This is one of the most frustrating basic manoeuvres of beginner and intermediate windsurfing. Once mastered it is so simple but until you reach that level you feel as though you are not even on the same planet as far as seeing the light at the end of the tunnel goes. Very frustrating!

I always tried to set imaginary markers to help me with the flip of the rig onto the new tack, so that I wouldn't stop planing. That was the hardest part for me I 'll go into that more in the next paragraphs. If you break this simple move down into a few easy steps then it should make things easier to complete. The end goal is to gel the steps together so that the whole thing becomes a smooth transition from one tack to the other with no joins or seams, just a smooth carve gybe.

The carve gybe is a manoeuvre that even some pros don't do correctly, it's just they have the competitive edge and balance to make it work for them. You may have seen some pros lean back a lot scraping the clew of the sail on their shins, although this is an advanced laydown and this doesn't yet apply to you. All I am saying is that even if you can successfully gybe you may want to stop to take a look at yourself and change something, it may help you improve on other things you don't realise.

Start the gybe on a broad reach, as fast as you can whilst staying in control. It is true to say that the faster you go is nearly always the better.

Bend your knees into the turn, much as you might do on skis or a snowboard. This actually makes the board much more stable and will help to stop wobbles on your way into the turn. The more you bend into the turn the more you will keep on a rail and in turn keep your speed.

Sheet in your back hand as you bend your knees and start to steer with your legs and hands. The imaginary line I used to use was about now in the turn. Imagine that the wind is 45 degrees onshore from the coast as it often is where I live (or 45 degrees to an imaginary line if you sail on a lake or somewhere other than the UK's south coast). The idea being that you sheet in, bend your knees until just before this point.

This is the time where you let the sail go and change tacks, flip the sail and sail off. It is important to stay 'tucked' in this position until the apex of the turn which is when you are going to flip the sail. I try and think of it in as little breakdowns as possible. The set up, the knees, the sail sheeted, the turn and the exit. This will help in the end for it to all gel as one move. Most people come to grief at this stage, either stuck with their knees bent paralyzed in this position or their balance eludes them and they fall. The last thing is they become heavy footed and sink the board.

The exit can be done in two ways. Flip the sail changing you feet afterward or before. I would suggest after, it makes for a smoother transition and eliminates the chance of stalling the board due to heavy feet. The reason the pros change feet first is that they are going much faster generally in rougher water and they do this for stability not speed. Let the sail go don't force anything, let it go. If you maintain any sort of pressure with your knees then the board will go around and the sail will flip. You should then find it easy to catch on the new tack. As you move off on the new tack, gain a little speed then change your feet.

Errors in this technique will arise if you slow down too much, especially when you are flipping the rig. It is then crucial to keep your speed. If this problem persists then try going into the turn, initially, with slightly more speed.