SA
1160 posts
this topic probablly always comes up... but i need help trying to stick these puppies!! any tips/help will do! is it better to come into it on a really broad reach at full speed or unhook take back foot out and just go around like a normal gybe? thanks guys!
WA
2331 posts
not that I am an expert, but the story I've been told is that you need to start the sail rotation part just as you start to turn, or even just a microsecond before.
basically flip the sail (at least most of the way) around and then turn the board.
If you try and do it when the board is 90deg through the turn you just drop the mast onto the nose and over you go.
WA
260 posts
Should be done at full speed on a good run.
Practice the rig flip first on the beach.
The trick is to grab the boom with your back hand as far back as you can as you go begin the turn. As you feel the rig go light(and you are running with the wind) pull the clew in front of your face with your back hand and grab the other side of the boom with your free hand as far forward on the boom as you can (so you dont have to take two stabs). Then pull the sail across your body, grab the boom with with your 'new' front hand and away you go.
All this will be done while you are running and theres no power in the sail.
Do all the normal gybe business (lean forwards, good speed, bend your knees etc).
Dont bother trying to do it off plane at low speed, you'll just confuse yourself. And just do one way first, get it sussed and then try the other.
Its actually not much harder than a jibe, just feels a bit different.
WA
105 posts
The key to duck gybing as with most other tricks on windsurfers is eliminating the apparent wind in the sail. Think about it - if you sail downwind (theory) at the speed of the wind then the apparent wind in the sail is zero - thus you can do anything with the boom etc that you like without it trying to be ripped out of your arms.
Thus the key to a good duck gybe is to keep planing throughout the complete gybe. Crank the board over as per a normal gybe and as the board is approximately 60degrees through the gybe the sail should just fall away out of your hands (swapping hands etc as per garynoel unless you're trying a one handed duck gybe). Then as the sail continues around with the board still turning, pick up the sail on the other side at approximately 120degrees through the turn.
Have a look on the Windsurfing WA shows that are currently being broadcast on TV and on the net. Watch where the board and sail are in relation to the wind.
btw - on Windsurfing WA episode 2 there is a duck tack - the only one I have seen the years of sailing - I wish I could do them.
QLD
7436 posts
Hey Wayneg howes a one handed duck jibe done?
WA
105 posts
One handed duck gybe (or maybe known by other name) is when doing the duck gybe instead of swapping your front hand over the back hand prior to flicking the sail over your head you simply let go with you front hand and the back hand automatically gets pulled to the back of the boom (clew end), then simply flick it over your head and continue as per a normal duck gybe.
You need a bit more speed throughout the gybe to reduce the apparent wind in the sail as per the previous post.
I can make them sailing one direction and seem to crash a lot the other - so am no master of them. Basically saving your hand swap and thus a bit quicker.
