Hi,
Im having trouble turning down wind and need some advice pls!
I can turn up wind fine, but when I tilt the rig forward to head down wind Im finding the board doesnt want to bear away and my body weight is 100% on my forward leg, leaving me over balanced and prone to falling off forwards, when hit by a gust.
Ive tried moving the mast foot forward and back and its still happening, I cant seem to crack it?
Any idea where im going wrong?
Thanks,
Squids
I didn't spend much time on longboard but mucking around in light winds i step back so i can maneouver board but tilt sail forward and across.
Lean back.
Tilt sail forwards and to windward.
Hang on as you reach warp speed
Edit: Ahh mk you beat me to it 
Glad you asked this SL as I am working on gybing at the moment and need all the tips I can get. Do you generally unhook from the harness? I find that when I am hooked in I cant seem to tilt sail far enough forward.
What the? You cannot gybe in the harness, check out Guy Cribbs site or similar video and you will get it straight away.
Yeah I realise that but do you unhook before you start to bear away then? I was trying to learn in stages. Getting comfortable bearing away first. Then trying more for the gybe afterwards.
Yes unhook before you bear away otherwise as a relatively early harness user you will get pulled over the front.
More experienced trying to say get planing carve gybes bear off, step out of strap or unhook whichever order you prefer, initiate carve and the rest.
I bear away still hooked in, then unhook and take back foot out of strap at about the same time, then initiate the carve at the same time as pushing the front hand forwards (which oversheets the sail).
Sounds complex but it's easy once you've tried it a couple of hundred times (I'm a slow learner 
)
Firstly, is it a longboard? (yes, you can say the "l" word on this forum without getting shunned too much 
).
If it is a longboard (or even if it isn't) have you tried bringing your mast foot forward?
I have found especially in bigger winds that if mast foot is too far back I have more trouble getting the Kona to steer down wind.
if its a longboard adn you arent moving fast then angle the saill to windawrd as you head off...tilting it forard will do nothing if you are 180 off the wind
if you are moving a long at say 7 knots of over then you can start using foot positioning....leen to leeward to turn downwind
Squid,
not sure if it is long or short board.
For a short board the trick to me seems to attack the run off the wind gently.
Move weight forward and sheet out with the back hand, tilt mast forwards gently, feather the power back in the sail, get comfortable and repeat. - Keep winding up the speed - when you think there is no power in the sail - you are probably milking it for as much speed as you can.
If you keep rounding up into the wind look at the size of the fin you are running and also the rake of the fin. Pointer fins do just that - point and some don't like running at 100+degrees off the wind. I'm I bog rap for the C3 Venoms that point really well and also run off the wind really well.
If you have the catapault feeling - try raising boom height and moving harness lines back. Longer harness lines can also help - especially with wider boards.
N.B at times - especially when overpowered I have some trouble with the board 'sliding out under the ast base during gybe', not going down wind - this is usually a problem with me no putting enough weight and pressure on the leeward rail to get the board to turn. - Oh an Mk7 is right on his gybe tips.
- J
Guys, enough theorizing - what is the board make, sail and wind strength you're trying to gybe in?
i'd raise your boom up a few inches (to around chin height) . that will help you get more leverage and load up the mast foot.
p.s. if it is a longboard and the centreboard is down weighting the windward rail will make the board turn downwind.
Hi, thanks for all the advice!
The board is a 355 cm Tiga, scalloped-V hull longy, with thin rounded pin tail, around 200 lire mark, with 24 inch D/B and rounded 10 inch rear fin.
I dont really bother putting the D/B down as I can hoon upwind with ease on it.
I think that where Im going wrong is I may not be leaning back and sheeting in enough when leaning the rig forward (as it was a good 16-20knt wind on a 5.7m np zone sail when I sailed it.
Im not hooking in at present as I've just returned to the sport after 5 seasons kite surfing. Will probably take my harness out after I can pull off a half decent gybe and gain some confidence!
