G'day all,

I'm keen to start SUP but not sure which discipline to focus on. Having looked around and talked to a few people, downwind looks great....plus I live in Parkdale, so easy access (I assume?). Otherwise, I'd like to be able to cruise around coastlines and try some surf too.

I'm looking at some downwind boards on this forum and there are a few that seem to suit. I am 80kg, 178kg and 48 years old.

Not sure if to buy a downwind board and see how that goes or buy an all-rounder first and see how that goes. Any advice, greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Thanks Area10. Not much SUP experience at all bar a few sessions/lessons in Bali in very small surf. Used to surf a long time ago.

I wouldn't plan on hoofing straight out to the ocean but if downwind was something I figured I would want to get in to...would it make sense to buy a downwind board first and practice along the coast/get lessons etc on that or does it make more sense to get a all-round board for that and potentially look at a downwind board down the track?

Thanks, John. I'll go see the guys this week. Cheers...Dean

You aren't going to be able to surf a 14ft board if you are a complete newbie. It takes quite a bit of skill to surf a board that big. So if you are aiming at surfing then an all-round board would be better to learn on. In order to downwind, you need to be able to surf. So in my view it would be better to acquire the skills of surfing and flat water paddling competently before trying to downwind. Downwinding is in my opinion the best part of SUP. But it is a lot harder than it looks, and is physically exhausting. I'd suggest that you demo some boards long before you buy anything, and maybe try paddling with a group of beginners first. No-one tries to get into mountain climbing by going up Everest. You've got to acquire some basic skills first.