Step 3 - Tacking

This session should take at least 30 minutes. Uphauling is very tiring, so stop before you are too tired to get back to the dock.

Tacking a windsurfer, like tacking a sailboat, is turning the board into the wind and continuing so that the board is sailing on the other tack, with the wind coming over the other side of the board. To do this you will have to end up on the other side of the board, and to do this you will walk around the front of the mast as the board passes through the wind.

1. Place the board in the water, paddle away from the dock area to avoid collisions and start sailing. Make sure the centerboard is down. Tacking will be very difficult or even impossible in some conditions with the centerboard up.
2. When you have sailed far enough from the dock to be safe from collision, head up into the wind, sailing on a close reach.
3. To tack, head up strongly by tilting the sail towards the back of the board.
4. As the board approaches head-to-wind move your forward foot in front of the universal while keeping the sail tilted aft.
5. As the board gets to head-to-wind, With your forward hand, let go of the boom and grab the mast just below the boom.
6. Let go of the boom with your aft hand and walk around the front of the mast. You should end up with one foot forward of the universal and the other aft.
7. Once you're around the mast, with the hand on the mast pull the mast strongly towards the front of the board and a little towards the new leeward side of the board.
8. Reach over the hand on the mast (which was your forward hand and is now your aft hand) with your other hand and grab the boom.
9. Release the mast with your new aft hand, reach out on the boom and sheet in the sail.

   Since a windsurfer doesn't weigh much, it has little forward momentum and will probably not turn very far through the wind. You will have to force it to fall off hard to get sailing again, which is why you tilted the mast strongly forward.

   Crossing in front of the mast is an unstable position, since the sail is not full and therefore will not support you. Try to get the sail filled and rely on the sail for balance as quickly as possible, especially when there are waves, or you'll probably fall.

10. Once you're sufficiently off the wind, move your forward foot aft of the universal, as in step 2 and sail.
11. Once you're comfortable with this maneuver, sail the board back to the dock.