The perfect J/109 gybe

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Forward 2 crew stand up at “ready to gybe”…lazy sheet is always in hand…boat starts to turn…take up slack in new sheet but don’t pull until chute collapses…overhaul like hell…when clew gets close to you take one last big pull and try to “snap” the clew and throw it out to leeward…right as you snap it, boom will be gybing…as soon as boom loads up, scramble to weather (following one guy who calls the flatten)…hit the weather lifeline standing up…make sure you can see the keel…when the boat flattens, turn forward, grab the new lazy sheet, flip it up on your shoulder and squat down…head out, eyes back on the lane…hike.

From the back; don’t turn the helm until the kite is far enough round to see on the other side. Gybe the boom as late as possible to allow fill on the opposing side.

As with all boats, gybe when going as fast as possible, preferably down a wave so that the main becomes unloaded. If the boat slows down, or the main is late, a broach is exponentially more likely in heavy weather.

Pump out of the gybe with the hike for a pop up to speed. Have someone shout the numbers and debrief what went wrong and praise what goes right.

Agree with most of what has been said above. Here’s what we do:

1) Everybody in position. Bow guy with lazy sheet in hand, mast guy standing at shrouds (just behind them).

2) Trimmer hands off sheet to pit person. Sheet is eased (and removed COMPLETELY from winch), while bow guy takes up slack on lazy sheet. Trimmer keeps up by pulling on lazy sheet (about to become new sheet).

3) One person on the leward side of the boat before the gype is dedicated to helping pull the old sheet out of the cockpit.

4) When clew hits the forestay (AND NOT BEFORE) driver starts turning boat.

5) Bow guy grabs clew (we had sailmaker put a loop between the two sheets) and runs toward back of boat.

6) Bow guy hands off to mast guy who is behind the shrouds who keeps running back pulling down at the same time. He usually gets to the primary winches when kite fills.

7) Meanwhile main has gybed – when I’m doing main I try to hold the boom inside the lifelines to let the mast guy run back unobstructed. Don’t try this in heavy airs, tho.

8) Kite fills, trimmer immediately lets out 10+ feet of sheet, main is let out, driver turns boat down.

No twings required.

Have been found at the pointy end of a 109 for a wee while, over the seasons and many disasters have found the following to help:

1. make sure that the old sheet is allowed to run fully and completly taken off the winch when going ito the gybe

2. never gybe when the kite has collapsed ( unless it is lightwind and you know you can pull it through)

3. have found that pulling the new sheet down rather than back helps the head of the sail rotate helping it fill quicker. as it fills, you can let it go and it (should) set perfectly on the new gybe. this means that its is not oversheeted and the trimmer does not have to burn out 10ft of sheet after every gybe and the helm does not have to overrotate the boat and risk sticking it up to far into a broach.

4. outside gybe… ususally when i have a balls up clipping it on …. or it is blowing over 30knots – no point in risking a huge tangle when life could be easy and you can get the back of the boat to do most of the work!! – just make sure you keen a bit of tension in the lazy sheet to stop it dropping over the pole.

All good stuff from everyone. Just to add some finesse, the trimmer should, if at all possible in lighter conditions, quickly ease the sheet as the new sheet is being overhauled but try to fly the clew to the forestay. The kite will stay inflated and drawing just that little bit longer. Requires good helm understanding not to fling the boat through th e gybe, however, flinging might be just what you need at that point. Communicate the requirements to pit, trimmer and foredeck. Generally smooth gybes are known to maintain boat speed.

In lighter conditions, it isn’t always necessary to get the tack down. Leaving it up will help the kite draw quicker on the new gybe. In heavy winds get it down. Again practice with this in different wind strengths. If you get a wrap in heavier air it’s most probably because the tack was up coupled with quick helm over, and/or maybe main out too far sucking the kite in to the vacuum at the top of the main.

In gybes up to moderate air, and you will need to experiment with this a bit, pull the clew down to the deck at the shrouds, or just after, which will allow the kite to fill and draw quicker rather than running it all the way back flattening the kite and resulting in a massive 10ft ease from the trimmer, which is a waste of time, speed and half a boat length. Light airs it can help to flatten the kite in the gybe to get it to set, but it isn’t quick. Coming up on the helm to fill the kite then going down should get you better results. Ultimately it’s probably a bit of everything.