Hi, my name is Fred
I am 75-80kg and 1.84m.
Perth

Here's a little story...

I have been kitesurfing for 5 years, have been pretty fanatic about it. I rarely surf and so do not have any specific surfing skill other than a board skill from kitesurfing. I can stand on a long surfing board but have marginal control in the wave.

I broke my neck while surfing (bad karma on me! I should have not critisised surfing above! ) 6 weeks ago. Thus, I reconsidered the sports that I can do. At this stage, I can walk (yeah! ), go to the gym (I don't coz I prefer outdoor activities) and paddle on flat water. Any impact sport, such as running, is still a no-go zone at the moment.

Fortunately, I discovered SUP 2 months ago through my surfing fanatic g/f who bought a 11 foot Starboard (2 year old I think) . I really enjoyed it from the first time. I had a long love story with kayacking (both whitewater and ocean) and SUPing reminded me the ocean side of kayacking but funnier because of the balance and the full body work-out.

I have now decided that SUPing will be my next main sport .

My experience with SUP is limited to 5 trials, possibly 4 to 5 hours in total. I can stand and handle the ocean with limited swell and sea (<0.5 to 1 m). I am likely to mainly SUP on the ocean with some downwinders. I enjoy challenging my balance on the SUP so I will be after some swell more than glassy water. However, I will regularly enjoy a quiet -night?- cruise on the river and probably try to catch small waves at a latter stage.

I have been extensively reading the Seabreeze SUP forum (and others). I have been looking at various boards. The 11' (I do not know its width and thickness) that I have been using so far, feels a bit big even on the ocean with a bit of swell. I am tempted by a star board 10'5'' x 30'' Drive or similar. The 10'x34 Whopper looks interesting too! I also looked at the 11'2x30' Blend... Can you feel some hesitation???

I am hoping to get the opinion of some of the experienced SUPers and ocean SUPers from Seabreeze, on a suitable board size for my weight and usage?

Following this advice, I will try some of the boards...

.... and finally start my new sport!!!

Cheers

Fred

Hi Brooko,

Thanks for the input . It helps.

I read good comments on the 11'2''. However, because I am about 20 kg lighter than the writers of these comments, I am wondering if a shorter board would not be more suitable for me, even if I do not aim at wave riding.

Me definitely in the ignorance phase of the sport...

Fred

Very nice post Fred. I think you are going to love your career path. When starting out go for a big one at first. One that's nice and stable. Naish 11'6 comes to mind. When you get your confidence up then go for something smaller. You can always sell the big one down the track. Although, I still love my aircraft carrier and won't part with it. I wish you all the best.

Welcome fver, unless you are going to ride waves there is no point going shorter than the 11'2 - I'm 68kg and love the 11'2. But if you are planning on down-winders the 12'6 is better, way more glide and far more capable of catching swells on the downwinders than the 11'2. Big advantage of the 11'2 is simply that it's lighter and easier to live with because it's smaller - go and try as many as you can. I know we went through all this a couple of weeks ago with another guy in Perth but can't find the post sorry!

Good on you for getting back on the horse!

ps your weight wouldn't be a prob on the SB 11'2.

pss if u get one, get the new one with the pintail

Hi Fver,I didn't break my neck, but I did have major car accident that kept me out of the water for far too long,so my sympathies are with you. I know you will really enjoy sups, whether its surf or flat .It is a sport that will be beneficial to your physical recovery. Like all new guys to sup without a strong background in surf, you really should buy a big sup to start with it as it allows you to paddle for longer, and develop your paddle technique which will be major strength when you do hit the surf. Is g/f short for girl friend ? if so you will have lots of fun together suping,this is important for one other big reason!buying your smaller more user friendly surf / sup Fver, if you check this forum, I think you will find most guys including me, have at least two sups if not more,so my recommondation is buy a good big sup to hang onto, for no one board will do each area well, eventually you will need two. Good luck and good suping Rodriquez

Hey Fred,

I have never ridden the Starboard and I'm sure it s great, I can thoroughly recommend the PSH 11.

I have ridden the PHS 11 in up to 1.5 overhead and it rips, yet it has great stability and glide on the flat water even for me and I am 105kgs.

Jump on a demo board some where and IMO you will never look back.

Wishing you big swell and offshore winds

Phill

Hi Fred,,,,i haven't broken my neck but i have found neck extension whilst surfing led to neck strain . I decided to try SUP because it looks like fun/and easier on your neck , it outdoors and keeps you fit. I have just bought a 11' 2" , 30 inch wide Jimmy Lewis . I took it out for my first real long session today ..2 1/2 hrs at Ledge point in glassy conditions with a bit of swell. Great fun , i fell off untold , fell on my bum on the back of the board ( ow!) ,,,caught a few small waves. Im definitely going to get into it.

I wondered why i hadn't seen your fearless flysurfer at Swanny recently!
If you want to meet at Swanny some time ,,, for a paddle let me know.

Cheers Jeremy

Hi Fred & Jeremy,
Jeremy, that Jimmy Lewis is 11', not 11'2"! Glad to hear you're having fun on it! The all-rounders are the best for cruising & small surf. A lot of guys have "quivers" now but I haven't got the storage & had to defuse any possible missus-whinging by sticking to one board. I've gone down from 11' to 9'8", but I'm just 174cm & 72kgs. After 2 weeks on the 9'8" I know it's going to be great for down south, up north, & the half-dozen times a year when we get a "huge" storm swell in Perth. The rest of the time (& I'm usually stuck in Perth for 90-95% of the year) the all-rounder would be better. The 9'8" is hard work (catching waves) in small surf. I'd recommend for you a board like Jeremy's, (Crawford has one for sale on this website), or maybe the 11'2" Starboard (one for sale 2nd-hand on this website). PSH also has some all-rounders. Andrew in Sydney will ship one over for you. www.paddlesurfhawaii.com (I'm not affiliated).