Freeride Foiling Tips 1
Easiest First Gybe - the method we think has the best success rate.
By Simon and JJ
SMOOOOOTH footwork.
If I can a place with water that flat and wind that steady I could probably figure out how to wing by now.
Thanks! So the back hand does not oversheet at all. I've been trying to follow Wyatt's tutorial:
Select to expand quoteFaff said..
Thanks! So the back hand does not oversheet at all. I've been trying to follow Wyatt's tutorial:
I think I come to grief starting the gybe high as he suggests.
I really like the oversheet, as it makes the sail flip a lot less effort, but many just seem to let the clew go early and let it rotate around as they focus on carving the board through the turn.
Select to expand quotethedoor said..Faff said..
Thanks! So the back hand does not oversheet at all. I've been trying to follow Wyatt's tutorial:
I think I come to grief starting the gybe high as he suggests.
I really like the oversheet, as it makes the sail flip a lot less effort, but many just seem to let the clew go early and let it rotate around as they focus on carving the board through the turn.
(Agreeing with thedoor) You can oversheet and I do if powered to overpowered but you have to very quickly open back up. I can't stress this enough. As soon as the power shuts off, open, or you'll get plastered in the face by a backwinded sail. It's fun if you are powered up with a small sail to just flick an oversheet for just a second as you bend into the jibe.
Faff, back foot placement is critical for level flight (learned this one from TintinGwen). Figure out where on the other side your back foot needs to be to fly level. Don't know if this may apply to you but another thing is that a lot of folks pull in their hands and don't keep them straight out like in the video above. The rig back takes weight off the nose. If one jibes like T. Rex with curled up arms, they'll have a tendency to rise through the jibe.
These tips courtesy of many swimming sessions. 
Azymuth, do you and your crew find any board width limits to sailing through switch stance? A lot of us hostage to less windy locations are on wider boards than this.
Registered just to say thanks for this. While I'm here though I have to say you looked SO comfortably powered in the video. Can you tell me the wind & gear you were on?
Thanks again.
Definitively the best and smoothest method expertly demonstrated.
My experience and reservations when trying this method are:
1. You need very loose straps or you can end up twisting your ankle if you don't cleanly get your front foot out for the foot change. It's a strange angle for your foot/ankle.
2. The difficulty in powered/overpowered and in chop/swell rises exponentially as the sail flip happens very quickly (very little room for error) and at what feels like higher speed .. and item 1 above becomes a bigger issue.
Great videos ... much appreciated.
In big swell, I seem to be timing the sail flip when on the crest of a wave. Anyone else do the same?
Great Vid Asymuth, thanks 
My gybe progress has stalled. Whilst I have come close a few times, with brief touch downs, last sail was a backwards step, getting very wobbly mid-gybe. Gusty easterly winds we're screwing with my head too!
I think my footwork is ok but I'm stuffing up with my rig handling, allowing it to lean outwards during the rig flip. Your vid really helps me realise where I need to focus next 
Thank you JJ and Simon! Best foil jibe instructional video ever. Much needed and much appreciated.
Great video, thanks. I got the stepping far to the other rail with the back foot in a private recently, and the leaving the front arm long. But I struggled a bit with the hand position and sail switch. The instruction was going boom to boom while keeping the arms long, which somehow does not work well for me. The natural thing is to grab the mast with the old back hand, and you do in the video. I think I'll go back to that for the next tries.
Really smooth gybe.
This doesn't get mentioned directly in the video, but one of the keys is to practise the foot swap on land, until you can do it without looking down. This was what held me back the most from successful gybes. You can see in the vid above, Simons heads always up and looking exactly where he wants to go.
Oh and while its warm, actually practise gybing, its not as bad now if you fall in.
Also for the guys who are struggling with the rig, my tips would be:
- Reach a little further back on the boom as you enter the gybe. It helps keep you sheeted in, and the rig in the right spot.
- Putting the sail right at the back of the mast track also helps reduce the influence of sail handling errors on foiling attitude, so that can help as well.
- If you have the board side of things sussed, maybe try exiting clew first. I actually find clew first exit easier than switch stance exits.
Thanks for the positive feedback guys, JJ did a great job filming, editing AND instructions!!
I was sailing Slingshot Wizard 2021 114 with the Infinity 76. Simmer Tricera 5.0 and wind was roughly 14-18 knots.
Definitely agree on loose foot straps, at a minimum ensure your front foot is loose in strap prior to commencing gybe
Chop and swell do add another level of complexity but can work to your benefit when your skill level increases
The placement of the "new" rear foot over the centre line in front of the back strap is crucial and if practicing on dry land helps then it's a good idea
Can only imagine the wider the board the more crucial it is that you steep to the leeward rail, widest board I have sailed is the SS Wizard 125.
Finally agree that warm water is Hollywood, so much easier to go for it if it's pleasant falling in
Simon
Select to expand quote2keen said..
Thanks for the positive feedback guys, JJ did a great job filming, editing AND instructions!!
