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| Home >> Top Tips >> TopTip2020 #78 - Gybing in Strong Wind and Waves - by Peter Barton, GBR |
TopTip2020 #78
Gybing in Strong Wind & Waves
by Peter Barton, GBR
Gybing in Strong Wind & Waves
by Peter Barton, GBR
The Lymington posse managed a final pre-lockdown group outing on 1st Nov and the conditions more than delivered. 25kn, gusting 30kn blew against a strong ebb tide, whipping the western solent up into a mogul field. Three RS Aeros ventured out, Gregory (3174) and Peter (3193) on RS Aero 7s and Noah (62) putting a prototype RS Aero 6 rig to the test. Liam and Will were on hand to support and record some of the action, enabling us to put together this playlist of gybe videos as a training aid...
' Gybing in Strong Wind & Waves
Youtube Playlist collection of 7 gybe videos (4 minutes in total);
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dzi0xEwupBo&list=PL5NnTA_WFXiM8vHpnFhmtowPmffdVge9C
SUMMARY
PLAN - In these conditions I like to find a nice wave to catch by the lee to gybe. This can require some planning, space and patience.
SPEED - Once on the wave you are going fast, keeping the speed reduce the pressure on the sail before and after a gybe. The reduced pressure allows you to more easily pull the sail across and means there is less whammy as it refills.
TIMING MANOEUVRE - You need to gybe promptly on catching the wave as you want to complete the manoeuvre and be re-settled before the bow reaches the back of the next wave!
GYBE - As you are already by the lee you can quickly lean forwards to grab all the falls of the mainsheet and throw the boom over with a 1:1 pull. This way I can keep a straight course during the actual gybe and avoid the extra complication of having to steer to change direction to gybe.
TIMING WEIGHT - The timing of getting your bum down on the new side deck in time for the sail to refill is critical. Too early gives danger of windward death roll. Too late gives heel to leeward and danger of loosing control in these waves and wind.
HEEL - Keeping the boat flat enables steering, without the forces on the rig and hull taking over. A little windward heel may help to bear away but can easily become precarious in these conditions!
FLEXIBILITY - Sometimes you don't have the luxury of space and patience and you may need to steer straight through the gybe, as a variation on this method. Focus on keeping a smooth arc, max speed and a level boat. An S-turn back downwind to avoid the side force is an option but raises compilations and is not so required in an RS Aero due to our control with the ability to throw the main across early.
Check out the 7 video playlist of gybes...
1 - Wave Gybe
Catch a wave, go by the lee, settle and steer straight, lean forward to grab all the mainsheet falls, thrown the boom whilst moving across to get bum down on the new side (timing!), settle, change hands, weight back again.
In these conditions the 'settle, change hands' after the gybe has to happen quickly enough to be able to get your weight back again and steer before the bow reaches the next wave.
2 - Wave Gybe, some heel on exit...
I was marginally late across on this vid, hence the small heel to leeward. Any more heel than that could loose control in these waves and wind.
3 - Down Speed
When you enter a gybe with low speed speed a survival technique can be to continue to over steer onto a reach and let the sail run out to avoid the side forces as the sail re-fills.
Then you have the challenge of re-accelerating and bearing away again....
4 - Over Steer
An example of having to over steer due to not pulling the main across early enough.
Having steered through a large angle there is then a large side force when the sail comes across. Here I survive it with a little heel as I had my weight across. If required, you could let the mainsheet run out in a controlled manner.
5 - Changing Hands after the Gybe
After the gybe, settle before changing hands. Regain control first. Here once the RS Aero is flat, balanced and on a good course Noah is able to change hands easily, even whilst sailing through a wave to avoid the paparazzi in the rib.
Noah (62) putting a prototype RS Aero 6 rig to the test.
6 - Picking a Gybe Moment
Start looking for a nice opportunity in good time. Choose your moment when you are settled and on a nice wave.
"Lets see some gybes!" hailed Liam encouragingly. Noah (62) in the prototype RS Aero 6 rig found a nice early wave. Peter (3193) waited longer but found his moment eventually. Greg (3174) waited to finish his sandwich first!
7 - Sequence of Gybes
It was all going very nicely until Greg called "lets do 7 gybes". Peter carelessly replied "...and 5 more for every capsize" and it all started to go downhill from there!
Here is an near attempt at doing 7 in a row. Describing each gybe;
1 - Pick a good moment with a wave.
2 & 3 - Double gybe, made easier throwing the boom across whilst on a wave.
4 - Don't be afraid to abort an attempt if the wave is wrong, if you lose speed or if you fail to throw the boom across on the first attempt. Regain control and have another go after picking a good moment.
5 - Down speed. Controlled release main and over steer on the exit for safety. Accelerate a little and then bear away again.
6 - Picked a moment. Regain control on exit whilst hand swap.
7 - Capsize! Getting tired. Down speed. I only managed to grab one fall of the main sheet, rather than all of them, so I did not manage to decisively throw the boom over with a 1:1 pull. Hence the over steer and the big side force on exit. Resulted in heel, boom hit the water and too late for a release on the mainsheet to save it. SPLOOSH! '
Videos by WillT
CHECK OUT the rest of the RS Aero TopTips2020 series HERE. Have we missed anything? Any more TopTip offerings for inclusion in the series, or requests, please send to me at; [email protected]
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23/11/2020 15:23:00
Peter Barton
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