Don't be swayed by a magic carpet Diana if like you said you love the glide of a longboard and you like the funky stuff guys & gals do on them. Like herbie says you'll catch a lot more waves on a longboard and with an increase of wave count comes quicker progression.

I think that’s the beauty of it, it will take a lot of effort, energy and practice before any nose riding will be done (by me anyways). But can you imagine how good it will be when it does happen. Dedicating my leisure time to the pursuit of the aforementioned "stylin".

In regards the fire ball, i cant fault mine, but there not the easiest board in the world to surf, they are more performance orientated, there's a very small sweet spot for catching waves too, but the other side of that is, once you get it right, it will let you away with SO much;)

And with the magic carpet, again they're not without their quirks, i found with the you really had to have you positioning/timing spot on to catch waves, i think it was due to the belly under the front third of the board

Plenty of good boards in the buy and sell section

Can't go wrong for a board for progressing on, just practice well away from others as you'll have to get used to the size and the wave count

Re the arms, I reckon they stretch while surfing. Went for a session the other evening and decided to walk along the beach to the spot, about 500m, as it was a nice sunny evening. I kept having to switch between left and right arms with the strain. After 2 hours in the water I walked back to where I came from and it seemed way easier to carry the board and kept it under my right arm the whole way no bother. My board is 23 inches wide.

Good to hear of more girls looking to progress their surfing, especially longboarding
I hear the south point longboards are pretty good as pop outs go and would be pretty user friendly. They may or may not be under 600 euros, I dunno.

Thanks everyone for all the advice.

I didn't know what to think about which type of board to get - I fancied a longboard but a couple of the surf shops recommended a minimal when I rang for advice

There'll be no stopping me now though!

When it comes down to a decision it's really up to your own preference, do you want a shorter board thats easier to handle/carry and slightly more manoeuvreable but wont catch waves as easily ,ie - Minimal, or do you want something that's a bit of a challenge to carry and turn but will be loads of fun out in the water and catch loads?, ie - longboard.........Tis' up to you

I definately recommend a 2nd hand board if your going fibreglass anyway, no point in throwing away the cash for something a bit more shiny but pretty much useless until you can surf it properly

Hope that helps

The board you have means that as your skill level improves so will your boards potential. You just have to try and not ding the hell out of it in the meantime!.

It is very important if you want to progress quickly to be doing fitness outside of surfing, build up core body stength, stretch, practise pop ups on a daily basis, and cross step anywhere that requires a bit of balance (kerb, bits of wood, anything). That way when you hit the water your half way there already, its all muscle memory.

i'm doing 2 yoga classes a week and 2 jogs a week at the moment to get my fitness levels up but not practicising my pop ups or cross stepping out of the water..and when i do try move up the board i am looking at my feet and im not stepping, kinda more like shuffling
it is going to be a long hard slog but sure i will keep at it

Fireball's wouldnt be the best noseriders around really. more for powerful turns and off the top reentrys.

dont look at your feet, look at the wave ahead of you, bend your knees slighty and cross step. if you shuffle you'll lose your balance as the weight will not be distributed properly on the board and its harder to keep in trim. put one foot in front of the other and hold that position and then put your foot back and do that for a while until it feels natural, then go for it.

Carry it on yer head, I do it regular enough, especially on long walks to the surf, saves the arms for paddling

I know this isn't any help but what did you think of the bic 7'3" ?
Would you advise a surfing hopeful, i.e. me, to buy one?
Did it ride small (2-3ft) waves well?

sometimes its nice to take advice off shops, but at the end of the day the final decision lies with you, the cash-holder

if you want a longboard, you get a longboard. i believe you won't regret it and i've never met you

weird, i was able to cross step on my other longboard but since i got the fireball I haven't yet managed to cross step properly.
I spent the whole weekend shuffling. I must have looked like a bloody frog ... ... ....
... ... oh wait.

That said I got my first successful barrel yesterday with the fireball. I'm still smiling and laughing about it at work this morning.