Technique: Gybing - End for End

We spent some time with dip pole gybes but never got comfortable. We got a few to work pretty well but there were always snags, the new guy going into the jaw the wrong way, the pole getting caught up on the lazy sheet, the pole pulling the sail down as it was dipped etc and really it never got as quick as I know it can be done.

So we returned to end for end gybes and things got fast immediately. Kraken has a Carbon Fibre pole, which is pretty light but it still gets unwieldy at times, so we're probably about as big a boat as you can manage the end for end on. Luckily for us winds in Oceanside in particular, but also San Diego tend to be on the lighter side which I think helps.

End for end also seems easier to accomplish single handing.

The succinct(?) explanation is:

• We turn the sail around the forestay and the boat through the wind at the same time keeping turning all the way to the new course. As the boat is passing dead down wind the sail should be past the front of the boat, will roll from one side to the other and the main is gybed. At the same time we release the pole, relying on the back of the boat to keep the sail flying as the boat continues to turn to its new course. Once the pole is set we switch control sheets / guys to the new side and high five as our competition sighs in appreciation of the awesomeness they just saw, though honestly they won't even know we've gybed until they hear the calls of starboard and have to luff horrendously rounding up in the procedure. Suckers!

More detail:

• Preparation:
• Helm: "Prepare to jibe!!"
• Pit: Make sure foredeck is in agreement
• Foredeck: We bring the lazy guy on the new side to the mast, ready to put in the jaws. [With one person, get it done. With two people, one is ready to snap in the new guy and one controls releasing the pole from the old guy at the right moment. With three the third person helps as needed, helping keep the sail flying as a human pole or communicating status back to the back of the boat and keeping an eye on things if hands are not needed.]
• Helm: Call the start of the turn "Jibe Ho"
• Everyone else: Critique as needed, the back of the boat is most likely to mess up the gybe so build some evidence to the contrary.
• Initial Turn to DDW [Dead Down Wind]  - 10 seconds:
• Foredeck: We bring the pole down to a height that is as high as possible while allowing the us to get the pole back on the mast. On Kraken the pole flies a couple of feet higher than you can reach comfortably. As the pole comes down the sail is less efficient and we are starting our turn.
• Pit: Slack on the uphaul as needed for pole drop, in unison with foredeck, extra slack as needed for pole disconnect. Assist trimmers, make sure sheets are in place for new course.
• Trim: The sail is rotated around to a deep configuration, pole back, sheet forwards. The sheet should be within a couple of feet of the forestay.
• Helm: As the sail rotates we rotate the boat under it.
• Main: Assist trimmers, making sure sheets are ready for new side
• The Switchover- 10 seconds:
• Foredeck: As the boat passes dead down wind we trip the pole, to allow the foredeck crew to work pit has given them some extra uphaul and down haul / foreguy slack. The sail will lean from one side of the boat to the other as the wind changes sides and this is the time to release the pole.
• Foredeck: Communicate with the back of the boat
• Pit: Communicate forwards and backwards. Call the trip when you see the sail rotate.
• Trim: Keep the sail rotating to its new side, don't over trim, make sure it is around the forestay before we go DDW and communicate with the helm if we are turning to fast or can turn faster. Keep the sail flying and don't oversheet and flatten it against the side of the boat!
• Helm: We don't stop rotating the boat but keep going through downwind to our course on the new gybe. Make sure we turn with the sail.
• Main: Pull main over to new side, catch it as it goes to take a little shock out of  the gybe
• The CleanUp - 20 seconds:
• Foredeck: Attaches the lazy sheet in the jaw that came off the mast and pushes the pole out and forwards (about 45 degrees from the bow) in order to reattach the new base of the pole to the mast.
• Foredeck: Gets pole back up to correct height
• Pit: Pole back up to correct height, downhaul and uphaul nice and snug. Assist with trim
• Trim: Switch control from old sheet to new guy (new guy in, then release old sheet).
• Trim: Switch control from old guy too new sheet (new sheet in, the release old guy).
• Main: Assist with trim as needed
• Helm: Concentrate on new course, work with Trim to keep the sail flying

When single handing:

• Use the autopilot!
• Rotate the sail and turn deep but not DDW (say 160 to 170 depending on track AP can run and shiftyness of wind).
• Gybe the boat and the main to new side. Sail deep again to keep the sail in front of the boat, but not so deep that epxected windshifts or autopilot wander will lead the boat below 170 true.
• Slack the uphaul and downhaul and go forward to move the pole over (bring pole down, put to new side, take back up, take uphaul forwards to snug it)
• Return to the cockpit, make sure I'm happy with the up / downhaul and adjust sheets
• Get to proper new course according to polars.

When done correctly this takes about three minutes at the moment, so I'm not gybing on minor shifts but I often make mistakes and it can take up to 10 minutes to properly settle on the new course. Practice....