Hi, I have been windsurfing for about a year now and have well and truly got the bug.

I did the level 1 RYA course and one level 2 course last October then rushed out and bought myself a Mistral emotion 151 and rig to go with (North Drive 6.4, 430/55 mast, etc). I didn’t really know what I was buying at the time and still don’t really know If I did the right thing now, but I suppose it has been ok to learn the basics on.

I was inspired into the sport by watching wave sailing/bump n jump at Overcombe, Weymouth so this is what I would like to get into.

I am 33, 74kg, 5’9’’, fit and determined. I also have the luxury of living in Weymouth and being a shift worker so I get bags of time when the kids are at school and the wife’s at work to get out and play!

My current ability:
I’m now ok with the harness, straps and planning.
No problem with beach starts, but still hit and miss with water starts.
Basics tacks 90%, basic jibes 60%.

….anyway my question is: what board should I get next?

I would like a board which is good for small waves, blasting through chop, bump and jump, and possibly freestyle. I’m not sure what size to get or what manufacturer/model to go for. Also I should imagine that what I’ll end up with will get bashed about a bit initially until I improve so I’m after something on the cheaper side of £200ish. (This is all the money I have).

Can anyone recommend anything to me?
Does such an all round board for this money exist?
What boards are good/ not so good, what should I look out for etc?

I think that I will keep hold of the emotion 151 for flat water blasting, and trying to encourage friends and possibly even the wife into the sport.

Thanks in advance.

Steve.

I progressed from my first board to a fanatic skate 112 (2002), very easy to sail and can be uphauled if you have to. highly recommended if you can find one. even better get the 2003 model.

Might be worthwhile spending some time in portland harbour to get the water start fully sorted, this will increase your levels of joy considerably and give you the confidence to sail much smaller boards.

Yep, agree with griptool... Get those waterstarts sorted in the harbour, on a realtively modern 110 litre(ish) board. There are lots to choose from so, take a look through some classifieds sites / 2nd hand pages on shop sites and see what they have in your price range at this sort of size, then come back here with your findings and we'll tell you those that are most suitable.

A board of around 110 litres, should provide you with enough bouyancy to continue your learning curve without holding you back too much, and will still serve as a big bump and jump board once you have progressed even further and have yourself a nice wave board as well. Going too small straight away will only hinder your progress and limit your time on the water.

You'll also soon want (need) a smaller sail as well so that you can get out in stronger winds. Something around a 5.5m will probably be a sensible step down from your 6.4m.

Al.

Im another one to agree something about 110. I started on a 150 techno and moved down to a 112lt techno e. Keep the big board too I still use mine on lighter winddays (8.5 sail) ......get a lot of them inland

Thanks for your replies.

I will take your advice and appreciate that I may have to spend a bit more now having had a quick look about. I will let you know of my progress.

I forgot to mention that I do have some smaller sails.
I picked up a simmer style onshore 5.7 and a Neil Pryde 5.0 from freeads earlier this year. Both sails are a few years old but feel fine although the emotion 151 seems to be very bouncy on smaller sails/bigger winds when the chop gets up in the harbour. I suppose that this is because these sails are close to the board’s bottom sail range (5M – 9M) ? (I have tried putting the mast foot further forward.)

……anyway, thanks again

Steve.