I build speed entering my jibes then point downwind. For a time I'm riding parallel to and faster than the swell. This leads to a bit of rodeo riding, particularly as I accelerate down a face but try not to bottom out in a trough or on the back of the next swell. Bottoming out reduces speed, of course, reducing the likelihood of a successful jibe. The difficulty ends as I pass through direct downwind and complete the turn.

How best to handle the parallel to the swell part of the jibe? My approach is to minimize my time in "parallel to swell," portion of the jibe. Is that the best approach?

Interesting. When you talk about big swells, are these running in the same direction as the wind or across the wind? Is there much wind chop on the face of the big swells? And what is the period between the swells? is there a current running against the swell? What sort of foil are you using? Is it a low aspect thick leading edge lifty foil or a thinner leading edge faster foil?
FWIW, I've foiled off waves in cross off conditions at our local break and it's sensational when it all lines up. But out in the river when you have a decent swell running against current and rebounding wind chop, the gybes are still good, but it's a whole different ball game - much more difficult.
If you are using a foil with a thick leading edge, I've found that these sorts of foils develop a lot of lift and are difficult to control when riding waves. You find that the amount of lift developed by the foil when moving from the top of the wave to the trough varies a huge amount, so you'll have your weight heavily forward trying to control the lift at the top of the wave, and then nearing the trough the lift drops out and if you're not onto the timing, you nose dive the board. The thinner leading edge foils I find are much better for control on wave faces. The lift developed is not as brutal.
You talk about running into the back of the next wave, so I'm assuming this is more like a wind generated swell, rather than a ground swell?? (I might be wrong here?) And if is a big swell, then this suggests to me it's probably steep (if you're potentially running into the back of the wave in front of it). Is there a current running against the wind/swell direction? This will have the effect of slowing the swell down and jacking it up, making for a steep slow moving wave. Throw some wind chop on top and I'd suggest (if my assumptions are right) that you may be trying to gybe in conditions that are very difficult.
If that's the case, I think wave selection becomes important. Maybe choose a wave that isn't as steep and has less confused chop on it when entering the gybe.
I also agree with Vels comments ^^^.

Velocicraptor said..
Dont outpace the swell. Adjust your speed to be closer to the swell speed and use the energy in the swell to keep you on foil. You can also time the gybe so that you are turning earlier and finishing your turn in the trough, rather than racing the face of the wave and winding up in that dead zone.

Generally, if you are outpacing the swell while surfing, you just need to quarter it and go across it so that you maintain your speed (faster than swell) but stay on the power pocket. Gybing on the swell, it isn't that big a deal if you wind up in the trough / dead zone because you just power up to get out of it.

Once you dial it in, it should help the gybe, not hurt it.

Intesting re: don't outpace the swell. I've been trying like mad to race into my gybes. Slowing down is the key, eh?

choosywinger said..

Velocicraptor said..
Dont outpace the swell. Adjust your speed to be closer to the swell speed and use the energy in the swell to keep you on foil. You can also time the gybe so that you are turning earlier and finishing your turn in the trough, rather than racing the face of the wave and winding up in that dead zone.

Generally, if you are outpacing the swell while surfing, you just need to quarter it and go across it so that you maintain your speed (faster than swell) but stay on the power pocket. Gybing on the swell, it isn't that big a deal if you wind up in the trough / dead zone because you just power up to get out of it.

Once you dial it in, it should help the gybe, not hurt it.

Intesting re: don't outpace the swell. I've been trying like mad to race into my gybes. Slowing down is the key, eh?

In typical Gorge conditions you will have all the energy you need to stay on foil so no need to race and carry momentum like on flat water.

You can give yourself a bit more time and room to get through and past straight down wind by starting the gybe a bit upwind of the wave peak. Along with the suggestion to look through your turn, this will see you cutting more across the face of the wave as you drop into the steeper part, buying you yet more time and making the whole process smoother with more gradual accelerations.

Make sure you get the wing rotated across to the new side before you drop into the wave, throw it pretty hard with your back hand if you have to. Don't try to swap hands while you are dropping in, just flag the wing off your old front hand and focus on getting your line right on the wave, cutting across the face rather than bombing straight down into the trough. Once your line is good and things are settled swap your hands.

try going through dead downwind earlier and higher up on the swell so you still have some energy to push you when you're on the other side... you can also initiate your downwind turn just behind the swell, so by the time your'e pointing downwind you are still near the top of the swell and going downhill.... you don't need to go super fast, just try to let the swell do the work for you instead of overpowering it.

Thanks all. Makes sense. Very enlightening.

Stretchy said..
Great thread, some interesting and helpful tips here
My gybes are ok on the flats, but still shaky in messy, choppy swell. To be honest I'm still figuring out how to use the bumps to my advantage in the gybes (e.g. not ploughing into the back of swell), so glad to have a few takeaways..

Agreed. My local is choppy & I have a lot of the same challenges. If I drive for 5- 10 minutes I get to sail on an estuary with flat water. With a constant 15-20knots & flat water after 3 successful gybes I just expect to make the next gybes- no "will I make it?" mindset. It makes a big difference to my confidence & riding. However after about half an hour I get a bit bored. The session turns out a bit forgettable. When I get back out into moving water the fun & challenging aspect makes up for the majority of my gybes being unsuccessful.
Some days I think I'd rather ride in the fun surf & chop blowing my gybes than ride effortlessly on flat water.