Sorry, the topic isn't really clear but I didn't have enough characters. Firstly, I *have* performed three successful beach starts in the month or so that I've been learning, however, I think they were pure flukes and not skill based. I just got lucky and usually I can't do it.

The main problem I have is that I feel like I can't get my front foot up and onto the board in a solid fashion before I try to pull myself up. Basically just the back of my heel is on the board and my toes are pointing skyward, so when I pull myself up, I end up swinging sideways around the back of the board and come crashing down with the rig into the water.

Should I be aiming to get the sole of my foot on the board, or is having my heel on the board correct? I feel like I'm not tall enough to get my whole foot on the board. Maybe I'm trying in water that is too deep (thigh deep), although my 38 fin means I have to get reasonably deep to clear the sea floor.

Any tips to master the beach start? Anything I can do that might be technically kludgey to a more experienced windsurfer, but make it easy to get going even if a bit undignified?

I learnt in shallow water with my fin dragging on the bottom,seemed to slow things down and felt more solid,pretty old board so I wasn't to concerned and now its easy.

Oh wow. I've been trying to go front foot first all this time and that's not what these videos say to do. I'll see how I go with back foot first. In deeper water do you guys manage to get the entire sole of your foot on the board, or do you just dig in with the back your heel?

Will try practically sand-banked too.

The trick is to treat the boom as if you are doing a pull up. Try and transfer all your weight down through the rig onto the Mastfoot. This will stop the board rounding up as well. I beach start front foot first which is not normally how they do it in the videos as you say and maybe a hangover from sailing narrow boards in the past, but it works for me and the board doesn't round up. The rig doesn't really pull you up. You step up by having the rig nearly vertical and trying to push the base through the board and being light on your feet.

Wot the decrepit guy said, plus,..
Once you learn how to beach start in shallow water, back foot first, it's easier then to progress into deeper and deeper water to eventually get the makings of a water start.
A water start in light wind can be quite a bit similar to a beach start in deep water because you can have your back foot up on the board and then use the front foot as a sort of flipper to help paddle your weight up onto the board. You can get quite a bit of lift with a bit of leg paddle and combine this with a bit of lift from the boom will get you up and away in very light wind, just so long as there is enough to hold the sail up.

Before you start your session take a deep breath in and reach for the sky. Now reach 4 inches more, then 2 more, then just one more. Breath out while you let your arms fall down the sides. Other than loosening your body a bit you notice that it i always possible to reach a bit farther then you think. Keep you hands close together on the boom and try to get the mast as vertical as possible, perhaps even over-vert if the wind is really light.
Common mistakes are bent arms and hands to far apart. Also get the board close, so you just need to step up on the board.

Guy cribbs tip it to have outstretched arms then bend them and pull the board back under you / towards you ( board pointing off the wind more and using your rear foot to do this - see moonwalk tips guy cribb)then step up.Easier in knee deep I suppose. That way the rig stays more upright - for light wind beach starts but with experience you can use it in more.

Back foot first when learning.

But you want to aim for both feet at the same time. Use the sail to keep the board pointing where you want it and then as the sail powers up just let it pull you up and jump on, that way you aren't weighing the back of the board down so you don't have issues with fin digging into sand or hitting rocks.

But like most things in windsurfing, do it what ever way works for you.

Cheers
Graeme

I picked this video mainly to show hand position.



The harness lines are attached at the point on the boom where the sail pulls. Usually you would then sail with your hands equidistant either side of the harness lines, so you had equal pull on both hands. You can see in the video over and over again that the hands are positioned more toward the rear of the boom than equal either side of the harness lines.
The reason this is done is to get more pull on the front hand than the rear hand for the beach start or waterstart. This helps pull you up onto the board and lessens the tendency for the nose of the board to turn up into the wind.