Safety

• Skim in areas away from crowds! - once you're skimming, you may be travelling for 20 metres or so with little directional control, and the board could injure anyone who is in the way...
• When you are learning, expect to fall off a few times. A good rolling technique should limit the damage, and wearing a wetsuit will give you some extra protection against bruising.

• Where to skim - when you skim for the first time, the most important thing is to find the right surface. About 3cm of water over FLAT sand/mud is perfect. The flatter the sand, the shallower you can go, and the easier it is to skim. If the sand is rippled, it spoils the cushion effect (and you need deeper water) and everything becomes very much harder.
  Avoid skimming in stony areas, not only will it be harder, but your board will get scratched.
• How to skim - there are many websites with help on how to start skimming and progress onto tricks. See the links page for more information.
• If you're skimming barefoot - you may want to rub some surfboard wax onto your board to improve the grip.

• After skimming, rinse the board with fresh water to remove the salt.
• Examine your board regularly for any dings, scratches etc. If any of these appear serious, it is a good idea to touch them up with some varnish, before water can penetrate into the wood.
• If the board is used regularly, it's a good idea to sand and re-varnish the board every few years. This will keep it both looking good and waterproof. Use a high quality yacht varnish such as International Goldspar.