The windfoil jibe(s)

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Langdon
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webguy
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The windfoil jibe(s)

Not that this is earth shattering but maybe this will help somebody. It stems from some recent online conversations and Langdon and I talking a bunch recently.

A challenge of a windfoil jibe is that there are two major types and one really isn't even a jibe - it's closer to a tack. What? Yes, I'll explain in a bit.

Type 1, the traditional jibe . You are foiling at the same speed or slower than the wind. Generally, this is a small sail (6.0 or less) jibe. As you enter the jibe, rotation is easy as the wind will flip the sail for you once you release the back hand. Keep up enough speed to glide through the turn, keep your eyes up to maintain level flight, step, across and flip the sail without looking at it. It's surprisingly easy to flip with out looking as your hands have been going through the motions for years - just trust them.

Tips for type 1. Trimming your board so it flies level with the back foot across the board is important. If you have too much of a back foot bias, it will be hard to maintain level flight. Raise your boom, move your mast base back or even move the front straps back. Make changes in 1 inch increments as small changes can easily be felt. The standard "look at your exit" applies here. If you are well powered, make a big arc. The wind shuts down as you go deep downwind and you'll have plenty of time to go through the steps.

And don't forget: sweep the harness lines across your face, keep an extended front hand, open up the sail with the back hand

Type 2, the harder one that's not so much a jibe but a tack. Board speed is higher than wind speed. Usually this is on those light days when you have a big sail. Someone on seabreeze gave me this tip: it isn't a jibe but a downwind tack. As you go downwind, you'll actually be going into the wind. What you are actually about to do is a foiling heli tack. If you approach this like you do a regular jibe, you will be swatted off the board. Have you ever tried to jibe with a big sail and light day and sail just blasts you off the board? Yeah, me, too. Lol

If you've never fooled around with heli tacks, this might be a good time. When you are just floating around, waiting for a puff, try a few. One of the first things you learn is to let the front hand go and the sail will rotate around the back hand. This is the key.

Speed will be both your enemy and your friend here. It's what makes the sail flip hard but also what gets you through the turn with enough energy to have a chance of foiling out the other side. You absolutely must find a gust and even pump if you have to. Your turn will have a shorter, sharper radius which adds to the challenge as you'll have much less time to do everything.

The key here is the back hand is the pivot point. You don't let go of the back hand until the sail is already flipping. Since the wind is coming from the front of the board instead of the back, the wind pressure is pushing the sail towards, not away from you.

Sweeping the sail across your face (to the outside of the turn) is even more important here. The sweep not only initiates the turn but gives the sail space to rotate. If you don't, the sail flip will simply knock you off the board.The sail flip is really about releasing the front hand pressure of the sail pushing against you and letting it come to you while it rotates around the back hand. If you release the back hand first, again, the sail will push against you. Getting your front hand all the way to the boom keeps the swing weight of the rotating sail from pulling you off the board. If you are getting yanked off the board during the flip, get your hand by the mast and make sure you are looking at your exit and not the sail.

Hope this helps a bit.

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Langdon
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Re: The windfoil jibe(s)

Drinking lake water will help improve your jibes.
Salt water may be quicker

I think board speed just prior to the jibe AND board speed relative to actual wind speed are important to manage and be aware of.

You have to have speed to glide the distance of the jibe ( or at least to a broad exit ) ( speed is different for different wings and different pilots)

The Slingshot Hoverglides had good lift and stability but not good glide. The more high aspect Phantasm 926 can glide much further)

My foil is like a bike . I need a certain amount of speed to have stability.

If there is opposing boat chop I need even more speed.

Like William said Speed is good and bad but it is necessary.
I agree with what William is saying about type 2 jibes to avoid (or reduce) getting backwinded.
To fast for the wind Type 2 , too slow for the wind Type 1.

The time that you spend looking thru the sail window as you go downwind needs to be extremely short. Get the harness lines across your line of sight or get the whole sail across ( if you have already let go with the back hand )

It is important to always fly the foil.
Get the sail out of your way in the least backwinded way as possible. ( and you can see where you are going and the exit)
It will come right back to your hands on the exit

And while the water is warm practice all you can. I swam and drank a lot of lake water in this process and I am sure I am not done.

The better you get it is amazing how much you can screw up with your feet and sail flip and still make it thru the jibe

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rgenet
webguy
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Re: The windfoil jibe(s)

Great notes! And great that the muscle memory is kicking in and automating your successes Smile

I drank a bit of water yesterday too...

On the wing jibing, im working on some similar things to above, a few notes:
- I'm still on a low aspect foil, so less glide
- working on moving feet more in general - and especially on non-foiling jibes to switch stance - getting better about not falling after going down wind at least for come off foil jibes.

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webguy
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Re: The windfoil jibe(s)

Where the light first started to come on. This video really helped me on the light wind jibes.

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FoilDodo
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Re: The windfoil jibe(s)
Langdon wrote:

The better you get it is amazing how much you can screw up with your feet and sail flip and still make it thru the jibe

Totally not fair but it be like that. Lol

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HamdiD
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Re: The windfoil jibe(s)

I did my best to digest this and soon realized some of it is above my knowledge level - eg. I don’t quite know what a heli-jibe is.
Having said that, looks like good tips that I should save for sometime in the future when I know more (maybe I can study some of this after I complete school?). For that , thank you webguy & Langdon.
And congrats to Langdon for good reports on jibing. Who’s next - Chris (es), Gene, Alan, Barrett?
Me? - Neah, not a chance! Main reason being: 3.5 yrs since my first lesson of any windsports activity with Chris P. , I don’t want to be disrespectful to experienced sailors! ? What's the song - ‘it’s my party (post) and I can do (say) what I want to’? ?

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Re: The windfoil jibe(s)

Jem Hall complete tutorial: https://www.jemhall.com/technique/item/heli-tack.html

Sam Ross

What if I told you that kids have gone from zero windsurfing to Olympic windfoil competitor in 3 yrs? This young man from Oz, Will McMillan. Don't sell yourself short. Yes 3
https://www.facebook.com/iqfoil/videos/522828132827251/

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Langdon
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Re: The windfoil jibe(s)

Hamdi,
You are closer to making flying jibes than you think.

Today could be the day

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webguy
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Re: The windfoil jibe(s)
webguy wrote:

>What if I told you that kids have gone from zero windsurfing to Olympic windfoil competitor in 3 yrs?

I would say kids today have no respect or sense of waiting their turn ? Seriously though, great to see youngsters doing so well in the sport. In my younger days, I did ok with ‘fake it till you make it’ approach to activities and got up to speed at a good pace with skiing, rowing, mtn biking. Don’t know if just old age (they say ‘can’t teach an old pony new tricks’ for a reason I suppose) or lack of focus/attention due to splitting my time in too many ways between work, school, various activities, family, etc. or what else but progress seems to level off easier. It’s all good though, having fun all the same or it wouldn’t make the cut in my current schedule. Fun to see friends doing well, progressing while patiently waiting for your turn to come …or not.?
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