Jibing

Gybe

Gybing is a basic maneuver in the handling of a sailboat. It is especially known for being potentially dangerous.

Everything will go smoothly as long as you keep an eye on the boom and the wind direction, which already requires a certain amount of experience.

To avoid unpleasant surprises, it is therefore necessary to get your bearings and get used to feeling the wind and the boat. This is what is known as seamanship, which can only be acquired through practice...

Fairly easy to perform in moderate winds, gybing becomes difficult to control in strong winds. It is therefore not recommended in such conditions, even for an experienced crew.

Definition

A gybe consists of switching from one tack to the other with the wind coming from astern.

The sails therefore change sides, just like during a tack.

Where does the danger come from?

During a gybe, the wind catches the mainsail from behind to make it pass from one side to the other. If the sail is not sheeted in along the axis of the boat at the moment the helmsman crosses to the other side of the wind, the mainsail will violently sweep the space above the deck. The boom (the horizontal spar that supports the mainsail) then becomes a danger to anything in its path, especially heads.

If the maneuver is anticipated and controlled, there is nothing to worry about. Danger arises when the helmsman does not control the boat’s trajectory and when crew members are not aware of the risk of an involuntary gybe, known as a “wild gybe”. The danger is then real. Material damage can be significant and can go as far as a broken boom or dismasting.

Human injuries can range from a simple bruise to head trauma. The risk of a man overboard with loss of consciousness is then very high...

NB

It is preferable for inexperienced crews to avoid gybing in winds stronger than force 4.

Crew positioning

No crew member or passenger should be in the path of the boom: no one standing on deck, neither aft of the shrouds nor in the cockpit.

Those who are not participating in the maneuver should move to the stern or inside the boat.

No one should be seated next to the mainsail traveler.

Ideally, crew members should remain seated in the cockpit during the maneuver.

All crew members should monitor the passage of the boom throughout the maneuver.

It is recommended that the mainsail crew member wear gloves.

Maneuver sequence

-check that the mainsail and genoa sheets are coiled and ready to run
-position a crew member on the mainsail sheet and one on each genoa winch depending on the number of crew available.
-the helmsman brings the boat to a broad reach, that is with the wind indicator oriented a quarter toward the stern of the boat. Avoid zigzags!
NB : if the genoa telltale drops, it is a sign that you are approaching a dead run because the mainsail is blanketing the genoa. A small helm movement (in the right direction!) is then enough to return to a broad reach and avoid a wild gybe.

-the helmsman announces the maneuver loudly and clearly to the crew by asking “ready to gybe?”
-the mainsail crew member locks the traveler “in the middle” (that is, along the axis of the boat)
-they then sheet in the mainsail until the boom is brought as close as possible to the axis of the boat
NB : if the sheet is too hard to trim, get help from another crew member
-the genoa crew member begins to ease the sheet. They keep it in hand under tension while leaving two turns on the winch
-another crew member takes two clockwise turns on the windward genoa winch
NB: all crew members must now be seated in the cockpit for the maneuver. No one should be at boom height.

-the crew members are now ready to maneuver. Each announces it loudly and clearly to the helmsman by answering “ready!”