After watching 'the windsurf movie' yet again, Inspired by all those moves but frustrated as im still stuck by that old foe; THE CARVE JIBE!
Dont get me wrong im not doing to bad im heli tacking ( sometimes ), tacking, water starting, blasting, carving downwind,chop hoping, the odd jump, very neally pulled a vulcun off too,etc etc but i cant seem to get my head around that carve jibe.
i feel i cant get membership to the exclusive ' i have arrived, im a windsurfer' club until i have mastered this skill, those of us who cant do it know what im talking about .
Really what is it about the CJ thats so frustrating, how many times do i have to watch Jem Hall on dvd .
My missus is starting to get jealous becuase all my time is spent looking at gear,sea breeze,windsurf downloads, windsurf podcasts, weather reports on the internet although she says its better than viewing porn. Anyway Im not allowed to buy anymore gear till i get this one sorted and im falling for a new jp fsw becuase thats ultimely what i want to be doing.
So any tips you lot can give this very frustrated windsurfer id be very gratefull, so would my missus
two things: board control and sail control (duhhh)
Sail control: most important thing is the timing when shifting the sail. most people I watch that have problems with this either shift to late or take too long to shift their sail so in effect it's the same as shifting late.
Board control:
Firstly weight distribution, make sure you put enough pressure towards the front of the board. The most common problem here seems to be people leaning to far backwards.
Secondly timing: you need to get timing for changing your foot position just right. ideally just after you shifted the sail. once you shifted make sure you don't stand to far back on the board. most people find it best to have the front foot between mast base and foot strap and the back foot between the back foot straps.
Getting a carving jibe right becomes more difficult towards the lower end of your sails wind range. The more powered up you are the easier it gets to keep the board planing. Once you are slightly overpowered you just need to start speeding up things and de-power the sail as you go into the jibe.
Good Luck...
Thirdly is speed. The more speed you have going into the turn the more speed you have going out. The fastest point of sail is usually a broad reach so if you enter the gybe on a broad reach and you exit the gybe on a broad reach then you have a fair chance of exiting the gybe still planing. If you enter the gybe barely planing there is no way you will exit barely planing.
Mate,
I've watched you go for gybes a lot and you are so close. As stehseger said the majority of people stacking it hold on to the rig too long because they're concerned with getting the board round. You carve the board well with enough mast foot pressure and weight forward and your rig flip is good, now it's just a matter of getting the two elements done simultaneously. As Moby pointed out if you enter the gybe with enough speed the carve will take care of itself and it's then just a matter of flipping the rig at the right point, don't cling on to the sail, just let the sail rotate out of your hands and then collect it on the other side, it'll rotate earlier than you think, just as you've passed through the wind.
If there's wind this weekend I'll follow you with some pointers and shout "gybe" at you at regular intervals! You are so nearly there!
Hi Tim,
Yeah no problem, will keep an eye on you and one on Lee. From memory you're not far off either but I do remember you trying to carve round one of the marks when racing whilst you were still hooked in.....that probably won't work mate!
But yeah I'm happy to help where I can,
Cheers,
Giles
