The Wing Tack: Keep the Wing Flying

If you can already hold a straight line and work upwind, the tack is the next skill that opens up tighter bays and shorter runs.

A tack keeps you upwind, which matters when every gybe costs you ground that you then have to grind back.

Learn the order, because the sequence matters far more than the hand movement itself.

The board changes direction on the foil first and the wing swap is the last thing you do, not the first.

You already know the foil flies on speed, and that single idea explains every part of this turn.

Preparation: be slightly overpowered

Pick a day in 14 to 22 knots, onshore or cross-onshore, over flat water you know well, with waist-deep sand underfoot.

Slightly overpowered is easier than underpowered, because the wing keeps pulling through the slow part of the turn when your speed drops away.

Both hands sit on the boom at roughly shoulder width, with the back hand far enough aft to hold the wing sheeted in under load.

Trim the foil so it flies level at mid-speed without you fighting it, since a tail-heavy setup will stall the moment you unweight.

Ride the board and foil you already trust, because a small, fast foil punishes the slow part of the turn more than a bigger one.

Helmet and impact vest as usual, and check the sea breeze timing on the Perth wind forecast before you rig.

Choose a patch of water with clear space downwind, because every failed tack will cost you 20 to 50 metres of ground.

Initiation: head up and keep your speed

Start from a close-hauled line with real speed, then look upwind to the point where you want the nose to finish.

Speed is your fuel, so never start a tack from a slow, bobbing line that is barely flying.

Press gently with the front foot and ease the back foot so the board points higher, without pumping or lurching.

Keep the wing sheeted in and let it swing slightly forward, so the pull stays on while the board turns under you.

Do not sheet out hard here, because losing the wing's pull drops your speed and the foil settles straight into the water.

Stay low and forward over the front foot, with your hips leaning inside the turn rather than hanging off the back.

The wing is still working while the board is turning, so keep it loaded and leave the swap until the nose has crossed the wind.

Commitment: foil through the eye of the wind

This is the part most riders skip, and it is why their tacks finish in the water instead of on a new line.

Carve the board all the way through the eye of the wind on the foil, so the nose passes head to wind and keeps going.

Only then do you flip the wing, passing it across the front of your body as your feet begin to change.

Flipping early kills the pull while the board still points upwind, and the foil has nothing left to keep it flying.

Foil first, wing last, and the rest of the tack almost looks after itself.

Keep your feet light and shuffle rather than jump, because one big foot movement pitches the foil and stalls it instantly.

Execution: new front hand, sheet in, bear away

As the wing crosses, let go with your old front hand and take the boom with what is now the new front hand.

Sheet in straight away with the new back hand, before you spend any thought on where your feet are sitting.

Bear away a few degrees to rebuild speed, since pointing high on a fresh tack with no speed just drops you off the foil.

Once the foil feels loaded and quiet again, slide your feet into their proper places and stand a little taller.

Then push upwind again, and you have gained ground instead of drifting down the bay like a gybe would.

Expect the first dozen to feel rushed, because the whole turn takes about two seconds from head up to sheeted in.

Failure diagnosis: read what actually happened

Sheeting out too early, the foil sinks mid-turn and you step off while the board is still pointing upwind.

Flipping too soon, you lose all power before the nose has crossed the wind and the board stops dead.

Standing up tall, your weight slides back, the foil pitches up and stalls, and you drop off the tail.

Tacking in a hole is the quiet killer, so watch the water upwind and start the turn on a gust rather than a lull.

In offshore wind on a lee shore, every failed attempt pushes you further out, so save this one for onshore days in protected water.

A tack that ends with the board stopped and the wing flapping overhead is almost always a timing problem, not a strength problem.

Swimming after every attempt usually means you are starting too slow, not turning too tightly.

Film one session from the beach, because the gap between the nose crossing the wind and your wing flipping is obvious on video.

Count the sequence out loud on the water: head up, carve, cross, flip, sheet in, bear away.

Ten attempts a session in waist-deep water will teach you more than an hour of long, comfortable straight runs.

Build it on your strong side first, then force yourself to practise the awkward side in the same session.

Plenty of riders compare notes on timing and local spots in the Seabreeze forums if you want another set of eyes on it.

Are you turning the board through the wind before you flip the wing?

Do you still feel pull in the wing halfway through the turn?

Is your entry speed as high as your best upwind run?

Are you losing the foil because you stood up, or because you sheeted out?