Sport Today

|> Sorry to have missed it, but a few weeks ago there was a posting about the
|> `raceing jibe', where the sail is held down parallel to the water during
|> the jibe. Could someone please describe this again (in detail if possible).
|> In order of increasing wind-speeds I use the `power', `flare' and `carve'
|> jibes, but I can not do the `raceing' one. I suppose many readers would
|> appreciate a posting of this.
I would'nt claim to "can do" racejibes, but during summer I've made a few experiences:
The main difference to other forms of jibing is the high speed you have at the start of the turn. By this fact all "radical" styles are handicaped out ...
The second thing is that slalomboards have "fat" tails compared to say waveboards, makeing a normal powerjibe to an amusing act of balance ...
Third, there are these long boxlike rails screaming "go straight" ...
So (in my eyes) the keypoint of racejibing isn't the sail parallel to the water during the jibe, but the motion to enter jibing: You have to step slightly FORWARD, take the sail very thight (instead of fearing (sp?) as with powerjibes), and push the mast forward & away off you, shifting the "point of sail presure" (hack, don't know the right term, try to talk about the point where the wind seems to be fixed in the sail 8-]) mastwards.
The only way to avoid beeing pulled off the board by this is to lean yourself inside (following the sailpressure) until finally the sail's nearly parallel to the water (but that depends on your speed and how much wind you have ...)
But in this position you have a firm grip by the sharp rails, allowing you to pull high speed throughout the turn ...
So my intentions simply are "avoid balancing on the fat tail" by gettin' pressure all over the rails" ...
Right ?
regards, Petzi
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MD-ADV, Municipality of the City of Vienna, Austria

I don't mean to "pick" at the terminology but aren't these
called "drop-sail gybes"?

Your rig should be totally light in the middle of the gybe so theoretically
you should be able to do anything with it, and what better way to reduce
the wind resistance than simply laying it down near the water.

Just learn them by keeping your weight forward (towards the nose of the board)
and progressively drop the sail further every time you gybe. (start of just leaning
with the sail a little as you gybe).

On a more interesting note:
    How many here can pull off a monkey gybe?

 (the one where you run around the front of the board).

Andrew Longhorn

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--
Cris Hannu                       |  Windsurfing the high country.

Picky, Picky, Picky...

James.