ACCESSIBLE MANOEUVRING

Jibing is the simplest manœuvre you can make to change direction. You need to have good forward speed and be positive in your movements, but by far the trickiest part is the moment that you have to reverse your foot positions at the end of your turn. In wingfoil, the jibe is the most basic turn, you should definitely learn this before you try the more technical tacking move.

The best conditions for learning are flat water, in a moderate wind, on a board with reasonable volume, with a wing not too big, around 5.0 m2, and a foil that has good lift and manoeuvrability. Our Tahe Aquilon foils have the perfect profile to help you learn to jibe. 

HOW TO MAKE A JIBE?

Increase your speed by keeping your wing well powered up before you try to start the turn. Start looking already at the wide curve you are going to make. When you’re going fast enough, lean forwards on your toes to cause the board/foil to make the downwind turn, also turning your head and shoulders towards the curve and the new direction you want to take. 

At this moment you can release the power in your wing, holding it in one hand by the leading edge handle, or the control handle nearest the leading edge, and use your own inertia to drive you through the rest of the turn.  

A combination of very good forward speed and timing are required to execute an upwind turn, with pressure on your heels and facing into the wind/upwind. The big advantage of this over the jibe is that it’s quite a fast move, and you lose no distance downwind because the turn is much tighter and upwind.

To get into the move correctly, power your wing up hard, then launch the turn manoeuvre by forcing hard down with your heels. If you keep your knees flexed and your centre of gravity low you should have sufficient speed to get you face on to the wind direction.

As soon as you’re facing the wind, quickly swing your body/weight forwards on the board to keep it flat/horizontal to the water to avoid descending back to the water surface.

At the same time, swing your torso round 90 degrees so your head and shoulders are pointing towards the inside of the turn you are making, and with your front hand steer your wing above your head and face on to the wind. With enough entry speed and enough height above the water before you start, the board/foil should drive all the way through the turn.  

Once you have passed the wind direction axis point, still with foot pressure on your heels, release your rear hand and bring the wing face on to the wind with your front hand. This is where the timing is critical, at this point your old « rear » hand has to come and take over the front control handle, nudging the other hand backwards to the rear control handle.

Then you need to quickly power up your wing again and change your foot pressure to “toe-side” to be able to set off in the opposite direction. All the way through the turn keep your head and eyes turned in the direction of the turn and the new line you will be steering.