I was sailing Slingshot Wizard 2021 114 with the Infinity 76. Simmer Tricera 5.0 and wind was roughly 14-18 knots.
Definitely agree on loose foot straps, at a minimum ensure your front foot is loose in strap prior to commencing gybe
Chop and swell do add another level of complexity but can work to your benefit when your skill level increases
The placement of the "new" rear foot over the centre line in front of the back strap is crucial and if practicing on dry land helps then it's a good idea
Can only imagine the wider the board the more crucial it is that you steep to the leeward rail, widest board I have sailed is the SS Wizard 125.
Finally agree that warm water is Hollywood, so much easier to go for it if it's pleasant falling in
Simon
Simon, only you could slow it right down and knock out a perfect "beginner" gybe first go
Stoked dudes are finding it useful
Nice Video Gents. Simon whether cranking a jibe on a wave or this beginner example you are very smooth.
Just thought I would add/reword a couple things that worked for me:
It looks to me like Simon is heading up wind by the time switches feet, do you think coming out on more of a broad reach would increase the chances of a successful first jibe?
Steps 6 & 7 (sail flip) the technique is perfect, however rather than saying keep the mast vertical (which is what happens) I think about leaning the mast to the outside of the turn as I head down wind before the flip. Then the back wind pressure actually helps flip the sail.
I found that I advanced quickly once I took the foot straps off my formula board. But I did this on day 2. So I did not have to spend any time getting used to sailing strapless. It stoped me from looking down immediately and made all the movements simpler. This old video I made tried to show this. Hopefully you get a laugh and I hope it helps.
Azymuth, glad to see the rehab has not stopped you from posting great videos, keep them coming!
Select to expand quoteHess said..
Nice Video Gents. Simon whether cranking a jibe on a wave or this beginner example you are very smooth.
Just thought I would add/reword a couple things that worked for me:
It looks to me like Simon is heading up wind by the time switches feet, do you think coming out on more of a broad reach would increase the chances of a successful first jibe?
Steps 6 & 7 (sail flip) the technique is perfect, however rather than saying keep the mast vertical (which is what happens) I think about leaning the mast to the outside of the turn as I head down wind before the flip. Then the back wind pressure actually helps flip the sail.
I found that I advanced quickly once I took the foot straps off my formula board. But I did this on day 2. So I did not have to spend any time getting used to sailing strapless. It stoped me from looking down immediately and made all the movements simpler. This old video I made tried to show this. Hopefully you get a laugh and I hope it helps.
Azymuth, glad to see the rehab has not stopped you from posting great videos, keep them coming!
While foiling this morning I was thinking about your feedback Adrian.
I find the foot switch easiest when I have completed the turn and rig flip, and am foiling on a new tack in a stable position. I think foiling just upwind is easier than foiling off the wind and as a result that's when I switch my feet.
No question there are many techniques which will result in a successful gybe and different gear will influence technique. The formula board with outboard straps is going to be very different to gybe than my Wizard 114. Even my outboard front straps are still well inboard of the rail.
Simon
Select to expand quote2keen said..Hess said..
Nice Video Gents. Simon whether cranking a jibe on a wave or this beginner example you are very smooth.
Just thought I would add/reword a couple things that worked for me:
It looks to me like Simon is heading up wind by the time switches feet, do you think coming out on more of a broad reach would increase the chances of a successful first jibe?
Steps 6 & 7 (sail flip) the technique is perfect, however rather than saying keep the mast vertical (which is what happens) I think about leaning the mast to the outside of the turn as I head down wind before the flip. Then the back wind pressure actually helps flip the sail.
I found that I advanced quickly once I took the foot straps off my formula board. But I did this on day 2. So I did not have to spend any time getting used to sailing strapless. It stoped me from looking down immediately and made all the movements simpler. This old video I made tried to show this. Hopefully you get a laugh and I hope it helps.
Azymuth, glad to see the rehab has not stopped you from posting great videos, keep them coming!
While foiling this morning I was thinking about your feedback Adrian.
I find the foot switch easiest when I have completed the turn and rig flip, and am foiling on a new tack in a stable position. I think foiling just upwind is easier than foiling off the wind and as a result that's when I switch my feet.
No question there are many techniques which will result in a successful gybe and different gear will influence technique. The formula board with outboard straps is going to be very different to gybe than my Wizard 114. Even my outboard front straps are still well inboard of the rail.
Simon
Hey Simon, thanks for your thoughts. They make perfect sense.
I was trying to figure out what type of advise to give to folks working on their first jibes. As my experience when I was learning, was that coming out of the jibe slightly downwind felt the most comfortable. However I totally agree that there are many successful styles. So I think the important points for this type of jibe are, as you said:
!) to flip the sail first
2) stabilze the board/foil
3) switch feet
And not to worry too much about what your heading is.
As a side note, I would say that now my favourite jibing "Arc"; is to come in powered up, actually heading a bit up wind and exit heading slightly up wind. I think it's because I get to feel the "G" forces longer.
Have a great day, I just got back from an excellent morning of mountain snowshoeing.
