My recent lightwind gybe unlock was doing a Heineken or downloop gybe with my back hand (instead of my front). The front hand starting overhand and ending underhand is the typical maneuver, but I was finding the sail would sometimes get stuck at the bottom of the turn where my wrist got twisted underhanded or if my handoff wasn’t fast enough. Maybe my wrist flexibility isn’t good? Then I started doing them with my back hand starting underhanded and ending overhanded and it’s super easy. It’s a little more awkward to start with the back hand but you skip the hand switch and it comes around cleaner for me.


I’m goofy. Going heel side (right foot forward) hold the bar underhanded in my left hand, swing it through the Heineken or downloop and end overhanded. Opposite for toeside.

Might make more sense if you try them on the beach.

Its all about line tension. I ride my code 1725s, PT skin 7.3m and a +25L midlength. Im 110kg wet. I can get going in around 8-10 knots.

I struggled for many sessions trying to gybe big Bertha (7.3m) and even talked to 777 about it. The best method so far is to go crosswind and aim slightly upwind to increase line tension. Then bring the parawing down low horizontally into the power zone and swap your hands, use your backhand to swipe down on the outer brake or c - line as your front hand lifts the parawing up, this rotates the parawing on its axis, then let the board carve around under the parawing. Do not forget to pump continuously. If you lose line tension its over. If it stalls you can recover if you are carrying enough speed from pumping to reinflate the para as you bear crosswind on the new tack.

Downloop for me is the most efficient way to jibe in light wind, but don’t discard tacking. At the end of the day, in light wind you just need to find a way to keep the apparent wind up. It could be a downloop, a handle pass, a tack, or whatever else someone comes up with—as long as you can keep that apparent wind going!

Behind the back gybe is the easiest in my opinion, can be done in the lightest of wind

CH3MTR4IL5 said..

AnyBoard said..
It depends on what people call light wind but on the very bottom end in 9 to 12 knots the only consistently successful method i have found is to gybe under the wing while its still flying to the edge of the window powered. Once you start flying inside the wing then you can pull on the top brake line while pushing the handle up and because you flew under and inside the wing the wing is now deep in the window when you spin it with the brake line. The method can be really graceful in the lightest of wind.

I sometimes still do the Heineken but so much can go wrong in super light wind and especially going from heels to toes. It feels cool when the wind is 12 to 15 but below that timing can be death and 5 minutes stuck in the water for me.

You can also just gybe and pull the A-line in the direction of travel - thats my approach with the pocket rockets, if there is enough wind to hold pressure they will pivot on axis and you're away. A benefit of this method is if its really sketchy you don't even need the wing to stay in the air, pull the A-line and gybe if there is not enough wind to keep pressure in the wing you end up in the same position as if you were doing a relaunch with the wing on your downwind side and the leading edge facing the wind and you can pump out in direction of travel to get air in the wing. If its lulled out I can get away with this in glass off conditions. Tacking works, but for me if I kook it in the transition I may drop off foil without speed which might not be recoverable, or not be able to generate apparent wind.

Can you clarify which line you pull?

kook123 said..

Holy cow... Never tried this method. Not the most aesthetically appealing but winter is arriving here -Japan-, and the local spots are getting super sharky recently so I'm gonna give it a try. Looks more achievable than Heineken or tacks.

CH3MTR4IL5 said..

emmafoils said..

Can you clarify which line you pull?

OK thanks. So are you pulling just enough to spin the wing and then releasing? This seems like a more natural movement than reaching around for a D line.

I almost always ride light wind, so big wings (5m). I do a regular jibe when jibing toeside to heelside because I can reach the lines or leading edge if I need to pull it through. But on the PRV2 I found that whipping it around drawing a pronounce move forward, to guide the leading edge in the direction I want to go so it never depowers works perfectly well... and I can do it all with just one hand. Now, when going heelside to toeside, I can't reach the leading edge or lines to try and save a jibe so I almost always do a powered up heineken or behind the back pass. I like the powered up heineken, because just like on the other tack, I much prefer not letting the wing depower and flop.