Gybe

July 28, 2005

It has been a while since the last post, but there has been no shortage of sailing in between. Despite a brief hiatus while I went to Ontario for a week, Trevor and I have been out half a dozen times, and Sue and I got some time in a Laser II. Trevor and I have been working on tacks, and as a result we've seen a lot of improvement. The boat is flat through the tack, and my tiller exchange is much better. The steering is more smooth as well. We have done some tacking drills (30s timer) and some of our best tacks have us wire to wire in a little over 5 seconds.

Gybes are a different story. Trevor and I have been out in some 14+ breeze now, and gybing is catastrophic. We are now very good at packing the chute from the capsize position. In lighter wind, the turn is slow enough that we can correct for balance as long as we stay on our feet. As the breeze builds up, things happen much faster. The deceleration in a bad gybe is much more intense and as the boat loads up, it is impossible to control. We have even noticed this with two sail gybes.

There is an instructional video for skiff sailing which has a segment on gybing. A small clip is available on the site where we get to watch two professionals do it in slow motion. We each have two hands and two feet, and they each have one or two important jobs to do in the manoeuver. The following is a breakdown of the gybe.

1. Synopsis
• Begin turn on trapeze
• Both helm and crew move to middle of the boat in tandem
• Crew stays in the center to sheet the kite through, helm moves to wing and exchanges tiller
• Crew chokes off kite and helm heads up high, moving on to wire
• Crew moves to wire, sets spinnaker
  
2. Initiation
• Boat
• Flat/slight windward heel
• Sails trimmed for speed
• Crew
• Stay on wire until turn is initiated
• Helm calls "turn"
• Sheet is in aft hand, forward hand is free
  
• Sheet in 1/2 arm length as you draw yourself on to the wing
• Free hand unclips
• Helm
• Steering is underhand
• Call "turn" and initiate turn while on the trapeze
• Apply enough helm to drop the windward wing ~30cm
  
• Ease mainsheet, and use mainsheet hand (forward) to unclip
3. Entry
• Boat
• Slight/moderate windward heel
• Main is off, spinnaker is going forward
• Crew
• Move directly into the centre of the boat in tandem with the helm
  
• Take the new sheet from the block with the hand on that side of the boat (facing forward) as you finish the move to the centre
  
• Plant feet stradling the centreline, forward of the main sheet block on the boom
  
• Helm
• Move towards centre of the boat, lagging crew as neccessary for balance
  
• "Walk" tiller hand down tiller extension in three steps until holding it nearly at the joint. Hand never leaves tiller.
• Keep turning lightly
• Mainsheet remains in opposite hand
4. Gybe
• Boat
• Flat
• Main soft, kite blows forward
• Crew
• Sheet hard to pull the chute across from position in centre of boat
• Sheet spinnaker all the way in (choked)
• When the chute is in tight, call "made"
  
• Kite should "float" through the gybe (it blows forward when headed downwind)
• Helm
• Pause just before centreline on the old side (balance)
  
• Steer a slight 'S' before transitioning to new tiller extension
• Don't stop moving across the boat, passing just behind the main sheet block
  
• Work up new tiller extension with old tiller hand until on the new wing
  
5. Exit
• Boat
• Flat as possible - keep the old wing dry
• Pump main in, trim spinnaker
• Crew
• Spin sheet in new aft hand, spinnaker in tight
• Move to wing, feed out some sheet to set spinnaker
  
• Free hand grabs the puck (facing forward), move out to wire, rotating
• Use the sheet hand to bring the clip to the hook
• Trim spinnaker
• Helm
• Standing on the wing, complete tiller exchange behind back
  
• Keep mainsheet in new tiller hand
  
• Accelerate turn when the crew calls "made"
  
• Use free hand to move on to the wire (should be on the wire before the crew)
• Large turn upwind to power up boat - boat should travel through > 90 degrees, up to ~120 degrees
• Main sheet to free hand, pump main in to support weight on wire, accelerate
  

Notes about hands and feet.

• Crew
• Forward hand is free for the trapeze, aft hand holds the sheet
• Use the new aft hand to start bringing the spinnaker through the gybe
• Keep feet planted in the centre while sheeting the spinnaker across
• Move directly to wire
  
• Stay forward of the mainsheet block.
• Helm
• Forward hand is mainsheet/trapeze, aft hand holds the tiller
• Keep the tiller in the same hand until on the new wing
• Keep the mainsheet in the same hand until on the wire (new tiller hand holds mainsheet)
• Keep feet moving through the gybe
• Stay behind the mainsheet block
  

We'll see if this works. After the call for "turn," there is really no time for communication, and the execution must be highly synchronized. Since balance is so critical, helm control is incredibly important. It will take some practice to get it right.