Hi there, good to have you back in the sport, like many people re-starting! Well, the Gecko 156 with or without Daggerboard is maybe the question - do you think you can stay upwind without a daggerboard? if so, then the size should be more than big enough as the Rio M might be bigger volume, but is in fact narrower than the Gecko at 81.5, vs the Gecko at 85cm. So should be stable enough!