Article: Stay on your knees and grab a hold of the uphaul, without pulling up the sail yet. Using a beginners board should mean you are pretty stable - rock back and forth on your feet to get a feel for it. Try to keep your back and body somewhat upright. If you feel your lower back starting to ache, you are bending over too much. This is called the "safety" or "control" position: total control with next to no power. With the mast straight up tilt the mast to your left. Your body should transfer this imbalance(the center of effort of the sail is not balanced with the center of lateral resistance of the board) to the board and make the board turn(or spin) clockwise. Tilt the mast to the right and the board will turn(or spin) counterclockwise(anticlockwise). The stronger the wind and the further you tilt the faster the board will turn(or spin). In a stiff breeze you may be sailing very slowly at this point. Another steering description is as you tilt the mast to the stern the board will head up in to the wind. This is also described in the turning section of this doc. Tilting the mast to the front makes the board bear off from the wind. Look and see which side the bow of the board is in relation to you, and place your lower hand on the boom so the mast is leading the sail towards the bow(front). When you feel ready, transfer the other hand to the boom. Don't let the sail pull you down - the mast should be perpendicular to the board, so lean back and keep the arms straight. This is called the Number 7, and that should indicate the posture to you! Keep your feet behind the mast foot, with the toes of the front foot facing forwards. If you need to stop, return to the safety position, or drop the boom if it is safe to do so. Make sure it goes in front of you, and bear in mind you will get very tired if you have to keep on picking it up!
What is a summary of what this article is about?
Push the board out into deep water until the fin is clear of the bottom. Get a sense of the wind direction, and maneuver the board so that the sail is downwind of the board. Swim or walk to the upwind side and clamber onto the board - elegance is not required! Raise to your feet at a slow pace. Bend your knees slightly and pull the sail up from the water with the uphaul, hand over hand like hauling in a rope. Take hold of the mast with both hands and let it swing. Practice steering(called Center of Effort Steering) in the "safety" position. Start moving. Pull with the stern wards hand (the back hand) to accelerate - let it out to slow down. Relax!