what equipment to buy

Question
Thank you for offering this service. I am a 6??185 lb. 50 year old Hobie sailor, and I just took a beginner lesson in windsurfing. I can sail every day (summers on lake Ontario, and winters on Lake George, in Florida). Both locations offer force 3-4 typical wind speeds, and lot of room to sail.

My goal is speed sailing, not tricks. I just bought an old Windsurfer Onedesign longboard that after a fews hours on the water, and some reading, I can finally sail around with confidence. It抯 fun!

I'm saving for new or nearly new equipment as a graduation present, once I master my longboard. What would you recommend given my goals and sailing conditions. I'm very determined, and love a challenge, I plan to sail once a day for at least an hour, but most of all I love sailing fast.  

Answer
Practice for a while with your 1design and get a lesson on using a harness and waterstarting.  These are key skills to master in order to increase your fun and safety level.  Once you feel comfortable in deep water and you really want to go fast you will want a board around 90 liters considering your weight.  This will be your high wind board (20 to 30 MPH wind) and you will not be able to stand on it and uphaul it.  You will need to be able to waterstart it in water depths over your head for those times when you miss your outside jibe.  This is a major jump from the 1design.  You may want to start off with a more intermediate board such as a 140 to 150 liter board.  Look at all the boards on the market in this volume range.  Compare the following within similar volume: weight and width.  Don't go too wide.  When you line up all the boards available in 140 to 150 liters you will see some very wide boards and some more moderate width,  go with the moderate width.  Also consider the weight; the lighter the better but the more fragile.  You will need a sail in the 6 to 7 meter range and a 45cm fin for the board and sail in this range.  If you can afford it I recommend using full carbon mast and boom.  The feeling of carbon is far superior to aluminum for these components.  I cannot recommend any given brands but if you do your shopping and want me to look at the specs on some boards for my opinion I will.  You should subscribe to a windsufing magazine that will give you some reviews of currently available boards and you will also pick up some tips on better sailing.  I always buy used equipment.  I shop on windsurfingclassified.com and ebay.  If you buy used make sure it is not older than around 5 years old.  Good luck and I wish I could sail once a day for at least an hour.