Many Thanks
Squids
Squid,
Learn to use the harness first. Makes sailing more fun and less fatigue in the arms.
Gybing a long board - can be a challenge - you should almost be able to pivot gybe that board standing on the tail.
From memory you will need to be a fair way back on the board to get them to turn off the wind. Have to admit to very rusty memory here as it was 1984 when I last rode a board that size.
J
You are probably tilting the rig forward while unintentionally oversheeting. Try fluffing the sail out a bit, then kinda leaning the mast in the opposite direction you want to turn, the wind in the top of the sail will push you around.
...assuming you are not planing/carving?
Wave gear can be tuned on flat water ......gybe flat out on smoth water,feeling the board push it and slide and flex the fins.Also do carving 360 s with slide ,the feel will be similar on your bottom turn.
Now you just got to power up the face ..... slap/wack /and jam it off the top.
OK, big mistake you made to come in this forum, as you get answers...
Here inland my wind is flaky at best, so I use an old longboard for outings up to about 11-12 knots. Here are gybing clips - sort of. Probably most of it is about how not to do it, but whatever.
Forewarning: I think it's gay to pay attention to what other men wear -there, I said it 
. Having said that, note the booties for riding the rail, the torn sails, and the strong harness lines.
www.dailymotion.com/video/x7v2v3
Clip 1 - normal gybe. You have to "force" your way through it, may have to luff at first, I'm not sure.
Clip 2 - I reckon clew-first (sail backwards) gybes are more natural than normal gybes, whether longboard or on the 105l board and planing. Not sure why, but if you're comfy at riding clew-first, try it.
Clip 3 - a bit fancier, as I'm facing the wind into the gybe. Note this can be done equally on a 100l board, will try to find clips of this move on my Exocet.
Clip 4 - OK, nothing to do with gybing - just a party trick.
i'm a little confused here.
are we talking gybing the longboard or steering downwind?
steering downwind while planing with the centreboard up will mean the mast is towards the back of the track. (In lighter winds you may have half of the cb down and the mast will be more forward to balance things.)
the KEY is to swing your body forward at the hips while driving through the front foot "on the rail of the board" while pushing your front hand towards the nose of the board. it takes a while for a longboard to turn as there is a lot of rail in the water.
something to practice. - while sailing across the wind you can sail the board into the wind and off the wind by just switching your weight from front foot to back foot. (remember to keep the rig parallel to your shoulders and get your feet out on the rail.
getting catapulted when bearing off could be because you aren't bending at your knees. guy crib calls it monkey monkey???? i think..
gybing the longboard there are 2 main options.
1. flare gybe. - you need to have your centreboard down for this. although it can be done without the cb down it is harder and you must be more agressive by jumping back onto the tail of the board and sinking it hard.
2. carve gybe. - i usually moved my track forward after the gybe while in the clew first position before the run back up to the top mark. if you are sailing it like a shortboard then you won't need to move the mast track but a clew first exit will help keep the speed up.
ultimately you need to hang off the rig and get your feet out onto the rail. i would also recomend a harness. to get a longboard off the wind in 15-20 knots without a harness takes some physical effort. also. high boom or you will round up consistantly. in my experience formula and longboard technique is very similar.
hope this helps.
You can't weight your FRONT foot. That will just have you carving up wind.
If you are weighting your front foot while tilting the rig forward you have foot steering fighting rig steering.
Weight your booms and footsteer down wind with your back foot
Strange creatures.
I remember doing centreboard turns on my old tyronsea 330. You lift the nose and sink the windward rail. This presents the windward side of the centreboard to the oncoming water and pushes it down wind. You can use the same technique for steering while sailing fin first on a formula board.
Cracked it!!
I raised the boom, leant further back whilst leaning the rig forward and drove through the front foot - the board turned easy!!
I spent most of saturday practicing and ended up using the technique to accellerate through the squalls (by heading slightly down wind when they hit) then carve upwind after getting more speed up.
Thanks for all your advice - I had a great session because of it !!!
