A lot depends on what sort of windsurfing you'll be doing.
If it's flat water light wind, I wouldn't bother with ancient gear. The board you'll use in very light wind is also fine to learn on.

(What happened then???? I was in the middle of composing and all of a sudden it's posted before I'm finished!!!)

Anyway as I was saying, if you want to get into waves, or don't think you'll be interested in very light winds, there's a couple of alternatives.
1 buy cheap ancient gear that you can sell on again when you've finished with it. Trouble is you may find it very hard to sell on again, and old gear is much harder to use than the new stuff.

2 hire stuff while you learn, maybe not as convenient as having your own stuff.

3 buy what will be your lowest wind board, and if it's too small to uphaul learn to waterstart first. This is a harder way to learn, and there's no immediate success but it's quicker. A lot of people who try this way, give up, but I think that's mainly thru lack of good lessons, and not wanting to be seen making a fool of themselves.

hi grahowler,

all of the boards mentioned are not the best to learn on.

tyronsea is total crap (poor universal joint design). styrotech is to easily damaged and hifly lacks stability (hull shape). avoid all old school gear completely. except maybe a windsurfer one design. one designs are superb and very cheap. try and avoid a one design with an old sail and boom, that is no good. you need a more contemporary sail and boom. one designs with really old triangle sails are no good. the newer one design sails are a lot better and easier to manage.

for modern gear something like a second hand wide board is more suitable. when i say wide i mean 85cm and up, but avoid race gear as it is made from carbon and easily damaged. starboard "go" etc are great, but a little expensive.

look for a wave sail to start with, they are more forgiving and durable. probably a 6-6.5m would be a great size and maybe a 5m sail as a second sail.

a fibreglass mast is better than a carbon mast for learners and a clamp on boom is a must. don't buy a boom that needs to be tied onto the mast with rope.

you should definately get lessons. maybe you won't like the sport.....? if you are nervous about buying from the newspapers then the 2 places that i think will give you the best advice on gear aren't in brisbane. you should talk to either

Peter at caloundra wind and surf.
Deiter at sunshine coast sailboards.

both those guys have been around for a very very long time and stock some really great secondhand gear. they also tend to have more learner type gear around as well.

don't buy any gear that says slalom, wave, race etc.

most sailing around brissy is done on flat water and some of it is not very safe for a beginner. board crazy does it's lessons at manly and that is a good spot. the swimming pool area at wynnum is good in a NE or SE. Thompsons esplanade, victoria point in a SE is good spot at high tide, the northern side of Wello in a northerly is good but muddy. i think the 2 best spots are either gold coast broadwater at southport, south of the swimming pools in front of the big carpark area. or the passage at caloundra.

a good video to get is Windsurfing made easy with Tom Luedecke. you can find it at most libraries. cleveland definately has a copy.

the things to remember are these.

golden rules
1. always learn to turn around first...... this is a must.
2. only sail in onshore conditions when learning.
3. line up something on the shore to see if you are drifting.

other than that. it is an absolute blast. best sport ever...

good old gestalt has done a good overview of the situation.
so.....get a dvd. visit local spots, check out local shops(most important)they don't expect you to buy off them they just like windsurfing and talking about it.but with advice comes service so it's a two way street
and do yourself a favour.
remember,mates don't let mates rollerblade.[}:)]

Wow guys, you're all extremely helpful thanks heaps!

Obviously passionate about the sport eh!

There's lots of great info here to get me started, Gestalt there's almost a Sticky in that post.

Anyway, it's obvious that I have a bit of work to do in researching gear, and yes - I am going to book myself in for some lessons. I'm only 5 mins down the road from Manly so that sounds perfect, in fact I'm going to go to Board Crazy today to have a look at some gear and book in for a lesson.

Thanks again everyone, I can't tell you how much I appreciate your interest. I will keep posting and let you know how I progress on my gear research.

Cheers!