Hi,

You need to think longer term when buying a cat as a beginner, especially where you have limited choice. I've been through 4 boats in 4 seasons as I have developed. It was half an hour on a Hobie Wave on a Jamaican beach that got me started. It took about that long to outgrow it!

I would take Wouter's and everyone else's advice. Avoid the Hobie 16 - they are 'challenging' and not renowned for stability. Buy a seconhand Nacra 5.5 / 5.8 / 6.0 and you'll get a solid boat that will last forever, be stable and safe, but have the potential to go very quickly in moderate winds. You can even retro-fit spinnaker kits to these for more fun.

Cheers
Simon