On Fri, 8 Nov 2024 19:44:49 +0100, Bertel Lund Hansen
Post by Bertel Lund HansenPost by Ken BlakePost by SnidelyWell, that's a gybe AND it's a mistake (almost always), but so far as I
know, it's just called an accidental gybe.
It's often a dangerous mistake, but far from always. Yes, when it's a
mistake, it's called an "accidental gybe" or "accidental jibe," but if
it's done properly it's the correct way, when running before the wind,
to change direction to the opposite tack. And changing direction to
the opposite tack when running is often necessary.
I was confused about gybe and tack because a Danish article said that a
gybe was a mistake, and you'd always prefer a tack. But that made no
sense because the boat is in the opposite direction (related to the
wind) in the two cases. Knowing little about sailing, I thought that I
didn't know enough to understand.
Yes, you'd always prefer tacking, but...
... assume the wind is coming from the south, 180 degrees from the
north and you are sailing (running) at 5 degrees. The boom is over the
left side of the boat, so you are on in the starboard tack. You round
an obstacle and now need to change direction to somewhere between 270
and 355 degrees and be on the port tack, with the boom over the
starboard side. Yes, you can tack, but you would have to turn to the
right and go through about 265 degrees of turning and tack when you
reached 180 degrees.
Yes, you can do that, but it's a waste of time and impractical. If
you are racing and do that, it's almost guaranteed to make you come in
last. You have to jibe.
Post by Bertel Lund HansenToday I found a video that in detail explained the gybe (how to do it
safely), and that made sense. Another video explained the tack. There's
nothing wrong with a gybe (and it's not clumsy), but you have to be
careful to avoid danger.
Yes.
Post by Bertel Lund HansenPost by Ken BlakeThe mistake, the dangerous way, is to change direction and let the
boom swing rapidly through almost 180 degrees where it can hit you on
the head, and sometimes even capsize the boat. The correct way is to
haul in the main sheet (the line that controls the boom) as far as
possible just before chagrining direction, then quickly let it out
after changing direction, when the boom has moved through just a few
degrees. That way, the boom's movement is a short distance and not
violent.
That was precisely what they did in the video, and they had one guy
calling the commands to avoid confusion.
Yes, the helmsman. It's the same with tacking ("ready about," "hard
alee"). With jibing, it's "ready to jibe," jibe ho."
But it's not just to avoid confusion. It's a matter of what the crew
must do. Especially when tacking, the commands are necessary. In a
small boat. if the wind is strong, everyone needs to change what side
of the boat they are sitting on when he says "hard alee." If they
don't, their weight will be on the downside (leeward side) of the boat
and capsizing is likely. And in jibing, they may have to duck their
heads. And either way, in a larger boat, the crew may have to operate
winches to handle the jib sheet as the jib moves to the other side of
the boat.
