The Difference Between Tacking And Jibing (Gybing)

When I first started out, I remember going through my very first tacks and jibes.  The skipper would call out “Ready About!” and I will admit, I was not ready at all. I watched and listened as more seasoned sailors around me rapidly released ropes free of winches, while others wrapped ropes around other winches.  Ropes were sent flying off the side, and other ropes were hauled in with ferocity, almost desperation. The boat would heel from one side to the other uncomfortably and I lost my balance regularly. My tacking and jibing knowledge was “baptism by fire”, and I had to learn quick.  I found that actually taking part in the process of tacking and jibing sealed my understanding of these two processes. On that trip, I became one of the well-oiled-machine-crew as we tacked and jibed our way up and down the channel. It was awesome!

I hope to break down these concepts in this guide so that you too can get a jumpstart on understanding the difference between tacking and jibing. If you understand the principles upfront, your actual hands on experience will be so much easier.

What is the difference between a tacking and a jibing?  Tacking is how you head upwind, pointing as high into the wind as possible, to keep the sails full.  A jibe is conducted when you are heading downwind. Both involve the processes of turning the boat to change course when the current direction of travel is no longer possible or safe.

But wait…..How can a sailboat go against the wind?

Sailing Against the Wind

In the explanation that follows, I will be assuming the wind is steady and is  coming from one direction only.

When heading upwind, a sailboat is said to be on a tack. Now, by upwind I don’t mean directly into the wind.  Sailboats need to turn away from the wind by about 45 degrees so the the sails can fill with wind. This is about as high as a sailboat can ‘point’ upwind.  The wind will be blowing over one side of the boat, and the other side will not be in the direct wind. The windward side is called the weather rail, the no-wind side is called the lee.

Sailing upwind is possible in the same way flying is possible for an airplane wing. When wind passes by a wing it goes both over the top and under the bottom of the wing. The wing shape is designed so that wind travelling over the wing has to travel further than the same wind going under the wing. This creates lift. You can recreate this by holding the edge of a piece of paper horizontally up to your mouth.  Blowing air at the edge across the “top” side of the sheet. From a hanging down position, the paper will lift and flap in the wind you created. The fast wind flowing across the top of the sheet will cause it to lift.

The same thing is happens as a sailboat tacks upwind.  The only difference is, the lift of the sails is kept contained by securing the loose ends of the sail to the boat by ropes.  These ropes are called sheets.

Just like blowing across the “top” of a horizontal sheet, the wind blows into the forward edge of a sail, creating a wing like shape, and the principles of lift take over.  If you’ve ever watched the America’s Cup sailing races, you will notice that the main sail of the racing sailboats is literally a vertical wing.

There is one more key component to sailing upwind, and that is the keel and rudder.  Without the keel, the sailboat would be pushed sideways by the oncoming wind. The keel enables the boat to establish a line of travel by not allowing the wind to push the boat sideways. The rudder works with the keel, once the boat is in motion, to establish the direction of that line.  

What is Tacking?

Sailboats can’t sail directly into the wind.  They can only head up about 30 – 45 degrees off the angle of the wind.  From a bird’s eye view, sailboats look like they are zig-zagging their way to their destination when they are tacking.  When heading upwind, you will either be on a port tack or a starboard tack. A port tack means the wind is coming over your port (left) side, and a starboard tack is when the wind is over your starboard (right) side.  While on a tack, your sails will likely be close hauled. That means that the sails are pulled in as tight (or close) to the boat as possible. When you find that you need to turn the boat, you will need do a tack. This is the only way to “make way” upwind.  

In a tack, if you point your course too high upwind, your sails will flap like a flag.  Point your course too low, and you may pick up some great speed, but you won’t make any headway upwind.  Effective tacking means finding the balance between pointing high, and maintaining speed.

What is Jibing?

Jibing happens when you are heading downwind.  It should be thought of as turning the stern across the wind, as opposed to turning the bow across the wind.  When you need to jibe the boat, you use the same basic techniques as tacking, only the main and jib sheets are most of the way out.

How to Tack

Tacking is when you change the course of the sailboat by steering the bow across the wind. As the bow is steered across the path of the wind, the sails will fill on the other side, and the boat will heel over the other way.  The boat will now be travelling approximately 90 degrees from the last heading.

There are a few things to coordinate in a successful tack. Communication with your crew is very important.  As the boat approaches an area that the skipper feels is suitable for a tack, he will call out “Ready About!”  The crew then takes position at the winch, ready to let all of the jib sheet go. The skipper will then call out “Coming About!”  This is when he/she will steer the bow aggressively across the wind by about 90 degrees. Now is the time to release all of the jib sheet.  The jib sail will flap like a flag as the bow crosses the wind. This is the time to haul in tight on the other jib sheet. If you time it right, and with enough practice, a good crew can complete a tack with minimal lost speed.  

How to Jibe

Heading downwind, the principles of sailing are a little easier to understand.  The sails are filled with wind and are pushed by it. This is called running, and it is a direct line of travel with the direction of the wind. A sailboat that is running with the wind (or Wing-on-Wing) will have the main on one side of the boat, and the jib on the other.   Running requires the jib and main sheets to be let out nearly all the way. This allows the boom to move out and away from the cockpit, about 90 degrees. The same thing happens with the jib sail. Letting the jib sheet out allows the sail to catch the wind at about 90 degrees.  When the boat course needs to change, the boat is steered in such a way as for the stern to cross the wind. The wind will fill the backside of one of the sails as the boat turns. This can cause the boom to swing quite rapidly from one side of the boat to the other. This is a real danger to your crew if they are not prepared.  Being hit by the boom could be deadly.

If the boom remains in place, the jib will be the sail to backwind and need to be reset. The jib sheet will need to be released from the winch it was on, and hauled in on the other winch, just a bit.  

Running requires a great deal of attention to the wind and to the position of the sails.  It is not easy to keep both the main and jib sail full of wind. Accidental jibing happens all the time.  Many skippers prefer the broad reach as a way to keep under control a little better. Broad reaching is at times faster than running.  It is also a way to let your guard down a bit and relax while making way downwind.

Broad reaching is different than running, in that both of the sails will be on the same side of the boat.  It is not a direct line of travel with the wind, but looks more like a zig zag pattern. Jibing while broad reaching involves the same process as tacking, however the stern of the boat crosses the wind, as opposed to the bow.