Surfing Waves

I know you all must see a lot of threads like this in the forum but I've been searching the internet for too long and I can't make up my mind!

In total, I have surfed for about 6 weeks (not much!) I can do the standard paddling, standing, turning and have simply fallen in love with the sport. I have only really surfed at two spots, Fristal - Newquay (England) and Spanish Point - County Clare (Ireland).

I'm pretty certain on both occasions I surfed on NSP 6'8" Betty Mini Mals and coped pretty well. I'm 5'8" and 63kg (around 10 stone). I'm not really interrested in buying a Betty Mini Mal purely because of its weight and size and I think I am looking for something a tad smaller - perhaps a fish surfboard.... but then again I have never used one. Basically I would like something light(ish) and I know that makes it harder to surf, and something of middle width.. also something I can develop on and not remian a total beginner!

I am also looking to spend within the region of £250-£350 as I am a very poor student!

All help would be appreciated

Lizzie

Well if you are doing ok and are feeling comfortable with your skill and ability (your able to pop up without going to your knees) then I would recomend going to a 6'6" short board squash tail thruster. They tend to be pretty stable, handle really well, and you can pretty much use the board no matter how good you get. I personally haven't surfed a fish before but from everything I have read and heard they are a bit more squirly and take a more experienced surfer to handle, as typically you want your fish to be at least 4" shorter then your normal board length. I surfed a 6'6" for the first 3 years and I found that no matter how much better I got at surfing the board could handle everything I wanted to do. Hope this helps.

CH

fish not too much of a good idea due to the loose feel, could get a larger shortboard, it will still be like riding a shortboard just a slight bit more buoyant although might still take some getting into