I've been spending most of my time foiling, but with higher wind lately I've been going over basics a lot with my large freeride board (Blast 145), which is floaty, easy to jibe, and has a really good sail range.

I learned to foil on it, and at one point I moved the straps to the outboard, furthest aft position.

Looking at my jibe videos, I've been trying to improve my fin jibes. I look consistently to get a bunch of things wrong, but one of them is having my weight too far back on the board, slowing me down. I tried correcting this recently by bringing my back foot out of the strap and a lot more forward than I do on foil jibes, and I feel a much better carve, where I can actually lift up some with the front foot strap.

But I also think my weight is still too far back. I'm still getting some other things wrong, like not having the front arm as straight as I can, and sheeting in harder, but I do try to prep earlier and gather more speed a bit broader before entry.

Anyway, will moving the footstraps forward help keep speed during the jibe? I'm thinking 2nd from front on the fronts, and 3rd from the front (2nd from back) on the rear, giving me a wider stance like on my other boards which seems to feel good. I'm sure technique is 80% of the problem but I want every bit of help I can get with tuning to help come out of the jibes faster. I've noticed that I've also had the mast base too far back, which was causing too much bounce in the jibes, and moving it forward seemed to help smooth out the carves.

The foot straps should be set-up for good straight-line speed and control, and not for the jibes of a freeride board. Personally I didn't like the Blast for jibing when I rented one in Garda, the gecko is a much nicer all-round board, in my opinion.

For the carving entry, the placement of the leeward foot makes a big difference, as does the ability of maintaining mast pressure during the carve, so that is something to work on. Try putting the leeward foot on the pad just behind the leeward front strap, that can make wonders for the jibe. If you keep the speed up during the carve you can then also very easily simply slip the new front foot straight into the strap and come out of the jibe planning in the foot straps, very efficient in competitions like e.g. Formula. :)

The more powered, the more you can go back.
The more glide you seek the more forward.
The front strap position shouldn't hurt it so long as you don't feel the need to place your back foot over the strap!
Try and place it right behind it and see how it feels.
Practice duck jibes, it'll make you understand different aspects of your footing.

I bend my front arm gybing overpowered in chop . This causes the sail to open on entry which means I can't control the power. Fear also makes me lean back to try and control it everything and I lose all speed.
On the plus side my subplaning gybes were going well last time I sailed.

Here is what I do. After setting up for the turn, I soften the front leg and front arm and try to look around the front of the mast. You should have a clear view of where you are heading. This makes sure your weight is forward. To initiate the carve I sheet in hard and drop the sail to the inside of the turn which pulls your weight onto the carving rail. The idea is to carve on the rail and not the fin or the back of the board. There should be very little weight on the back foot. When you then transition the sail to the other side of the board, the mast should be upright or leaning forward towards the nose of the board, definitely not leaning back!!!! Try to keep your weight forward at all times to avoid sinking the tail.

aeroegnr - you have noted the size of your board and fin and sail. That is pretty big gear - the ability to gybe-well, often depends on lots of factors, including the gear-size vs skill-level. How heavy and tall are you ?

aeroegnr said..

Seems like my jibing is changing a lot by getting my rear foot moved up further, closer to the front strap than rear, before getting forward and sheeting in to the turn.

Thats what I do on larger boards, as it gives you extra leverage against the longer fins required and helps keep weight forward.

Was able to recover one of my better jibes by using an external card reader. It's at the end. My footswitch wasn't terrible but you can see me losing speed.

You can also see the goofiness at the beginning where I accidentally hooked the line adjuster. Where we jibed it was significantly choppier than where we started, and this is typically my "bad side" when jibing (starboard tack entry).

aeroegnr said..
Was able to recover one of my better jibes by using an external card reader. It's at the end. My footswitch wasn't terrible but you can see me losing speed.

You can also see the goofiness at the beginning where I accidentally hooked the line adjuster. Where we jibed it was significantly choppier than where we started, and this is typically my "bad side" when jibing (starboard tack entry).

