Step 4 - Sailing downwind and Non-planing jibe

This session should take at least 30 minutes. Uphauling is very tiring, so stop before you are too tired to get back to the dock.

Running before the wind, with the wind coming from directly astern of the board, is the most difficult and unstable point of windsurfing for several reasons:

• The board is moving with the wind, so the apparent wind the sail feels is slower than the full wind speed, and there isn't as much force on the sail to help hold you up and balance you.
• The sail is perpendicular to the wind, which causes it to be stalled and therefore not as effective. Again there is less force on the sail to hold you up.
• The centerboard, even if it is down, is not being pushed sideways, so it provides very little resistance to board movement, and the board is less stable than on a reach.

1. Place the board in the water, paddle away from the dock area to avoid collisions and sail upwind to give yourself room to practice sailing downwind. If you ever get further downwind than you'd want to self-rescue from, sail back upwind.
2. While on a beam reach, fall off to a broad reach by tilting the mast towards the front of the board. You will probably have to move your hands further out on the boom; this is a good thing, so do it.
3. As you approach a run, start tilting the mast toward the windward side of the board.

   When you are on a run you will want the sail perpendicular to the wind, which makes it perpendicular to the board. In order to keep the sail from trying to turn the board, you will need the center of the sail directly over the board, so the top of the mast will be over on what had been the windward side of the board.

4. Step back so that you are facing the front of the board with your feet next to each other. Your knees should be bent and you should be pressing down on the boom to help stabilize yourself.
5. Try steering the board through small turns, remaining almost on a run, by tilting the mast to the side opposite the direction of turn, e.g. tilt the mast to the right to turn left.
6. Head up to a broad reach by tilting the mast in the appropriate direction, moving your forward foot forward to resume the normal reaching position. You will probably have to reposition your hands on the boom.
7. Sail back upwind, tack and fall off to a run on the other tack.

Once you're comfortable with sailing on a run, it's time to learn the jibe.

Jibing a windsurfer, like jibing a sailboat, is turning the board away from the wind to a run, moving the sail to the other side of the board and continuing so that the board is sailing on the other tack.

1. Place the board in the water, paddle away from the dock area to avoid collisions and sail upwind to give yourself room to practice.
2. Fall off to a run.
3. To jibe, turn the board even further beyond a run (so you are by the lee)
4. Slide your forward hand (the one nearest the mast) towards the mast and grab the mast below the boom (as in a tack).
5. Let go of the boom with your aft hand,
   swing the mast across the board with your forward hand (the one on the mast),
   reach over with your aft hand and grab the boom on the new side,
   let go of the mast and grab the boom with what was your forward hand but has now become your aft hand,
   and start sailing. The tip of the mast will be on the opposite side of the board from where it was before the jibe, with the center of the sail directly over the board.

   The preceding steps need to be performed almost in one motion, since you'll be in unstable positions between steps, and the sail will be blown out of your reach if you don't grab it quickly enough. If you can't reach the boom with your aft hand to sheet it in, simply turn the board by tilting the mast, and start sailing again from scratch.

   You will probably end up on a broad reach, so you can either move your feet to the appropriate position and sail on the reach, or fall off to a run by tilting the mast as needed.

6. Fall off to a run and jibe back.
7. When you've jibed a few times, head up to a close reach and sail back upwind to do it all again. Keep away from the rocks!
8. Once you're comfortable with these maneuvers, sail the board back to the dock.