Executing a jibe in a small sailboat can be an exciting process. Since the craft never sails into the wind, as during a tack, the sails are full of wind the whole time and things can be happening pretty briskly.
- Helm: Prepare to jibe!
- Crew: Ready.
- Here the helm applies rudder to change the course in such a manner that the wind approaches the sails from the opposite side. The command Bearing Away may be issued by helm (though I have never heard it).
- The crew uses the sheets to control the sails. When the heavy boom swings through the centerline of the craft, Helm alerts the crew with Jibe Ho! so they know to duck.
- The crew lets the main sheet back out smartly so that the boat does not heel over excessively.
If all went well, nobody was brained by the boom or
swept over the side by it, nor has the boat been
swamped or
capsized, and the vessel is proceeding on its new course.
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