I only started sailing in March so hopefully this qualifies as a beginners question!

I'm after some top tips on how to gybe with the gennaker up. We seem to be able to manage it ok by slowing right down, steering through the turn, bearing off a little as the boom comes across and then start to head up but it's all very sloooow.

I've read that gybes are best carried out at speed but each time we try it we end up too powered and capsize.

Are there ways to depower the kite throught the manouver and should I be sheeting in the main or letting it out as we turn?

Thanks

Gybes are best carried out at speed, but that shouldn't be confused with gybing quickly. You want to carry as much speed into the turn as possible, as this will mean there will be less pressure on the main as it comes across. However, you need to avoid being agressive with the tiller (gybing quickly), as this will cause you to round up into the wind rapidly, powering up both sails, causing you to heel over, turn further and swim.

Otherwise, you want to be doing pretty much what you descibe- steer in slowly, straighten up as the boom comes across, then head up (and speed up) once you're settled. As you get better at this, you can do it quicker.

Depowering the kite:

What I've been taught on the B14, which has a far bigger kite than I've used in the past (I've never really needed to depower whilst gybing on other boats), for heavy weather is this:

1: pick up the psychic signals from the stick waggler that a gybe is imminent

2: take up the slack on the "lazy" sheet (current windward sheet)

3: stick waggler mumbles something. Hike the boat flat as he starts to steer, and haul the "working" (loaded) sheet in as tight as possible.

4: as you cross the boat, keep the kite pinned in. It will now collapse against the jib. This is what you're trying to do, DO NOT PANIC.

5: With the main and jib safely over, and the stick waggler having extricated himself from another fine mess, release the new "lazy" sheet, haul the big sail round the forestay, and off you go.

This is where having a way of attaching the kite sheet that minimises catching can be handy. Our current set up has the core exposed at the mid poinnt, and the ends of the outer stiched together, forming a small loop. This goes through the clew, and the ends passed through it. It could be improved by having a short piece of thin line spliced across the "v" that's created. Zip luff or integrated forestay jibs are also important for this.

Brilliant! Just the thing I was looking for.

As the stick waggler I will obvioulsy expect the movable ballast up front to do all this without being told so!

Two other things to take into account as the "stick waggler"

Don't let the main go over on it's own as you go across grab the strop/main and pull it over when the boat is half way through the gybe.

The other thing is keep the boat flat, this will make it much easier on the gybe and help keep the speed on too.

Other things to do that will make it easier are, sort out the jib before the gybe so it goes over without backing (you can set it properly when your sorted on the next tack). Keep the spinney sheets tidy in the boat then they wont get caught in the  blocks and back the kite when you don't want it to.

And most importantly talk to your weight in the front, if they don't know what you are doing they wont help!

I found this out mucking about on a Pico one night when it was a bit blowey. Certainly helps.

Thanks everybody

3 things to keep in mind

Communication - Moveable balast needs to know what the stick monkey is about to do

Bravery - Gybe at speed (do not confuse this with gybe quickly)

Synchronicity - An off shoot of communication, but moving across the boat together is a good idea

Know how to swim

Still struggling a bit with this one to be honest. I'm working more on knowing how to not let go!

Some good advice from several people above.  Here's what I have found.

Keep the power on so that you have speed (ie don't let the crew come into the centre line in preparation). 

Turn very gently - make a big radius - several boat lengths.

Don't gybe through 90 degrees but gybe to just past a run.  So if your doing 45 degress to the wind you'll turn through 60 - this will require a little correction on the helm to stop the boat rounding up to a reach.

You don't need to let the main out much at all - best if its in it will help damp out any rocking, and give it a little tug when you want it to go across.

Once the crew has settled and got the correct sheet in his hand you can head up and this will encourage him to move his weight out.

As you get more experienced you'll synchronise and be able to round up after the gybe ealier.

