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Hi guys,

I can now ride very comfortably both ways on foil and follow pretty much any course I want (upwind and downwind) but... I can't turn! I have looked may videos and try to follow them, however I can not gybe (they all say is the easiest) on my good side to toe side. Would you have any practical exercises to do in the water that will get me there? Maybe I'm too anxious to learn and it is a matter of time... after all I have only been foiling for about 6 sessions, so I'm pretty happy with the progress I have made, but want to ask if there is anything I can do to get me turning sooner. I have managed to do a couple of turns to about 3/4 before the lines go slack and I have no power, they told me, turn faster (I wish I know how! lol) and loop the kite... I'm comfortable looping the kite I just don't feel the confidence doing it on the foil (yet).

I do have a pretty stable wing, 633W and a very stable board Sabfoil T65 with a 90cm mast - I have only straps in the front (at 45 degrees), no strap in the back of the board.

Thanks in advance.
G.

A gybe in low wind requires quite a bit of skill and good timing and in low winds will start to require loops (especially with heavier kites)
My main recommendation would be to make sure you go out with enough wind. 15+ knots makes life quite a bit easier where you can usually just send the kite slowly across 12 without losing to much power during the gybe unless you keep the board fully pointing downwind for a long time.
Note that the kite movement goes first so you basically follow the kite with your board.
Be aware that you will be a LOT less efficient at foiling on your toeside so, again, make sure there is enough wind speed, you are properly powered. You should be still able to go slightly upwind on your toeside but especially in the beginning it won’t be close to the insane upwind you can do on your heel side.

I think learning gybes with a loop is probably too hard/complex for most beginning foilers and should be avoided to prevent doing to much new things at the same time.

You can do all of this at super slow foiling speed on your setup since the 633 should be able to keep foiling at near walking speeds.

Good luck and just keep going at it!

In light winds, if you have a kite that you can back stall and pivot turn in place, a nice way to gybe can be to send the kite across the window instead of up and over 12. Kind of like an easier loop. Suppose you're going left, bring the kite to 10 o clock, pull in the bar to almost back stall the kite, turn the kite to face 2 o clock (this pivot turn should happen in place with zero power from the kite), then do your turn and the kite will travel from 10 to 2.

https://progression.me/
great instructional videos and have specific video for gybes
https://progression.me/player/collectio ... collection

If you can't turn faster (pivot turn), I suggest to try initiating the turn later: Redirect the kite, and then wait longer than you think is needed before turning the board. then you'll have more tension in the lines and your 'follow the kite' instincts will kick in.

Don't rush it. It's hard. My wife and I worked for 2 months to get it (our equipment didn't help!). Your 633 and big board will make it easier. From what it sounds like (slack lines), you just haven't figured out the kite timing as yet. You don't need to loop. When you are going straight on a reach, try little short, hard S turns to get the feel of how much you can turn the board. Then try bigger arc S turns. This will help you during the turn when you feel the lines going slack, turn the board harder to maintain tension. Try and get a friend to watch you to see what you are doing with the kite.

For me, I could only complete gybes with success when I've started to make them with downloops. Without downloops I can only gybe if the wind is strong/consistent enough to make the kite cross the wind window fast.

As others has said - just take your time, it is not easy.

A few hints:

Learn to twist your body, leaning in like on a surfboard does not work at all, the turning impulse has to come from your body "yawing" - and then you lean to follow the curve.
As one said, learn to make S turns as sharp as possible - as your major problem with turning, besides kite coordination, is you will make a huuuuuge wide arc and everything will go wrong.

DONT turn the kite first and follow - does not work and you will end up with slack lines and a kite that drops.

Bear upwind first, a lot, keep the kite at 45 degree.
Use longer lines, everything get easier with 25-27 meter lines.
Fly the kite up slowly, and turn the board around now simultaneously.

This is key, and with time you will learn to get turning all the way to toeside, and still having a bit of pull in the kite.

Thats all there is to it - but it is NOT easy, so just keep trying

Peter

Still learning…
What is helping is that to do what I want in the kite “faster” I forget the bar and use the lines to steer.

The thing that helped most for me at that stage in my learning progression, was don't look at the kite and always keep one eye on the water so that you can judge where you need to keep the foil located (in the water) and how hard you can turn.

I also agree very much with Leeuwen's advice. You do not need much power compared to conventional boards, but for learning, you want the power to come easily and be easy to control.

...That means using a smaller kite in moderately strong wind.

In that case you should not have to loop the kite in order to make the turn.