Carving Jibe

I remember my first carving jibe like yesterday. I was at Doug's Beach in the Gorge going back and forth, back and forth, falling on each jibe. Then, I came flying into a jibe and carved right out of turn, like a knife sliding through butter, and found my self going in the other direction without the interuption of falling into the water. The ability to have continuity and fluidity in my sailing opened the door from windsurfing from an activity I was struggling to learn to and activity I was doing.
Step 1 instruction for Carving Jibe
Step 2 instruction for Carving Jibe
Step 3 instruction for Carving Jibe
Step 4 instruction for Carving Jibe
Step 5 instruction for Carving Jibe
Step 6 instruction for Carving Jibe
Step 7 instruction for Carving Jibe
Step 8 instruction for Carving Jibe
Step 9 instruction for Carving Jibe
Step 10 instruction for Carving Jibe
Step 11 instruction for Carving Jibe
Step 12 instruction for Carving Jibe
Mouse Over Image to Pause
Rider: Royn Bartholdi

Steps

Tips for step 1)  Bear off wind with lots of speed. Be safe and make sure no one is downwind of you.
Tips for step 2)  Unhook and then pull your back foot from the foot strap and place between the footstraps with the foot slightly windward of centerline your feet.
Tips for step 3)  Sheet in the sail and head dead down wind keeping your knees bent and pushing on the inside rail with the balls and toes of your feet.
Tips for step 4)  Keep bending the knees and lean forward and into the turn. Keep sheeting in the sail.   We do all this to maintain board speed thru the entire jibe.
Tips for step 5)  When you are heading dead down wind, the sail will go dead because the sail is parrallel to the wind direction; This is the time to initiate the sail flip by sheeting out with the clew hand and pulling with the mast hand while keeping your your knees bent and weight forward.
Tips for step 6)  At this point you are bringing the mast more vertical.
Tips for step 7)  Now let go of the sail with the clew hand.
Tips for step 8)  Grab the boom on the other side of the sail with the open hand. You will have to cross the arms because we are doing a boom to boom jibe. Notice my body is still leaning forward and into the turn.
Tips for step 9)  Release the other hand and reach back and grab the boom on the other side of the sail to complete the sail rotation of the jibe.
Tips for step 10)  Now that the sail rotation is accomplished then perform the feet change by stepping forward with the back foot.
Tips for step 11)  Followed immediately my stepping back with the front foot.
Tips for step 12)  Adjust, trim and sail away.