My crew is a very experienced Laser helm and when she helmed our 4000 in a blow the first thing she tried to do was gybe inside someone at a mark.  A definite mistake, because you are going so fast you have to turn very gently and this takes up space.  But because you are going so fast the pressure goes off the rig when you turn downwind and the gybe is easy and then you gradually load the power back on once the crew is in place by turning upwind to your new course. 

Novices always seem to gybe straight onto the next course and get over powered.  Try and separate the gybe from a mark rounding, so gybe when you're going fast - get the gybe out of the way and then work out where you're going to point.

When its really blowing the crew gets nervous and tends to come in early - that is a disaster because then the boat is going slow and there's lots of pressure in the rig.  If they do come in early or you slow down for some other reason don't attempt a gybe - head back up a bit and get flying.  The more you "go for it" the more successful you are going to be but you still have to be very gentle on the helm.

Definitely when going down a wave but well before the bow goes into the back of the next one.  Basically its the same advice - when going fast.  As for the wobble, try pulling the main in - its surprising how far it can come in and still maintain airflow across it, and being lengthwise in the boat it damps out the wobble.

I've not sailed a 200 - I'm a bit big at 13½ stone but I have sailed the 400.  It could be you're bringing the board up too much too.  I know the 4000 is not that comparable but we have the board down all the time - that's fully down, upwind and down.  Mainly because we never get a chance to pull it up.  We don't "trip over it" as the books suggest because we don't throw the boat through a gybe.  We steer a nice radiused curve with the boat flat and its no problem.  Again with the main we sometimes have it nearly as tight as beating, but then again we don't soak as deep as a 200.  Still I'm sure if you bring it in a bit you'll give yourself more time to correct the sudden loss of heeling from the kite.

Then from my Laser sailing days I remember its good to ease the kicker but not too much because if you do the top of the leach is no longer able to help dampen the wobble. And from my Scorpion days I remember that the further back you sit the more stable the hull is, perhaps that will help.

I tried most of the suggestions on Tuesday night and had quite a laugh. 4 capsizes but interestingly all when turning to the right. The ones to the left all felt quite good though.

It was quite exciting (and a little nerve racking) waiting until we were really steaming before thowing it into a gybe. Would never have done that before!

I just need to sort out my right turns. I think my steering isn't constant enough turning right which puts the boat into a bit of a wobble and then a capsize. I had quite a few turns which I aborted as the boom wasn't coming across and again I think these were all right hand turns.

My aim now is to turn a bit tighter, keep the arc constant, get the boom across and get out and hiking.

I'm actually now less concerned about what's going on with the kite as it seems to be the steering that causes most of the problems.

Still, practice, practice, practice!

Anyone else pre-gybe the kite?  I've learnt it as a help for single handing but found it helps when double handing too

• head down wind
• swap the jib sheets in the cleats
• haul kite across to new side, which starts the boat turning
• flick the boom over
• correct steering to stop the boat heading up
• hook in
• sheet in the kite
• step out and head back up

Some musto skiff bloke recommended it to me.  Feels nice when it works!

It sounds like a waste of speed to me - but I'll try it.  My experience is to get the gybe in before the boat loses speed then sort out the kite.  As for the jib, have knots to stop it going to far forward and just leave it uncleated - its a distraction.  You'll notice the big boats and even the Yingling drop the jib when the kite is up.

As for steering remember you are going fast and so should be gentle.  You'd steer a car gently at high speed wouldn't you - its completely analogous.  I can tell you that when you're doing nearly 20Knots (which I think the 4000 does) the steering is knife edge you have to be so very careful.

okay this is my heavy wind gybe step by step in my FEVA

1. make sure the crew is aware of the gybe!! (im crew and can tell you how anoying it is if the helm lost his voice!!!)

2. let the kicker off (depower sail)

3. come on to a run.

3. start gybe, use the strop (if you have one) to whip the boom over ASAP

4. move back onto the run before you overpower.(make sure you dont over steer and gybe again or depower so much it comes on top of you)

reaply kicker and when crew is ready bear back up so the jenny fills