I was able to progress initially pretty quickly (ie within a few hrs) to foiling along using a duotone 6m Unit and Naish 110 (at 90kg) and now after maybe 10 hrs on the water can happily blast back and forth (strapless to date)without issue, can pump the board in lulls, and doing some nice "S" turns etc...feels great

BUT I'm getting absolutely no where in the gybes...cant seem to make any incremental improvement in last few sessions
I have windsurfed for years so i think that helped initially with the blasting bit - but maybe my lack of Strap to Strap windsurf gybes seems to be holding me back now?

Not sure if its wing handling (I need to borrow a mtn board) - as i feel i have to really stretch to reach across to that 2nd handle on the Unit
Maybe im not holiding it above my head enough mid transition?

Or something else (i will move my foil fwd today as an experiment as its currently 3/4 way back) but I get thrown off every time...think I must be missing something!

I'm trying to carve / turn, lift wing, flip wing, then move feet but when i get to flip wing I feel imbalanced and fall...inside, outside, backwards.

Any break thru pointers u can share?

All help appreciated!

Select to expand quote

northy1 said..
I was able to progress initially pretty quickly (ie within a few hrs) to foiling along using a duotone 6m Unit and Naish 110 (at 90kg) and now after maybe 10 hrs on the water can happily blast back and forth (strapless to date)without issue, can pump the board in lulls, and doing some nice "S" turns etc...feels great

BUT I'm getting absolutely no where in the gybes...cant seem to make any incremental improvement in last few sessions
I have windsurfed for years so i think that helped initially with the blasting bit - but maybe my lack of Strap to Strap windsurf gybes seems to be holding me back now?

Not sure if its wing handling (I need to borrow a mtn board) - as i feel i have to really stretch to reach across to that 2nd handle on the Unit
Maybe im not holiding it above my head enough mid transition?

Or something else (i will move my foil fwd today as an experiment as its currently 3/4 way back) but I get thrown off every time...think I must be missing something!

I'm trying to carve / turn, lift wing, flip wing, then move feet but when i get to flip wing I feel imbalanced and fall...inside, outside, backwards.

Any break thru pointers u can share?

All help appreciated!

Have you tried completing the gybe without the feet switch? Riding crossed up/toeside for a moment, then coming down to the water briefly to make the foot switch may be a better option.

Part of the trick is learning to depower before you start the gybe. After you depower, you are relying on balance with the foil and no wing assistance. As you lean into the downwind turn, you peform the hand switch and sheet in as soon as you are 3/4 the way through the turn. This will give you additional balance aid and forward speed you will want to help you perform the completed gybe.

It sounds like you are using the wing powered up slightly going into the gybe, but that can be difficult because as soon as you depower, you loosing the balance aid that the wing provides and you are relying on only the foil and that can be very difficult at first.

Once you learn the depowered gybe first, you can also use the wing to give you a boost into the first 1/3 of the gybe, but that is a bit more advanced and if the wind is not strong enough, it can leave the wing in an awkward position, more vertical in front of you (loss of apparent wind speed), blinding the downwind view and making the hand switch much more difficult as opposed to the depowered overhead hand switch.

I cannot switch stances at all, as I've not really practiced that much, and I can ride toeside just fine. I just open up my stance and narrow it a bit and I'm all good, just a slight loss in up-wind angle. Coming from a surf foil background, I'm always looking for a swell or bump to crank a frontside carve/gybe on. If I'm I were in switch stance, I'd have to switch back to surf stance to be able to do that. I do need to learn switch stance for those long tacks upwind when I want to be more effective during an upwind to downwinder.

I try to come into the gybe with a bit of speed and as I turn into the gybe and I actually pull the wing down with my backhand to add a bit of speed. I then completely release my backhand half way into the turn and concentrate on the completing the turn on the foil. As I am completing the turn I simply swap the front hand position and pull the wing forward towards my shoulder to allow me to grab the rear hand position. Then I power up the wing. My gybes are healside/toeside or toeside/healside. I do not bother with a footswitch.

Not entirely sure of what you mean when you say "flip the wing".

We only have one person at our local who was doing on mast gybes after 10 hours. Quite a number are still learning the process after six months.

MidAtlanticFoil's tip on depowering early in the gybe and repowering early on the other tack is a good one. I tend to stall and come off the foil during the wing flip when I come into the gybe with the wing fully sheeted in. My muscle memory in still stuck in the windsurfing '90s.

As Bigtone said keep a bit of speed into it and once you initiate the turn I found it was better to concentrate on what the foil was doing and as long as you swap your hands on the front handle and keep the wing up high it will tend to flip around on its own ok , I come around to toeside and then switch feet once I am around and settled going the other way

Thanks for all the insights. Do you think its easier with (front) straps on the board? i reckon the issue is my duff wing handling and being over powered - will hope to get a mtn board and practice and get out in more appropriate ie sub 20kt winds

I am learning to gybe too, was a windsurfer and i mostly surf now.

If you have no previous foiling experience you are doing very well for ten hours.Give it some time :)

I have about 20 sessions (40hrs?) and i can get more than half the gybes on foil on my good (regular) tack and much less when goofy.But it is getting better on every session.

If you want to learn windsurf style,symmetrical riding you eventually need to learn switching feet and riding switch on both tacks,big task but easier than it feels when you start trying.
It helps me to practice this when schlogging not on foil.

If you are getting thrown off (i was too ) the likely culprit is foil control in the carve.
I do the S turns a lot,increasing the amplitude and bank angle gradually,this is helping me carve more intuitively in gybes.
Windsurfing/Surfing background will trip me a bit as i tend to make big inputs and shift the weight towards the backfoot as the turn progresses,foil does not need that.Small inputs,very centered on the board is better.

Pumping while sailing along is very good too,and can be mixed with the S turns.

The good news is foil gybes,once learned, are way easier to pull off reliably than windsurf planing gybes IMHO, the foil slices chop vs crashing into it :)

From 3 years of windfoiling gybing you have to basically unlearn all the muscle memory for wing gybing.

Last year when all we had was the first version wings, I found it quite difficult, they didn't depower and fly above your head very well in the turns.
Now that most brands have improved wings then gybing should be easier.

As like many from a windsurfing/windfoiling background, foiling switch foot is a totally foreign concept but you have to keep on practicing wing control and foot pressure, once you have that down gybing from switch stance back through the gybe onto regular foot is a quick turn and you can keep power over the foil.

You have to commit to height and speed (you'll see towards the end the occasional foil out), carve into the turn with your front arm fairly straight up and in front of you, try to relax as the foil goes to work, swap the front hand over and power back out with the back hand (pump the board in light airs).

When the wind is stronger winging on a 4.0 is so much easier, you can power into the turn and all that energy will keep the foil flying a long time and you can really take your time resetting your balance and switching hands.

The other thing to try is when you come out of the turn switch stance, you can level the board off and switch your feet, it does take some balance and you have to move quick.

In the video the wind was pretty light at first and this was the windiest at around 12-13 knots onshore wind with a 6.4. Board is 7.6 Outwit (waiting for smaller boards to arrive).

My 2 cents to learn... lots of speed... wing over head with font hand... focus 100% on the board, balance and completing the turn. when you are 75% round, fumble your hands back onto the wing.

I forced myself to learn foil both feet forwards. But I have found gybing, and then riding toe side WTH STRAPS is wonderfully simple.

Tip: watch this video I made:

Hey Robert,

That underhand tip before the gybe was gold, thanks for that