) reach back on the boom
2) step out of the back foot strap towards the leeward rail
3) sheet and roll board to leeward in to initiate the turn and oversheet to stall the sail (sail leans in toward center of turn). Generally I am travelling about 45 deg off the wind in a straight line and I adjust board height depending on swell
4) Flip the sail
5) carve the board through the turn switch
6) step the feet after exiting a gybe on a reach (often quite a bit of shuffling)

I imagine it as a J curve with the tall part of the J in the beginning.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_-pl_qD27H/

Gybe b) is for bigger sails and slower wings.
Mostly the same as above except the sail is lean't to the outside of the turn and the mast is pushed across the eye of the wind to expose the other side of the sail to help it rotate - got this tip from a race foil video

I am yet to master a step foiling gybe, but I have made a few foiling duck gybes, which are definitely not easier than the carve/strap to strap gybe. But maybe, if I could consistently duck gybe on a windsurfer I would find them easy on the foil.

[grantmac017]

I'm working on the sail switch first. Initial results are either very positive or a total explosion. First one was accidental when I went to carve a swell and let the sail flag. To my surprise the sail came around easily onto the opposite tack and there I was sailing switch foot.
I've done quite a few step gybes and so long as I flip basically just as I get into the other strap I'm fine. If I let the sail power up clew first it gets ugly.