dioma said...

Hi everyone. I've been practicing on Sunday in Sandringham and glad to say that with tacks geting some balance and rythm. As for the gybes.....constant feel of loosing balance with overpowering pull, especially with back hand even further back and somehow less stable stance. Is there any way to spill an exess of wind to something more manageble ? (was trying to spill from the front of sail, hardly)
P.S. Was watching "Beginner to Winner", apparently it's esier said than done.

Over sheet as you feel the surge of power

Bender said...

dioma said...

Hi everyone. I've been practicing on Sunday in Sandringham and glad to say that with tacks geting some balance and rythm. As for the gybes.....constant feel of loosing balance with overpowering pull, especially with back hand even further back and somehow less stable stance. Is there any way to spill an exess of wind to something more manageble ? (was trying to spill from the front of sail, hardly)
P.S. Was watching "Beginner to Winner", apparently it's esier said than done.

Over sheet as you feel the surge of power

As you feel the surge of power let it pull you forward (knees bent) and push forward with your front arm as you do while keeping the back hand sheeted in. ie effectively over sheeting by pushing the front of the sail away from you. That gives you a smooth well timed depower and gets you into a good position.

Or...pulling with back and pushing with front hand leans sail downwind letting wind out over the top ???

Hi Dioma,

It sounds like you're not going fast enough! A good planing gybe takes loads of commitment, you need to sail really well powered up. When you turn downwind the sail will go very light, because you're going the same speed as the wind. To get there, I sort of leave my back hand in position, and push the front hand to the inside of the turn. This oversheets the sail, and leans the mast to the middle of the turn at the same time.

Gybing is something that takes lots and lots and lots of time, patience, and practice, but when you nail that first planing gybe... it's the best feeling in the world

And remember, all the good gybers have one thing in common: they kept trying!

I'm getting on top of things at last, after years of struggle, but I'm far from good...just keep reading, watching, practicing...

NotWal said...

As you feel the surge of power let it pull you forward (knees bent) and push forward with your front arm as you do while keeping the back hand sheeted in. ie effectively over sheeting by pushing the front of the sail away from you. That gives you a smooth well timed depower and gets you into a good position.

dioma said...

So, if I am right, oversheeting is the way to reduce the power ??? and sail forward to pivot the board faster ???

Yes re oversheeting. Sail forward does a couple of things. As far as the sail is concerned it gets depowered and balanced over the mast foot so it goes very light and manageable. At the same time it gets your weight forward to trim the board so it carves smoothly through a fast wide arc. You have to get your weight forward to compensate for the absence of mast foot pressure, particularly if you are going for a classic carve gybe.

So nicely said. I can just feel the sail doing all those things!

I used to be really scared of the extra speed and power of bearing away, but pushing the front arm forward while oversheeting makes all the difference.

dioma said...

It’s like a proper lesson on an applied physics of windsurfing. So, if I am not mistaken (again): slightly. It's complicated. Don't feel bad about it. I'm no expert either (in either gybing or physics)

1.Sail sheeted, forward and across –
stalls the sail, reduces pull out of hands, increases the turning moment which helps the board to pivot in down wind direction (don't forget your foot steering)

2. Turning the board in down wind direction , you are travelling in the same direction as the wind = apparent wind is less = need for speed.

And if I am mistaken it's going to be wet and cold Regularly!

dioma: Hi dioma I am learning from beginner to winner as well. I am at the carve gybing section (however, I haven't been out for a few weeks now, compared to a few times a week during the summer). I am going well, but this is going to take a few months to crack.. however, I think gybes are heaps easier than tacking, especailly in swell.

mabbott: I disagree with wasting $50 on a DVD. The good thing about this DVD is you get continuity. If you learn a bit from Guy Gribb, a bit from youtube, the guy down the beach, the guy that sold you your rigg, and then smash those tips together, it probably won't work. That's generally what I have found anyway in my one season of windsurfing.

Ja

NotWal said...
As you feel the surge of power let it pull you forward (knees bent) and push forward with your front arm as you do while keeping the back hand sheeted in. ie effectively over sheeting by pushing the front of the sail away from you. That gives you a smooth well timed depower and gets you into a good position.

I had read an instructional article saying to push the front of the sail away, not just sheet in with the back hand, and had always had it lingering in the back of my mind, but always forgot to try it when I was gybing. Until today. Well, it's truely one of those little pearls of wisdom that competent gybers probably do without thinking about, and thus forget to pass on if they're teaching someone. I've been gybing pretty well (getting around dry, not necessarily planing through)for ages on flattish water, but whenever it gets into overpowered and choppy conditions, my success rate drops by a very large number. Today, I forced myself to do this pushing away of the mast with the front arm, and found it just forces your body into a position where it's in the center of the turn and forcing the board down, preventing the ugly skipping and then crash that used to happen in similar conditions. It felt unnatural to initially try, but when you do it, it actually feels like the most natural and efficient thing to do. Just do it!

Sorry. Obviously that was last Sunday. Can't remember if I was out that day.

Yeah I found the Guy Cribb DVD a good investment. It taught me to do it right so I don't get into any bad habits which may effect other skills later. One great tip he had was to practice the steps of a gybe in non-planing conditions, the steps are the same with the exception of the feet placement being in the centre of the board. It really helps doing the feet work, what he calls the "twist", the entrance, rig flip and exit in the right order so you do it automatically when doing a planing gybe.

If in waves or chop I always try and time the gybe so a wave gets behind me during the turn and/or exit. Really helps keep your speed up and helps to avoid going over waves or chop during the middle of it.

Good luck.

dioma said...

Yes re oversheeting. Sail forward does a couple of things. As far as the sail is concerned it gets depowered and balanced over the mast foot so it goes very light and manageable. At the same time it gets your weight forward to trim the board so it carves smoothly through a fast wide arc. You have to get your weight forward to compensate for the absence of mast foot pressure, particularly if you are going for a classic carve gybe.

Thanks Windstasy for this part. Today was specifically watching central or neutral position of mast, just in general. I understand that right mast position is the lightest for the front hand. So eventually I was going by this feeling.

I'd be glad to take the credit but it was NotWal who gave you those pearls of wisdom.
Glad to hear you are making progress.
Keep trying and you'll get there.