How to Gybe a Sail Boat
The wind in your hair, a boat churning through the water - what better way to spend a day on the water. Except ... where you want to go is over there, and the wind is blowing from behind. How do you turn the boat where you want to go?
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Sailing is the ability to negotiate a vessel using only the wind for propulsion. Sometimes the wind is blowing from behind the boat, pushing the boat forward. This position is called "running" or "downwind". It is the preparation stage for a gybe.
-
2
Unlike tacking where you loosen the mainsheet prior to changing directions, in this instance, you pull in the mainsheet, tightening the mainsail and lessening the surface area of the sail to the wind.
-
-
3
Gently, pull the rudder towards you so that the boat is now pointing at an angle to cross the wind.
-
4
In light breezes, grab the mainsheet and drag the sail across to the other side of the boat. Once the sail crosses the path of the wind, the sails will begin to fill by themselves. In heavy breezes, pull the traveller towards the center of the boat and wait for the wind to push the sail onto the opposite side.
-
5
Turn the rudder in the opposite direction to return to the original course. In strong breezes, release the traveller or mainsheet back out to reduce the risk of capsize.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
On some boats the act of gybing may require respositioning spinnaker poles. These are spars which hold a larger; usually more colorful sail, forward of the boat when sailing off the wind.
The bottom of the mainsail is secured by a spar called the "boom". In gybing, the sail is forced by the wind to change sides. Be warned, on low hung sails, the "boom" earns it's name from the sound it will make as it hits you in the head.
