bic veloce328

Question
Hi there,
  I have just bought a bic veloce328 with 4,4 5,5 6,6 sail, clamp on boom and 2part carbon mast all of which, i go for ?50 in almost new condition from a friend of mine who had used it a hand full of times.
I weigh 83kg, 6,3 tall, age34 and athletic build with good experience in dinghy sailing and have tried windsurfing many years ago but basically a novice. Have i bought the right board to learn on? or have i made a bad buy(i sail on west kirby marine lake, merseyside, england)

Answer
Hey Sam,

That board should work great for you to get you through the beginner stages and into advanced sailing. Once you get harness, jibes, tacks, and footstraps down, you will be ready to start learning waterstarts. They may be a bit of work on a bigger board like that but by then you will probably be looking to get a smaller board anyway. But hold onto this board as it will work well for you in lighter winds even after you advance to short boards.

As for the sail sizes, you will probably use the 5.5 and 6.6 the most. You may even want to consider getting a 7.5 for the light wind days. You could probably go up to a 9.0 with that size board. If the winds are big enough for the 4.4, the board will probably be too big. But you will eventually use the 4.4 on a smaller board and you can also use it on the big board for smaller people.

I personally feel that you have made a good purchase and will get lots of good use from the gear you have. If you enjoyed dinghy sailing, you will love windsurfing. You do have a leg up on most beginners as you already understand wind direction and how sails react to wind.

Best of luck with your windsurfing adventures.
Keep on sailing,
Windlover