I paddled the brilliantly designed 18R for the 1st time last week for 10.8 miles on one of my time trial courses. My last 5.5 miles downwind and with current was at 7.026 mph. That is screaming fast in a sea kayak and an excellent time even compared to some of my skis on this course. I have done this course 243 times mostly in skis. This was after paddling upwind for 5.5 miles. I was at 84% of Heart Rate for the entire 11 miles. This was my first time in a sea kayak for over a year so as I get it dialed in I will be even faster. For the New England paddlers that want to break 3 hours in the Blackburn and not be in a ski, this maybe your best option. More to come. Exciting! Further time trials will tell, but I believe this will be the fastest performance sea kayak on the market. This boat is the Excel layup(32lbs). More to come!
