Basic gybe step by step: bear away to a run, switch your feet, flip the sail and head up again – with fixes for typical mistakes and beginner safety rules.
How do you gybe in windsurfing? You bear away from a beam reach to a run, switch your feet, flip the rig (the sail swings close to your body to the other side of the mast) and head up again on the new tack [1][2].
The honest answer about difficulty: for beginners the gybe is often harder than the tack because you turn with the wind and the sail changes sides mid-manoeuvre. That is a practical impression; no source compares the two manoeuvres. You always lose height in the gybe, because you turn away from the wind [2]. The VDWS beginner course includes tacking and gybing, and the fast gybe follows in level 2 [3].
This guide describes the basic gybe (sail gybe) in light wind. It is the foundation for all later gybes.
Build speed on a beam reach: sail sheeted in, body weight back, both arms straight, stomach and back tight like a plank. Then look to leeward and behind you to check the way is clear [2].
Slide the sail hand toward the end of the boom [1].
Milestone: you sail calmly and straight and know where you are turning.
Place the front foot directly behind the mast. Straighten the mast arm, shift your weight onto the back leg and tilt the sail forward in the sail plane. The mast leans toward the water, the end of the boom points up and the board bears away [1][2].
Keep the sail fully sheeted in, the sail hand pulling almost to your ear. That keeps your speed even though the pull in the sail rises first as you bear away [1][2].
Stay in this position until the board points directly downwind. The pull in the sail eases, you sail toward the small wind ripples. This is the apex of the gybe [1][2].
On the run, turn the front foot out and place it directly in front of the back foot so your feet form a "V". Then bring the back foot in toward the mast. At the end both feet stand parallel on the centreline of the board, hip-width apart. The foot movement turns pelvis, upper body and rig with it [2].
Slide the mast hand along the boom close to the mast. Release the sail hand and swing the mast with the mast hand quickly past your body to the other side. Grab the mast just below the boom with the free hand and pull the rig on toward the gybe centre. With the hand that has come free, grab the end of the boom, sheet in slowly and only then move the mast hand from the mast to the boom [2].
The basic rule: you always flip a sail with the mast upright [1].
Head up to a beam reach and pick up speed [2].
Rehearse the flip on land with the rig in the sand, without the board. Move the mast hand along the boom, release the sail hand, swing the mast past your body, grab the mast under the boom. Five times, ten times. On the water you then only have to solve the balance, not the grips. When you later switch to the fast gybe, you have to relearn the timing of the flip [1].
You build speed on a beam reach, bear away with the sail sheeted in to a run, switch your feet parallel, flip the rig with the mast upright to the other side and head up again on the new tack [1][2].
Usually the mast leaves the vertical too far. After releasing the sail hand, raise it again with the mast hand so the sail rotates close to your body. Basic rule: you always flip a sail with the mast upright [1].
In practice yes for many beginners, because you turn with the wind and the sail changes sides mid-manoeuvre; this is not documented. What is certain: in the gybe you always lose height to the wind [2]. The VDWS system teaches both early [3].
No. 2 to 3 Beaufort on flat water is ideal with a medium, not too heavy rig [1]. The target range of the basic licence is up to 3 Beaufort [3].
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