Just curious - how many people hold the mast on a jibe?
How many people reach under and across to the boom on a jibe?
What is comfortable and working for you?
Been watching Guy Cribbs and he is big on not holding the mast, and "reaching around" (
) to grab the boom over the otherside and under your other arm....
I think that it a developmental thing that depend on your abilities.
I don't grab the mast though, I sail clew first for a bit then slide my hand up the boom as close as I can get to the mast and then it sort of flicks itself. (This is not at planning speed though as I am yet to land a carve gybe)
I think that holding the mast is probably used more on tacks. I definitely grab the mast during tacks.
people hold the mast in a jibe? 
don't know anyone who does that.
The only time I used to hold the mast sometimes was tacking in really light conditions as I found i could flick across to the new side of the sail faster doing that, but with a bit of practise I go boom to boom all the time now.
Back on topic thou, interestingly i've heard two different methods of going boom to boom during the rig flip. I think guy cribb promotes reaching over to maintain mast foot pressure. matt pritchard promotes reaching under so you maintain your body position in that low aggressive bent knee position, thou he did say that the other way can work too. Both are well respected windsurfing coaches, I honestly think both ways work fine.
I actually do a bit of both, grabbing under and over, and sometimes grabbing under with an underhand grip on the new side (OH MY GOSH).
To be honest I think doing the boom shaka all the way to the front of the boom is the most important step to smooth rig transition. And do it all the way, your pinkie should be hard up against the boom clamp. Some people do it a bit half assed and don't really grab right at the front of the boom and it shows in sloppy rig flips.
i reach around *cough*
Il approach the gybe and during the turn pull the rig backwards over my front shoulder while turning board, seems to keep the power on pre - reach around.
i then flick sail, reach around *cough*
and if using a big sail il dip the leech slightly in the passing water water to fling the rig finally back to meet my new backhand, then pull and hook in.
i dont grab the mast during a tack either, I always grab the boom near the mast as it keeps a little wind in the sail, i find it easier to balance with some weight on the sail to offset me wobbling around.
Guy Cribb says reach under so you can stay low & aggresive and keep your balance better in chop.
I used to change hands with overhand grip (no mast ) and have been retraining myself to use underhand..The overhand makes you stand up as you swap where the underhand reach lets you keep low which as said is better for stability in chop.. only cracked the occasional carve gybe using Guy Cribbs way but boy it feels right when i do!
One thing I need to do is to reach under and grab the boom with underhand grip as he says you can reach further back that way.I reach under but use overhand grip as I grab the boom and I need to grab further back.
Yep don't forget boom shaka ( make sure your hand is right back against the mast before you flip it..) Cribb says to let your hand slip back there as you flip but I find I have to deliberately move it..Often when I'm lying in the water after a stack doing a post mortem I think.. ah ha! No Boom shaka..With none the rig falls heavily behind or out of your reach on the exit
Biggest problem I'm having at the moment ( other than getting regular practise in stronger wind..grr) is staying low and letting myself be pulled forward at speed on the entry..
..I actually kept forward for a few times last 20kt session & It felt heaps better! Bet by the time we get another 20kt session I'll have forgotten how..[}:)]
Gem Halls gybes look hard work.. he sails out clew first and then flips.. Surely there must be a lot of pressure in the sail as you exit with that method?
I don't hold the mast but recently i've been experimenting with foot and leg position.
I find if I step further forward then i normally do and keep my leg bent its a lot easier to soak up bumps in the chop when doing lay down gybes, it also helps keep the board planing the whole way around the gybe.
I think i go reach over but i don't hand both on either side of the boom at once. i let go of one side the same time as i grab another.
This is what goes through my head:
Sail the first 1/3rd of the turn, prepare you grip moving you back hand down the boom (yes that far), Step onto the inner rail and open the sail up and carve with the inside foot pressure constant and steadily increasing. Sailing clew first change foot position (heel to toe) then move your hand nearest the mast closer to the end and then jibe the sail. Get a firm grip on the new boom (shoulder lenth apart either side of the harness lines), get low and plane away.
You are now the gybe master!
Sounds strangely like Jem Hall talking though....
On my big board 125ltres I switch my feet partway through but on my little one 95ltres I don't until after the flip..I find after sailing on one and then changing to the other I'll either be halfway through the gybe & think..@@#! 
I've got to change my feet! OR I'll go to change them on the little one & stuff it up because I'm not used to it..
I know I know I should change them with both [}:)] but I seem to be able to do ok gybes not changing feet till after with the little one and its one less step to relearn!
i think it comes down to efficiency. flip the rig in as little 'moves' as possible and you're away quicker. after many years of clutching the mast, this season i've worked on not grabbing the mast on the flip, and now i've trained myself out of it, the transitions feel much more fluid.
Cribby is da man. i learned a lot from old-school Peter Hart's Turning Point, but i really learned how to approach planing gybes with Intuition. any practical advice on how i convince my better half i need to go on one of his clinics appreciated.
until then, stop being so damn virile, and make more instructional vids please Cribby! 
Do whatever feels comfortable for the sessions you are sailing in. I mainly sail in the surf (Long Reef, Sydney) and no two sessions are the same.
Somebody posted some photos from a Long Reef session about 13 months ago, with wind 30-35 knots and there was one shot of me gybing on the inside, just at the moment my hand was holding on to the mast.
I had no idea I was doing it, but realised that it made the gybes more controllable/comfortable in high winds as they were not that difficult to make and you could come out planning as your body weight is more centred over the board.
I believe the key to any successful gybe is the carving of the board as well as keeping your weight over the centre of the board to keep the board flatter so as to maintain speed through the gybe.
I've been windsurfing for 25 years, and I'm still improving my gybes. I believe one of the best gybing goals is to try to exit the gybe at almost the same speed that you entered it. It can be done (on very flat/smooth water, that is).
Cheers!
I found I was always dropping off the plane just as I changed my feet with a step gybe and then tried moving my back foot further up the board near the front strap. This kept the board more level in the turn and stopped the back of the board from digging in as much and stalling.
id say i can pull some nice fully planing jybes every now and then by slideing front hand right to front and crossing the back hand under the front at the same time i swap my feet over do the same action while doing fast tacks on the slalom gear . ....
sue .. compared to some places id say coal point in a 18-23knot ne is quite a nice place to sail .. big roalers in the middle and smooth flat water on the other side .. not realie gustie either and ive seen u crack a few jybes now
Would have to say I'm a Cribb disciple with the gybe, simply because I bought his DVD to train myself. Pretty happy with the result.
Now the tack!
Oh well I'll keep trying..I loved that tack you did last time we were out.. cripes you didnt even slow off the plane!
I tried the reach under on Saturday during the 1 hour race - and I can say it felt wierd, but perfect! It doesn't seem natural going under, but it certainly felt right - if that makes any sense. I then sailed reverse grip for my front hand the rest of the time and I'm going to stick with that - especially on the gybe reach arounds.
The wind was really sh1t, so didn't have much chance to play with sailing clew first unfortunately - and definitely not planning.... must have been 2 knots.....
But was a good day all the same. Got my harness lines balanced, a first, and even tried keeping my front leg flat.....
clew-first sailing is a great trick to have in your arsenal, no matter what your style of sailing is. if your clew-first fu is strong, you can waterstart using it, saving a lot of effort in certain stacks.
