Fanatic and JP have great boards to start with. All-wave and Fly. Speak to a local shop. Have a demo, and see what works best for you and feels right. Look out for the bugs in them though! Once they bite you just can't let go an done board becomes three!

You guys are about the same weights as my wife and I, and have similar paddling requirements.

We are both novices and wanted something that would be a little challenging (but not too much), after all you don't want a board that is so big that you can instantly ride it without some instability and the benefit of strengthening those core muscles while trying to keep your balance.

We did the rounds of all the local (and not so local) stores as well as attending some free demo days and endless internet research. Eventually the decision came down to a toss-up between Naish (Nalu and Mana) and the JP Australia boards. We settled on the JP Fusion 10'2" Wood Sandwich for me and the JP Wide Body 9'9" Wood Sandwich for the better half.

These boards are perfect and we could not be happier.

Cheers for the advice guys, always helpful to hear from people in (or have been in) similar situations starting out.

Gotta say I found it easier to pick a suitable kiting kit when I first started that, than I am finding by looking at the range of sup boards out there.

I guess it's one of those things though, with the learning curve etc, almost any board suitable for a beginner is going to be suitable until you learn how you'd like to ride and can move on to another board with practical knowledge under your belt, right?

It's fairly big bucks to spend on a board, so it's a bit nerve wracking making the right choice.

Demoing definitely sounds the way to go.