Does anyone gybe strap to strap? I don't think I have ever seen it done.....
For those that can - do you find it easier? Need to be highly powered up for it? Find it just loses too much speed?

So really a short board technique for high winds..... out of harness, then straight back in on completing the gybe?

Read some articles and then one day in maxed out conditions on the wave board they just happened. Found it much more secure that day and the odd time since, but has been illusive when I actually think I should practice and get them dialled.

Maybe you need to be maxed out...

u can do it on any board

harder to learn, but more efficient and smooth, and doesn't disrupt the flow of the board as much. once u get the hang of it you hardly lose speed and can plane out of gybes in quite light winds.

Yep, my best alphas are strap to strap.
I'm not good at step gybes, but I've managed a couple fully planning recently.
Strap to strap is much easier in smooth water, where you can throw the board round in a tight arc. It also helps to aggressively throw the sail around, especially if it's cammed.
I find in choppy water, this sort of gybe tends to get you launched but a step gybe helps to keep the board on the water, and you can go round in a bigger arc.

My understanding is that there is no step forward, that's the step gybe.
Strap to strap, is where the new front foot slides directly into the new front strap, then the new back foot goes into the back strap.
Timing of rig flip is immaterial, when I get a good one, rig flip and foot change is close to simultaneous. If it's not going so well the rig flip will be after the foot change.

I am going to be hunting down some Peter Hart videos..... Warwick from RPS (Vic) mentioned to me once that this was the only way he gybed and found it easier to do so....... so am very interested to see some vids of how this goes down... perhaps might make things easier for me.....

decrepit said...

My understanding is that there is no step forward, that's the step gybe.
Strap to strap, is where the new front foot slides directly into the new front strap, then the new back foot goes into the back strap.
Timing of rig flip is immaterial, when I get a good one, rig flip and foot change is close to simultaneous. If it's not going so well the rig flip will be after the foot change.

I don't think I do a classic strap to strap but I sometimes find both feet in the front straps as I exit.On my smaller boards 95 + 78 I don't step gybe.Too lazy to learn.
I find powered up with a 4 or 5m and changing the feet after the flip on eixt is when I get my planing exits . Problem is I do find it isn't as stable a platform to control the power on exit as if you have done a step gybe.If I stepgybed I have my front foot forward and can brace against it so I don't get pulled forward by the sail.When I don't both feet are at the same level so I must move them a bit or its a bit dodgy repowering/pulling on the sail.The difficulty with puling the power back on may be a problem elsewhere though.Maybe I don't reach far enough back when I grab on the other side so I'm not in a good position to pull it on.
Maybe I'll try and master the step gybe this summer now the waters warmer although I do love the simplicity of the other!