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The jibe is a change of direction to leeward, which is initiated by falling off. The variant in light winds is an absolute prerequisite for being able to tackle the power jibe on the funboard at some point ( HERE there's a tutorial on the power jibe). For the basic version to work, a few things are crucial: a board with enough volume, a light sail and a spot with the smoothest possible water.
80 per cent of all surfers who hone their planing jibes could improve them if they practised the basics of jibing in light winds instead of waiting for more wind. No-one who learns planing jibes manages to glide through them immediately.
Realistically, in the practice phase, many power jibes literally "run out of power" before the foot change on the downwind course. The rest - for example, the outhaul ahead following the foot change and the final shift - can be practised 1:1 in light winds.
The fast jibe in windsurfing
The simplest version of the jibe - where the sail is simply swivelled over the bow on the outstretched arm - is usually encountered in the basic course. Once the sail control, consisting of luffing and dropping, is in place, the so-called "basic jibe" is often discussed in the basic course - dropping to downwind, then swinging the sail over the bow on the outstretched arm and restarting. The "fast jibe", which we would like to introduce to you below, goes one step further and represents the link, so to speak, between the basic jibe and the planing power jibe. The aim of the fast jibe is to complete the entire 180-degree turn using the sail control and only shifter at the very end, i.e. allow the sail to flip over. The advantage of this technique is that you have tension in the sail and both hands on the boom from the beginning to the end of the jibe - this provides safety, even in wavy conditions and on smaller boards
General information about the jibe
How the Turnaround the jibe is also a 180-degree turn. Whilst tacks are mainly used when crossing to windward and are initiated by luffing, every jibe is initiated by dropping, so the board turns to leeward. For this reason, jibing makes sense especially if you are aiming for a leeward destination, i.e. if you want to "destroy height". As soon as you have mastered sail control (luffing and dropping) and can tack and turn safely, you are basically ready to tack the jibe.
The right material
Ideally, you should use the largest possible board with plenty of volume and a centreboard or centre fin to practise the basic jibe. Longboards are suitable, as are wind SUP boards and large freeride boards without a centreboard - the main thing is to have enough excess volume.
A rough rule of thumb is: body weight + 70 litres = recommended board volume
It is best to choose a medium-sized rig that is not too heavy. Sails with cambers (profile tongs on the mast) are rather unsuitable for new manoeuvres due to their poorer handling and the wide mast pocket, which absorbs a lot of water.
The ideal conditions
Five to twelve knots of wind are absolutely sufficient - also because the water is normally smoother when there is little wind. The wavier it is, the bigger the board should be - stability is key when practising!
The most common mistakes when jibing
Mistake 1: The path of least resistance
The initial drop is associated with an increase in sail pull - so what could be more obvious - as with normal straight sailing - to simply let out the excess pull by opening the sail? This sounds logical, but it is the classic mistake when dropping the sail: With the sail open, the pull is easy to control, but the board does not turn to leeward - the fast jibe remains a long way off. Only when the sail hand is moved backwards on the boom and the sail is pushed forwards and fully tightened does the board start to turn to leeward.
Mistake 2: Drag racing
If you drop without the sail draft increasing, you are doing something wrong! Most of the time the sail is simply too open (see above). But if you drop the sail in three wind forces and really tighten it, you are often pulled forwards - like being chained to a dragster. So how can you tame the sail pull? Quite simply, by skilfully shifting your body weight! A big step backwards before dropping helps, as does a consistent backward position of the upper body. In this way, you can convert the rising sail pull into speed.
Mistake 3: The goal in mind
The final shifter is the last crucial point of a successful jibe - unfortunately, the sail sometimes falls into the water on the leeward side. The reason: the rig is too far away from the body and the mast arm is stretched. Therefore, try to move the mast hand as close as possible to the mast before shifting and pull the rig close to the body when rotating. In this way, the sail remains vertical, is lighter and does not pull you downwind from the board.
Jibing on the beer mat
A longboard or long WindSUP board is ideal for practising the fast jibe. The only problem is that the radius is still quite large. Once you have the basic technique down, you can start to reduce the radius by shifting your body weight massively backwards as you fall. In this way, you can also counteract the increasing sail pull as you fall. To do this, put your back leg back in particular and shift your weight to the tail - this will now sink in slightly and allow your board to rotate as if on a beer mat. The change of feet also takes place far back, and the normal standing position with one foot behind the mast foot must be re-established before the shift. Not only does the radius shrink with this technique, the time span is also reduced and you lose less height downwind.
