A Better Way To Jibe

[jsampiero]

[jingebritsen]

I'd prefer a twelver of New Castle....

[us4846mmoran]

I wouldn't say your technique is a better way to jibe just adds an extra unnecessary step to the equation and most likely will result in loss of board speed for most.

The nice jibe in your photo is successful due to the key compenents of every good jibe. Speed, commitment to the turn, sail sheeted in over the board correctly pressured rail bent the knees and would be the same if you had your front foot in the strap.

Maybe for subplanning jibes your technique may help but for full planning high speed jibes I think just adds extra confusion & chance for break down of the jibe.

That being said I am open to new ideas & will try it in the spring when the lake unthaws , but I am willing to bet will not work any better or as good as my current technique, which allows me to go from full on rippng speed right into a ripping turn onto a new tack with very little loss of speed and an incredible feeling. (jibes are one of the most exciting and rewarding aspects of the sport. lots of time should be spent on perfecting them Good jibes definetly boost the fun factor and allows you to extend your sailing sessions)

[pirireis]

This is a great discussion, thanks guys. I have been watching the Guy Cribb Intuition DVD(Great DVD, very expensive though. ) which discusses this in great detail as well. The front foot forward technique is shown for nonplaning jibes and the foot in footstrap version is shown for planing jibes.

The Guy Cribb DVD also shows a "Get out of trouble" technique, where if in trouble, you place the foot forward, drop low and fall back and complete the jibe.

My only concern with this technique is being too close to the sail and keeping my arms bent. But then the added advantage is that on short boards if you stall the tail won't sink since you can shift the weight to the front with your front foot. The chances of staying dry and recovering seem much better with this technique.

[coachg]

I smell a Starboard advertisement for the Atom here.

A friend of mine, Laverne Gonzales, has been doing the strapless jibe for years for the same reason spennie stated, he is worried about knee injuries. It was amusing watching Andy Brandt spend 3 hours trying to break Laverne of the habit.

And spennie, not just formula boards, but any large freeride board where you have to physically lift the windward rail will be difficult to do a strapless jibe with as well. For my size, 5'10", probably around 75ish cm I would start to need the front strap to lift the windward rail.

Coachg

[spennie]

mmoran:
One of the strongest reasons to do a Strapless Jibe is to maintain board speed. Once I was jibing regularly I noticed that in light winds I could easily shift my weight onto my front foot and trim the board for better planing. It also allows you to shift your foot position a bit if needed when things don't go well. Maybe you're a really good sailor and don't have many jibing issues, but sit on shore and watch your average guy try to maintain speed--as I said in my original post, probably 80%-90% of the people I see are slowing down or actually stopping at the end of their jibes. That photo shows me going into a jibe at about 25mph and coming out just under 20, probably.
Oh, about the flat water: Yes, it really is that smooth, not a trick of the lens. Lake Isabella has a spot we call the "Jibing bay" where you sail into a small bay that's totally protected from chop, but not wind. It's unbelievably fun, we do our speedsailing there as well, and I went 40mph, once. Thanks to Cliff Hauser for the killer photo!
I hope that those of you who are going to try Strapless Jibing will give it some time, especially if you've been jibing the traditional way for a long time. It's going to feel strange at first, of course, but I think that if you give it the "one full day" I ask for, you'll begin to see the advantages.
Note to FredFX: You'll find that my technique is much easier to learn than a "normal" (ouch!) jibe. If you want to practice in the winter, take up snowboarding or skateboarding, frontside turns will give you a feel for it pretty closely.
Josh: Can I enter your contest? ;-)

[Arrgh]

[spennie]

Just to try to stave off the inevitable "You can't do that in rough water" discussion, yes you can, here's another photo, taken in the Delta this year. Anyone who's sailed the Delta can tell you how difficult it can be to jibe there, it's rough as a cobb!

[jsampiero]

A t-shirt is much easier to ship than a twelve-pack, but, John, if you win, I will certainly buy YOU a twelve pack

[isobars]