There are a lot of people bashing the helmsman saying he was distracted and lost control. But there isn't much the helm can do when the trimmer drops a meter of sheet causing the spinnaker to rotate around the front of the boat inducing so much heel that the rudder starts to poke out of the water. As soon the boat became uncontrollable, vang and sheet needed to come on and the pole needed to go forward. This was caused by the trimmers not the helm.

Everyone does it. Great recovery. Sorry about your pole.

I have been through at least 30 Chinese gybe and the reason they happen is not normally a helmsman issue but because someone eased the spinnaker sheet. This exactly what happened one second before this gybe. I raced on Frees 43 named di-hard and she was the most unforgiving yacht on the planet.

Haha wow I took this video! Ya crazy experience. Happend during the 2015 windjammer which is a race from San Francisco to Santa Cruz. Ya there was a puff and the sheet got eased and all hell broke loose. Right before that we hit 18 knots, which on a Farr 40 is pretty insane! Super fun time.

This video helped me understand what happened on sv platino. A 100 times heavier boom swinging in front of the helm back and forth.

When start swinging from windward to leeward have to depower the kite flattening out behind the main sail and tighten the kicker to give the main more power to counter balance. YES, the crew too relaxed knowing that a chinese gybe may happend.

this was easily prevented. Too many of the crew are too relaxed and too far forward and seemingly without a task ...all crew should be alert and a member each on Vang, both spin sheets and main sheet and a tactician should be instructing trim to the whole crew and allow the helmsman to concentrate on driving the boat. The guy on helm looked to be doing a good job. The crew member on the cabin top should not be facing aft, but be in the pit. Put him on vang, halyards and topping lift. At these speeds, every crew member must be concentrating on their task(s). The driver should ONLY drive and a tactician should be giving instructions. Farr 40s are designed to be bow out downwind. Seems to me with so much of the crew weight midships to forward that this gybe may have caused by the bow getting stuck on the back of a wave and the boat getting bow-steered into the gybe

This is why you have a guy on the vang been there done that on a S80 back from Bunbury to cape Naturalise Western Australia at night made for an interesting time

Going så fast.. looks like you dit it for a joke... the speed and controle.. and then just 😂

So now the kites down, what's the next move? Jibe the main, sort out any damage, chuck the heady up and pole it out. Once confidence has returned in the crew and owner throw up the 1.5oz kite and hang on for a while longer. Concentration levels usually stay fairly high after a chinese and maybe sail a degree or two higher on course.

nice video - anyone who has sailed regularly knows that feeling. I was surprised how quickly the rudder stalled after the boat heeled to windward - the helmsman seemed to have the wheel well over with little response. I wonder if twin rudders would be better? After the gybe I wonder if the boom vang could have been released faster? I know its easy watching this from the comfort of a chair>>>> Thanks for posting

Respect, been there done that. Once the rudder control is gone you don’t stand a chance. It’s about practice, practice and more practice. Thanks for sharing.

Even for a racer, is it normal to let the main go that far onto the stays? Had the main been less loose, the gybe would have been less exciting. But the most important thing is that they were going 15+ knots down wind, and still had 15+ knots of wind in the sails. This means when they stopped, the apparent wind increased from 15+ to 30+. With so much wind, a preventer seems smart. It is great fun to power downwind in lots of wind, but it is riding a tiger.

Having too much fun!

A Chinese gybe on a sailing vessel is a type of gybe where the upper section of the main sail moves cross the boat, filling from the opposite side, whilst the lower section and boom remain on the original side of the vessel.

ah maybe don't distract the helmsmen, that bloke could steer my boat anyday

What is the english expression for Bullenstander?

Wow. Everyone jus look so calm and just did what was needed. Awesome.

Little knockdown. Several a4 deer in headlights, the only time they respond is to some yelling. Going out the backdoor is never fun, but always rewards good seamanship.

was the mast salvageable ?

lots of funny comments... speak to empower your skipper not have them doubting/questioning

We should probably get this kite down 😜

WOW..why is the chinese gybe happening? In what condition does it happen?? and what should be done in that condition?:))

Would a preventer have prevented this Chinese gybe?? Problems I see as a novice sailor, is the question of no preventer, even if it is a race at these speeds there should be a preventer. that leaves me to believe that the amount of experience on board has lead to an attitude of complacency. Another problem area I see, especially during such a violent uncontrolled gybe is the helm, although I like the design of the wheel and it looks awesomely cool the fact is the spokes are wide enough for a crewman to fall into, especially in a crash incident like the one shown in the video, the forces could affectively hurt someone and entrap the boat even more. Then I also see the main sail cutting into the stays, and even though it is racing, this in my novice option automatically bringing the yacht to the very edge of it's reach leaving very little leeway for any mistake at all. What could have been done better? Obviously looking in after the fact, like watching a field game from the side lines.....but as a novice sailor what are the definite mistakes that could be improved on. When everything was going well, the sailing in the video looked great, the speed was phenomenal and the helmsman appeared to have it all under control. My question is, if the crew was more active and in tune, and the helmsman directing more vocally, if the preventer was on, and the main sail trimed off the stays would the have been slower or faster?

I like Chinese food

of course you never get a wind shift.

I guess it’s wrong I find this funny.

for this kind of experiment the boom needs to be secured towards the bow. That got lucky, nobody got hit when the boom came over.

Why did this happen?

I wish youi would have not used a fish eye and showed more of the boat i cant figure out what kind of boat that is. but thanks anyway .

Curse the internet comments sections: giving twits a global stage to squawk on for far too long (yes, I'm absolutely aware the irony of this post).

Crew too relaxed, failure to anticipate (except for the one guy who says "we should probably get this kite down" 10 seconds before), especially when hitting 18 knots.

Very much a racing scene. On a cruiser, I never fly a spinnaker. Never. It is an unforgiving shipwrecker.

You've all got it wrong ! It's obvious they should have reefed the bilge rat and barnacled the jib spinner. Duh.

Gotta love how someone always has to push the boat too deep and by the lee. And the "we should get the kite down" pest distracted the helmsman making him look over his shoulder.... and that's all it takes.... one second of distraction! Pole forward and up a few degrees guys! You would never survive sailing in Hawaii! Kite down why? Calm seas! Minor winds! Try the Molokai Express in the Lahaina Return Race sometime!

That would be a lot more unlikely on a Trimaran

where was the preventer? These guys are Sunday sailors

Helmsman looses it when he looks back (3:31)

des amateurs du dimanche ....

If I had a penny for everytime a helmsman got distracted just before losing it! 😲

helmsman pulled boat to starboard - simple as that - he needed to keep pressure on holding to port side ! It aint rocket science.

helmsman stuffed it turning to windward, simple as that.

How is that a Chinese gybe and not just a crash gybe cause by the helm loosing concentration and not reacting far or fast enough. Isn't a Chinese gybe caused by the rolling of the boat caused by the waves perhaps. That is an expensive sail being damages by the spreaders, you got lost of money? Finally, where is the preventer to stop the boom swinging across and killing someone.

noobs

Don't waste your time watching stupid sunday sailors: Jump to 3'30" directly to see how "stupidity killed the cat" !

That's racist!