Jibing the Jib!
Jibing the jib is much easier that jibing the main. It is just like tacking... just ease the headsail sheet and trim it in on the opposite side. It is easier as the main is taking most of the wind from the headsail when you are sailing downwind. Easing the headsail sheet, not fully casting it off, is the key. If the headsail is fully cast off to fly on its own, it can wrap around the headstay.
Smooth Sailing!
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Jibing can be easy, can be dangerous!
Tacking heads you into the wind, jibing turns you away from it. To Jibe, you bear away from the wind until the stern of the boat passes through the wind. Now the wind has passes from one side of the boat to the other. The challenge is that your sails are full when you jibe! Can this be dangerous? You bet!
Small boats have small sails and they don't hold much wind. Large boat's sails hold a tremendous amount of wind. It is not wise to jibe boats 35 feet and larger unless there is very little wind. When sailing downwind an 'accidental jibe' can be very dangerous. All of a sudden the boom swings across the wind resulting in a loud bang, perhaps breaking some rigging, or breaking someone's head that just happened to be standing in the way of the boom.
It is wise to practice jibing everytime you get the chance so you are familiar with the procedure. Come and take our sailing classes and learn to jibe!
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Let's talk about tacking and jibing! 'Tack' comes from the Old Spanish taco, meaning 'plug'. In olden days the windward corner of a course or square sail was also called the tack. When a shop passed through the wind she was changing tacks.
Nowdays, tack describes a boat's relatinship to the wind. When wind comes over the starboard side of your sailboat, you are on a starboard tack. When the wind comes over the port side of the boat you are on a port tack.
Tacking describes the act of tacking or 'coming about', by making your boat's bow go from one side of the wind to the other side.
The forward corner of the sail where it is attached to a stable fitting is called the tack. It is tacked down to a permanent position.
Jibing... next blog!
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