The Carving 360 step by step: speed, laydown posture, backwind phase and foot change in front of the mast – with conditions, board choice and typical mistakes.
What is a Carving 360? A full circle you carve downwind out of planing and with which you end up heading in the starting direction again. You initiate a gybe but keep the sail flat and sail the circle to the end [3]. It is the king move of classic freestyle [1].
The honest answer on difficulty: rationally it makes no sense, because at the end you sail in the same direction again [1]. Dailydose rates it level 5 of 6 [3]. If you already sail reasonably secure power gybes or race jibes you are ready to learn the move [1]. Still: the second part of the circle, where the sail is backwinded, is demanding. Royn Bartholdi warns that there is a tendency to be backwinded and thrown backwards onto your back, and that is only half the move [2].
Where the skill sits in your learning chain: the Carving 360 is the touchstone for everything you learned in gybes: speed, rail feel, sail control and footwork in one move. It builds directly on the laydown gybe and leads to the clew-first variations, the Wave 360 and many classic freestyle combinations. If you manage it, you have a feel for the board that many never develop.
The move is spectacular, but above all it rewards patience. It is not unusual to work on the backwind phase for a long time (experience). That is no cause for worry and no sign that you are unsuited. Watch for small progress: one more arc, a calmer sail, a cleaner foot change.
Pick days with 20 to 25 knots and flat water. Set the straps inside and, if necessary, larger so you can pressure the leeward rail [1].
Unhook and bear away with plenty of speed. Take a wide grip on the boom and pull the back foot from the strap as in a normal gybe. Keep the board as flat as possible (off the rail), weight forward, eyes downwind [2].
Milestone: you sail 10 laydown gybes in a row without the mast dipping.
Sail straight downwind, then lean over the leeward rail and give pressure with the back foot to the inside rail. Pull the clew towards the tail and extend the front hand to spill wind [2]. Rake the sail back and lay it down, exactly as in the laydown gybe. Your arms are positioned as if holding a billiard cue [2].
Keep the sail low and away from your body, but raked back towards the tail, all the way onto the other tack. Your knees stay bent [2]. Eyes just above the mast tip [2]. When the board stalls, your weight is back and you place the front foot directly in front of the mast [2]. This is the hardest step and needs finesse [2]. Sail control in backwind is the key: the sail comes at you if you push against it. Keep it open and guide it back [1].
Rule: the harder you push into the sail, the harder the wind answers [1].
Pull the rig upright, push with the front foot and pull with the back foot [2]. The nose turns into the new direction. Then back into the straps, hook in, go.
Milestone: three clean Carving 360s in a row on your favourite side, then on the other.
Try the clew-first variation only once the normal Carving 360 works: it combines elements of the duck jibe, Carving 360 and push tack, is worth a try mainly in less wind, and is best practised slightly underpowered [1].
A full circle you carve downwind out of planing, with the sail held flat, and at the end continue in the starting direction [3].
Ideal are 20 to 25 knots and smooth water [1].
Yes, with a turn-happy board with a narrow tail and inside-mounted straps. The last quarter is much harder in the straps, though [1].
Pushing against the sail in backwind: the harder you push into the sail, the harder the wind answers [1].
The Slam Gybe in Windsurfing: Tight Radius With Tail Pressure