I have been racing Valhalla surf skis from the start, winning the 20 mile bay to Bay race in San Diego 3 times. The record is 2 hr 24 min on a Valhalla Victory Spec. My time for that race was 2hr 27 min for 2nd. Philippe Boccara did 2hr 24min and 20sec the following year for 2nd best time for the 20 mile in the worst of conditions.
Valhalla skis are comfortable to paddle which allows more effort to be applied to your paddling I've gotten rides of up to 2.5 min on waves, so surfing is easy too during the So Cal SS Champs.
By the way, I also design and build the Valhalla Surf Skis. My best speed on a wave is between 16 and 17 MPH riding close to 1/4 mile in jetty at Mission Bay