I'm no expert but look at the exit rather than at the sail. I can often save a gybe when I'm looking at the exit as I gybe. I can guarantee if I stuff one that I'm not.

aeroegnr said..
Was able to recover one of my better jibes by using an external card reader. It's at the end. My footswitch wasn't terrible but you can see me losing speed.

You can also see the goofiness at the beginning where I accidentally hooked the line adjuster. Where we jibed it was significantly choppier than where we started, and this is typically my "bad side" when jibing (starboard tack entry).

What's wrong with your sail ?. Are you sailing near a black hole ?

I agree, foot positions look good.

The water looks flat, but I bet it isn't ?

If I'm under done (which you appear to be ??), I make sure I never go up hill when I gybe (so to speak). So, I weave through the chop to make sure I'm going down hill all of the time. If I do happen to hump over a wave/chop, I pump the sail over it to keep on the plane. Once I'm over, I gybe as normal so I get a nice planing exit.

As somebody mentioned above, I think the duck gybing tip is a good one (assuming sail size isn't too big). You might find you duck better, plus give you another angle on things and improve your normal gybes.

I think your biggest problem with that gybe is you arent going fast enough to start with. (edit - 1st video)
It might be the wide angle lens distortion, but it looks like you might be hanging down off the boom with bent knees rather than outwards and driving the board with a straighter front leg. Also, in light winds, once you have unhooked, you need to start turning ASAP otherwise you slow down too much. In the gybe, bend the knees and keep your upper body and the mast forward. It looks like you have your body too upright here.

aeroegnr said..

PhilUK said..
I think your biggest problem with that gybe is you arent going fast enough to start with. (edit - 1st video)
It might be the wide angle lens distortion, but it looks like you might be hanging down off the boom with bent knees rather than outwards and driving the board with a straighter front leg. Also, in light winds, once you have unhooked, you need to start turning ASAP otherwise you slow down too much. In the gybe, bend the knees and keep your upper body and the mast forward. It looks like you have your body too upright here.

I think you're right about not entering fast enough. Wish I had videos of later jibes, as I did some longer broad reaches in flat water and entered sometimes 5-7kts faster. I'll also have to work on my stance as you said. I don't know if I have something setup off in my kit that's keeping me from getting my front leg straight or if it's just bad habit?

Think Phil meant that straight front leg is for sailing fast - not the gybe. For me, as mentioned entering with good speed & initiate quickly - right after unhooking & taking your back foot out... don't dally & lose speed. The key to getting your weight forward is not your footstrap or mast foot position but sheeting in & allowing the the sail to pull you into the turn. As you sheet in & straighten your front hand you bend your front knee & drive it forward & into the turn. Also try to keep the rig at arms length out in front of you through the flip to keep the weight forward even during the non powered phase... The forward weighting helps both in over powered turns to keep the rail set, but also when less powered to keep the board flat er & plane through...

boardsurfr said..

gorgesailor said..
For me, as mentioned entering with good speed & initiate quickly - right after unhooking & taking your back foot out... don't dally & lose speed.

I disagree with the "initiate quickly". My first impression was exactly the opposite - slow things down at the start of the jibe. You want to pick up a few knots as you initiate the carve, and that requires a bit of time. Here is an example:
.....
"Move slow to go fast". You might have heard that from Andy Brandt.

Not with large sails and boards in light winds. Aeroegnr has an 8m & Blast 145 and isnt doing 30 knots on a reach.

boardsurfr said..

gorgesailor said..
For me, as mentioned entering with good speed & initiate quickly - right after unhooking & taking your back foot out... don't dally & lose speed.

I disagree with the "initiate quickly". My first impression was exactly the opposite - slow things down at the start of the jibe. You want to pick up a few knots as you initiate the carve, and that requires a bit of time. Here is an example:
Speed increased almost 5 knots at the jibe entry when going from a slight upwind angle to about 25 degrees off the wind. That took 6 seconds - typical accelerations are about 1 knot per second, anything more requires a very strong gust.
"Move slow to go fast". You might have heard that from Andy Brandt.

This assumes you are going upwind... think our main point is same... I was pointing out a common mistake is to unhook & take your foot out of the back strap & get ready to turn ... all the while losing speed... If you are already going fast you don't need to gain a bunch of speed just to plane through your gybe....

