Look to the area to leeward behind the headsail to make sure you are clear to make your turn
Ease the boat onto a course that is close to the gybe point - say between 20 and 25 minutes to or past on a clock face - rather than 15 minutes - a beam reach - as in any strength of breeze this can become rather dramatic and tends to be trigger for all those silly " I hate gybing comments"
Have a conversation with the crew (or just talk to yourself if sailing solo) along the lines of - "I think we'll put in a gybe if that's ok with you?"
Assuming positive response say "OK then, Stand by to Gybe"
Take in a handful of mainsheet to make sure the boom does not gybe from spreader to spreader in one big dramatic swooshing movement or motion.
Crew uncleats headsail sheet and unravels a bit from the winch.
Cheerily call out "Gybe-ho" and pull tiller gently towards you if sitting to windward, describing a gentle arc smoothly through the water. Look up at the roach area of the main to watch the wind come onto the new side as this will be the force that gybes the sail.
If on a dinghy, its good practice for the helm and the boom to cross simultaneously on their respective journeys and equally it will ensure a nice smooth gybe if the tiller is centralised for a moment at that time as well - means that you will gybe efficiently from run to run rather than run to reach
Crew should let the headsail do the work and sheet smoothly in as it crosses over rather than letting it flog.
I cannot be bothered to describe the spinnaker gybe system but will if you really want me to - you will need to ask nicely. Of course in flat water and particularly when the Main soon shadows the Headsail, it often pays to gybe the headsail first and go goosewinged for a while then gybe the main.
There are millions of alternatives but this roughly describes the "RYA method"
I always think it counter productive to sheet in the main as some people do - this in fact encourages the boat to go up to windward which is the opposite of what you are trying to do
claymore wrote:I always think it counter productive to sheet in the main as some people do - this in fact encourages the boat to go up to windward which is the opposite of what you are trying to do
Eh? If you are sailing at '25 past' or '25 to' on the clock face as you describe then there is no way that sheeting in the boom will make the boat round up to windward.
Unless of course the Claymore is like no other boat ?