Tacking problems

Could be a couple of things:

- hesitating too long in front of the mast. You need to get around quickly while the board is still planing, by the time it stops you should be on the other side, holding the boom, ready to plane again.

- another very common mistake, one that I suffered from for quite a while when I first started tacking small boards, is the tendency to bring the sail forward with you as you go around the mast. This changes the balance point and you and the rig end up in front of the mast foot and fall in. Easiest cure for this is make sure your back hand goes directly across to the other side of the boom without holding the mast.

- a third possible fault is stepping too far in front of the mast foot, thereby sinking the nose too much. Its actually ok to sink the board, on my very small boards the entire board is underwater when I tack but you want to sink it level, not with the nose heading down.