Well today was the day. She's trimmed out right and the forecast was for 4-6 foot seas near shore. Perfect day for a test. I paddled 8 miles from Bolongo Bay, St. Thomas, to Cruz Bay, St. John. The whole way there seas were definately 4-6 feet, and from Great St. James (my mid-way rest stop) to St. John I would say they passed the 6-foot mark. That's always a bad stretch of water. If you looked up "spilling waves" in the dictionary you would see a picture of the waves I was hitting between Great St. James and St. John. Man this kayak is dry. The bow will punch through a wave slightly but then ride right over. The waves would make it up to about a foot from the coaming, and the sprayskirt rarely took more than just that... spray. The bow hatch took a beating, but stayed dry inside. One rogue wave hit me by surprise from the side while I was keeping an eye on an approaching ferry boat. It crashed over the side of the kayak and luckily I didn't hit the drink, but got soaked from head to... well, to waist actually. It stayed dry inside. Definately tested the hatch seals and the sprayskirt fit. With a headwind of (sorry, in mph not knots) 20 mph, and a current of at least 1.5 mph unfavorable I made the 8 mile trip in 3 hours paddling time (plus another 30 minute rest stop.) I'd say that's a fast sea kayak considering headwind and unfavorable current. Unfortunately I failed to clear my previous trip data from the GPS, so no stats for the first leg. On the return trip I did clear the GPS and have stats. The return trip had favorable winds and the current and swell were hitting me from behind at an angle to almost sideways. Also on the way back the seas calmed down quite a bit and were closer to 4 feet. Return data:

Distance: 7.9 miles

Time: 2:52 (Not sure if that included my rest stop or not.)

Average Speed: 2.7 mph (I toyed around a little more on this leg)

Maximum Speed: 8.7 mph (*must have been that wave I surfed into the beach!)
Well, that speaks for itself. I was using a greenland paddle, and carrying about 20 lbs of camera, snorkel, and safety gear. I weigh 155 lbs. The Atlantic is exactly what I was wanting: A fast kayak that tracks well and can carry gear for long trips. By the way, I'm only 5'7" with a 30" inseam, so shorter paddlers need not fear this boat.

I thought I'd share this info in case anyone was considering this kayak. By the way, it surfs unbelievably well. I had not planned on surfing, but coming back into Bolongo Bay there were some nice small waves and I decided to give it a shot. I think that's where the 8.7 mph came in. The bow stuck out and she shot off like a rocket. Next surf test will be in some REAL surf at Hull Bay. Today was just the kiddie waves, but I was quite surprised and could tell this kayak wanted to surf.

Happy Paddling!
-Malcolm
P.S. I have determined that sanding every night for 3 weeks is good preparation for paddling. I was surprised that I'm not real sore after not paddling for a few weeks while trying to finish this thing.