Laser2

I think a cats a good call, could go to a Dart 18. If you get in to it, a Hurricane 5.9 is an awful lot of fun for the buck.

Originally posted by giwy1 what the heck are all those little skinny ropes for at the front :) I'm guessing they trim the sail so mainly used for racing so I guess most of the time I can ignore them as I just want to dart around for now.... Or are they for something else????

This is a common misconception for newbies and cruiser sailors. Those bits of string are not just for racing, they are standard sail adjustments to make your sailing experience easier. The quicker you learn how to effectively use them the more fun you will have and the easier your sailing will be. Their use applies to every boat ever made even very sedate boats. What often appears as lots of string is simply convinient systems to allow you to adjust the kicker, cunningham, and outhaul from either side of the boat. These sail controls exist or at least should exist in a basic fashion even on club gulls, wanderers and Wayfarers.
Welcome to the technical sport that is sailing.

As for boat, I'd say make your mind up what you want to do. There is no boat that will allow you to do everything you have asked for particularly well and due to the laws of physics, never will be. A Sprint 15 (formerly Dart 15) is probably the closest you'll get but at 95kg plus a sizeable crew you'll sink it.
If there is a chance that you might start racing, and really it's the best way to improve and enjoy the sport, then identify a popular class at your home club and buy into it, even if you fall outside the optimum weight. You can trade on up to a better suited or newer boat as you improve and you will have the help and assistance from your fellow class sailors at the club.

Wanderer (shortened Wayfarer) or Sport14, plenty of them around, cheap enough and should carry both of you whilst being manageable when on your own.
L2 might be OK on you own, yes a Phantom would be better but no cheap GRP Phantoms around.

You can get the mast stuck in the mud when capsizing in a shallow lake. But it isn't stuck forever - you just have to wobble the boat a lot as you stand on the centreboard. The longer you sit there, the more the wind blows the boat in a circle around the mast, until the wind is helping you withdraw from the mud.

Once you bring the boat up, big lumps of mud will fall on your head from the mast tip. You can wash the mast at the mid-way point of capsize recovery (when mast is horizontal) by wobbling it in the water from your precarious perch on the centreboard.

Do some practice when there's a safety boat around, until you get the hang of it.

Lakes are nice if you have one, in strong tidal situations it all changes and you can't rely on the boat drifting around downwind and the mast comming free.