Simon from Bray Lake explains: “The Starboard Rio is an excellent board for the beginner / intermediate to learn and progress on. Its stability at rest hides an eagerness and quickness to plane that allows it to be used by a wide range of sailing abilities. While the board is relatively short, its parallel sides and daggerboard allow it to be sailed upwind with ease, allowing more time to be spent sailing downwind. At the early stages of learning, time on the water is critical to progress and the Rio does that job perfectly. Whatever the conditions the Rio is up to the challenge. It provides the ideal platform for learning to get into the harness and footstraps – essential skills for sailing smaller boards in the future. A firm favourite with our regulars, the board has proved popular since its introduction to our hire fleet and has proved a big hit with those looking to buy their first board.”

Features: Full EVA soft deck, contour deck design, built in Tufskin for maximum durability, integrated nose protector, centre and nose carry handles, entry and intermediate footstrap options, fully retractable daggerboard, 41cm Deep Tuttle box fin.

Comment: Complete with a Tushingham Express rig package this is a great buy for an improver. Our instructors seem very impressed with the Rio due to its reasonably long and narrow outline, which gives it a much wider application over shorter, narrower designs. This style of board tends to track better in a straight line, go faster, and go upwind much better – all of which makes for an ideal first time purchase.