Just in from a sunny south beach sesh having copied these tips and boy oh boy what a difference. Gone from one successful gybe to 10 in a session before the breeze was too strong. Thanks guys. Having confidence now I think there's no looking back to more improvement.
Select to expand quoteKernowboy said..
Just in from a sunny south beach sesh having copied these tips and boy oh boy what a difference. Gone from one successful gybe to 10 in a session before the breeze was too strong. Thanks guys. Having confidence now I think there's no looking back to more improvement.
Stoked the gybe worked for you
Nice tracks - looks like you got a couple of sweet downwinders
Who is Kernowboy?
I first learned with the step gybe but quickly found carve gybes smoother and quicker on small sails as Simon showed in that video.
I find step gybes are still really beneficial in light wind and especially with bigger sails over 5m. For example a few weeks ago in 10kts on a 5.2 could not carry enough speed through the carve gybes. Step gybes allow you to spend less time during the carve allowing you to power up the rig on the new tack sooner. Doesn't feel as smooth as the carve gybe; kinda more pivoting mostion. But gotta do whatever keeps you on foil longer.
I FINALLY got my first full foiling jibe today...after 1.5 seasons of trying. Thanks to Simon and JJ for this great video which I have watched over and over--and again this morning before I went to the lake.
2018 Wizard 125, very old Simmer RAF 5.2, Slingshot i76 wing. Sailor weight 185 lbs/84kg. Winds 13-15 mph with gusts to 20. I had been using 84 and 99 wings but read recently that the 76 is easier to jibe so I went back to it. Yes, it helped.
Key points from this video that helped me:
1. Back foot WAY over to the rail--toes in the water. Allows for good balance and forward stance.
2. Long slow wide arc of a turn. Weight forward, arms straight and extended.
3. Spin sail early and quickly--my old-school fin jibe style works here.
4. Try to keep foot switch as smooth as possible--on new tack. The hardest part of the jibe. Where I usually fail.
My own advice to those learning: get a pair of knee pads. Embrace the kook within. Your knees will thank you as you climb back aboard hundreds of times before you get that jibe.
A note on the 76: I had sort of abandoned it for a while, given my early difficulties in controlling the forward lift vs the 84 and 99. Suddenly it seems easier. "Time on the water" as many of you advised here. Thanks!
40 years of windsurfing and it's really cool to learn something new.
Thanks to this community for helping me along.
Select to expand quotemarc5 said..
I FINALLY got my first full foiling jibe today...after 1.5 seasons of trying. Thanks to Simon and JJ for this great video which I have watched over and over--and again this morning before I went to the lake.
2018 Wizard 125, very old Simmer RAF 5.2, Slingshot i76 wing. Sailor weight 185 lbs/84kg. Winds 13-15 mph with gusts to 20. I had been using 84 and 99 wings but read recently that the 76 is easier to jibe so I went back to it. Yes, it helped.
Key points from this video that helped me:
1. Back foot WAY over to the rail--toes in the water. Allows for good balance and forward stance.
2. Long slow wide arc of a turn. Weight forward, arms straight and extended.
3. Spin sail early and quickly--my old-school fin jibe style works here.
4. Try to keep foot switch as smooth as possible--on new tack. The hardest part of the jibe. Where I usually fail.
My own advice to those learning: get a pair of knee pads. Embrace the kook within. Your knees will thank you as you climb back aboard hundreds of times before you get that jibe.
A note on the 76: I had sort of abandoned it for a while, given my early difficulties in controlling the forward lift vs the 84 and 99. Suddenly it seems easier. "Time on the water" as many of you advised here. Thanks!
40 years of windsurfing and it's really cool to learn something new.
Thanks to this community for helping me along.
Awesome, stoked for you !!
Did you complete step 10? 
Good on ya Marc5
Such a buzz flying around that first one
Cool the video helped
Simon
Awesome video! 100% agree & recommend to my beginning to jibe foiling trainees!
To give my opinion on some of the comments above:
- I can do both oversheeting and not sheeting in the jibe, I think for a beginner opening early eg. not sheeting is easier, as the timing becomes less important.
- When I place my backfoot to the inside rail, I put the back foot as far out and back as possible. If you at the same time keep the sail as far away from you as possible, you spread the forces across the board & increase stability.
- For the step jibe (switching feet after the flip), I flip when going roughly across the wind (90?). Important is that I only switch feet when I have power back in the sail, as that aids stability.
- During the footswitch, the new back foot has to go bang on the centerline of the board. I personally practiced this (and stepping directly into the new frontstrap) non planing first. These floaty foilboards with all the volume in the back allow practicing strap to strap jibes non planing very easily.
MIght have been over a year ago now when WhiteofHeart advised practising the foot switch on dry land. That made a HUGE improvement for me. Plus it can be done with a beer in your hand!
Select to expand quotemarc5 said..
...
Key points from this video that helped me:
1. Back foot WAY over to the rail--toes in the water...
And this is why, when once in a blue moon I get on a freeride 100 l. finned board, I step straight off the thing on the first jibe.