Sea Lotus said..
I agree with Sboardcrazy, looking inside the turn makes big difference.
I don't have much experience with big gear (and i am a bad jiber) but looks like you are depowering the sail from the start. If you slide your back hand further back at the boom before unhooking, it will be easier to transfer sails power to board (from back hand to back foot), so you keep more speed mid turn. It may olso solve the sinking tail problem you mentioned because you will keep mast foot pressure mid turn.
Maybe you can think upgrading your board and fin too, it may be time for smaller and lighter board.

I've got a few fins for this board, including the MUF weed slalom I was using and a carbon select pointer style. I just haven't used the pointer recently because of the weed issue. I may try when the wind comes back. My other boards are lighter and smaller but the Blast honestly is the easiest to jibe...

Maddlad said..

aeroegnr said..

Maddlad said..
Based on that video, your foot position isn't too bad after your second movement, so i think you need to take your foot out of the back strap, feel for the rail and then lean forward into the gybe while sheeting in. The thing that a lot of people miss is to crouch down in the gybe and pull down on the boom, which keeps mast foot pressure on your board and stops it from stalling due to your weight being towards the back of the board. It also looks like you are shortening the radius of your turn at the end, so you may want to make a nice long carve at speed and as soon as you are downwind, flip the sail and sheet in a little on the other side to power out of the turn. If you are in WA I'd be happy to go for a sail with you to see if i can help more.

Thanks Maddlad. Unfortunately not in Aus otherwise I'd take you up on that.

Sounds like I still have more to work on sheeting in more and getting even further forward? I'll try to broaden the turn a bit as well. Am I waiting too long to step or flip do you think?

No worries at all. By all means lean forward and sheet in but dont forget to lower your center of gravity and pull down on the boom hard as that will really keep you planing through the curve. Look to flip your sail and step as soon as you are pointing straight downwind so you can use the sail to power you out of the turn as well. Let us know how you go. :)

Hopefully I'll get another chance soon. The wind may not cooperate for a bit. Used a 9.5 and a windsup today and went exploring the new spot because it was low tide and not really foilable, and wind waa only 6-8kts.

Some thoughts after a session today.

Was totally skunked yesterday (was prepared to foil but it dropped to 3kts, so just not possible), and today had a similar bump in the afternoon, so I expected to be disappointed otherwise I would've brought a smaller board.

Ended up on the Blast again with a 6.3 freek, had it pretty dialed and was overpowered pretty much the entire time. Unexpected by a lot here, so surprised just about everyone out today.

I did try a carbon upright select 43cm fin for about 2 miles of a 35 mile day. It was just grabbing every single weed it hit and I could not get past 17kts board speed because they would cling to it, so I just switched to the 44cm MUF weed slalom (g10 not carbon) and stayed on it.

I tried to focus hard on getting my hand further back and sheeting in to force my front arm forward. It was helping, but I still think I need to improve on it. I also tried to bear off to pick up speed more before each jibe if I wasn't going to hit a kiter/windsurfer/winger. Good habits regardless of fin or foil. I don't know why I wasn't trying to do this more...

My best alpha is right below. I was trying to bear off more to get some speed before jibing, but on this side it was a bit choppier with swells. It made my stance a bit awkward and when jibing here I was bouncing a lot more and I think a few things came apart, especially where I was stepping with my old front to the back of the board, which upset the carve. I was better than last time, but still some kinks to sort out. I think I could be sheeting in more too.



Here's an example of the other end. I was bearing off pretty deep to get speed before jibing. I think though, because it was shallow, that I was getting slowed up a bit in the weeds down there. It seemed like I was losing speed a lot more than I should. But, there were other guys that were able to pull off planing jibes in this same area. So, I could definitely improve.


Maybe if I was jibing more in the middle of the route I could have had a cleaner spot with less weeds to slow me down? I don't know. I was also working on my stance a bit by forcing my front leg more straight. It seemed to help a lot more and I could also tell when my boom needed to be lower as I couldn't quite get in the groove and felt like I was pulling the sail too far from vertical. Example below.

I don't feel like editing jibe footage tonight but I may end up doing it later.