9. Nonplaning Jibe
Prepare for jibing just as you did for sailing downwind: (1) head off on a broad reach; (2) move your hands back on the boom. The lighter the wind, the further back on the boom you will need to move your hands. In addition, prepare to jibe by moving your back foot further back on the board. The further back on the board you are, the snappier the jibe. Finally, look before you initiate the turn so that you do not turn into the oncoming path of another vessel.
Initiate the turn
by swinging the sail to windward across the front of the board (just
as you did to turn downwind). Just as before, move your front foot
back to be even with your back foot. Keep this position until you
pass the point with the wind directly behind you. Keep turning
the board until you are on a broad reach on the other tack. Only then
should you flip the sail (but see below).
To flip the sail,
first slide your front hand forward on the boom all the way to
the mast. Then let go with your back hand. If you have turned far
enough (past directly downwind), the sail will flip itself. Grasp the
boom on the new side, step forward to a normal sailing position, and
sail off. You might have to move the sail to the back of the board to
head up higher.
Note that first you have to move both of your hands back on the boom before you initiate the jibe, but just before you flip the sail, you must slide your front hand forward all the way to the boom.
In the sequence
above, you flip the sail after you are well onto the new tack
(a broad reach or higher). The only exception to this method is if
the wind is very light. Then your turn will stop when you are pointed
directly downwind. If this happens, flip the sail and muscle it onto
the correct side and to the back of the board to finish the turn.
You can do
several things to make your jibe snappier. First, after you move your
front foot back, put more weight on the windward rail than the
leeward rail (only if the centerboard is down). Second, step further
back on the board. Finally, these two strategies can be combined in
the following way. Instead of moving your front foot back to be even
with your back foot (as in the Running Position diagram), move your
old front foot even further back and put most of your weight on it.
Most boards have a "sweet spot" way in the back of the board. If you
move your old front foot way back to that spot and put your
weight on it, you can turn on a dime.
Variations on the Jibe
There are many different variations on the jibe. The variations can be divided into two broad categories: nonplaning jibes and planing jibes. Different versions of the nonplaning jibe are called the snap jibe, scissor jibe, and power jibe. These are all slight variations of the jibe described above. In all nonplaning jibes, your weight is moved to the back of the board, and most of the turning power comes from the sail. Nonplaning jibes can be used with long boards (e.g., 12 foot boards) and short board (e.g., 9 foot boards without centerboards). The nonplaning jibe is a skill that will always be useful. The nonplaning jibe is fairly easy to master.
The planing jibe requires one to be sailing very fast on a plane. Do not worry about learning the planing jibe until after you can use a harness, waterstart, and sail fast in high winds. In several ways the planing jibe is the opposite of a nonplaning jibe: Your weight is forward in the board, you sink the leeward rail, and most of the turning power comes from carving the leeward rail through the water (like skiing or snow boarding). The planing jibe is considerably more difficult than the nonplaning jibe. Whereas each of the 10 steps in this guide can be broken into at most 4 components, there are approximately 17 things to think about when making a good planing jibe. When an advanced windsurfer is talking about jibing, they are most likely talking about planing jibes. Variations on the planing jibe include the lay-down jibe and the duck jibe.
Safety Stuff
There is a variety of stuff the windsurfer can carry for safety, from the useful to the ridiculous. We have already mentioned three items: PFD, rope (for fixing things), and cash (for calling a taxi). Here are some other items that windsurfers sometimes carry for safety.
In high winds, more and more sailors are seen wearing helmets.
For signaling when in trouble, some people carry a whistle, waterproof flares ("Sky Blazers"), smoke flares, or personal strobe light. These can be bought at your local windsurfing store or marine supply store. A whistle is inexpensive, and it is effective in getting the attention of other sailors or boaters.
A few sailors who venture far off shore in locales with Coast Guard jurisdiction (Atlantic, Pacific, Great Lakes) carry small, waterproof marine VHF radios.
Because some sailing sites do not have phones, a cell phone in the car might come in handy for calling for help. A cell phone might also be handy on days when the sailing is fine. You can call your SO and say you are stuck in traffic (-;