the north shore is glacial moraine (spelling??) there are some rocks remaining even after the migrants from the city grabbed them to build decorative walls.
I was paddling a bayou with a slight tailwind going out , same wind head on coming back. It didnāt feel like I had the pedal to the metal but I did have a good stroke going the whole time. My athletic background is in bike racing and time trials was my speciality, so I was used to performing at my anaerobic threshold. Iāll try to get my computer savvy GF to show me how to download all the info from my GPS/training watch on to this site.
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All I ever seen was a few rocks here and there on Long Island. Any specific place on Long Island you would consider rock gardening. I watch it on YouTube but just canāt think of much similar around me here on Long Island.
OP must have went over the edge of this flat earth. 
All kidding aside no clue what life can deal out. Hope heās ok 
Thatās fine too. Itās all free and all voluntary.
Almost all paddlers that race seriously use wing paddles and torso rotation.
Well OP is still fine with new YouTube. Video.
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From what I understand a wing is about 3% better in performance. That is a good difference if youāre racing.
Thatās one way to go faster, have someone tow you.
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Y harness and two drag you along faster.
For a max speed reference, could someone put up a tabulation of recent ICF Sprint Worlds/Olympic 1000 meter times? Find a video & watch the knee action. Presently bird hunting in the Missouri Breaks (north central Montana) with very poor internet connection. Montana Mike
Far cry from a sea kayak 
top athlete in the sport also.
1000m in 3:21 mins = 11.61 mph.
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Thanks PaddleDog52 & Buffalo_Alice. Anybody good at slo-moāing the video to count & compare stroke rates? MM
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Here is me today on June 1, 2023. This is now officially after 1 year of paddling and putting over 1000+ miles on the water. I have learned a lot and a lot more to figure out and improve.
Since the initial video in the post, I have changed kayak to a Necky Chatham 18ft Carbon. The chatham is a 20" width beam.
I also switched to a shorter 205CM paddle but larger Werner Ikelos Paddle. I do not feather. I have tried feathering a long time ago and it felt awkward.
Instead of responding immediately to all the replies I received, I thought the best request was to show a video from a different angle so here it is.
I do keep my skeg 1/4 down to keep the kayak straight. Sometimes 1/3 down. I ātrainedā 3 times a week during the weekday before work for 2.5 hours doing around 8 to 10 miles.
My best time was recorded with Strava on a river run on Long Island (NY) that was on a calm day with no wind or current that I can recall in a round trip of 9miles total at sustained 4.5mph average. For that trip, I was not planning to go fast but the 2 guys I went with were natural born racers that win races. For them, it was a a stroll but I had to work very hard to keep up with them.
NOTE: Apologies for not sticking around to answer questions. I posted this question in a few places and was overwhelmed with responses so I took a few inputs to heart to go test out instead of having one-liner responses not adding much value. With this new video, I think its easier to critique now on actuals.
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On a quick first view your strokes look really good, however one comment you made concerned me and caused me to review your videos again. The concern was your comment about leaving the skeg 1/4 - 1/3 down in order to go straight. That tells me something is off with your stroke since you are not able to paddle straight w/o deploying the skeg.
Based on the bow and quarter views of the video it is hard to pinpoint specifics. Three things that āappearā to be happening (i will not say for sure due to the viewing angles): 1) the catch phase of your stroke appears to be a couple inches forward on the right side compared to the catch on the left, and 2) on more than 50% of the strokes, it appears that your blade exits noticeably ābehindā your hip - that will induce a turn and it wastes energy. 3) Your right hand appears to push straight ahead while the left hand pushes across the deck. I would prefer to see both hands push across the deck as your left does. That will increase your torso rotation and should make for a more symmetrical stroke. If you are intentionally trying to do the British racing stroke, disregard #3 and find someone who teaches that stroke to assist you, probably a very hardcore, trained racer.
Youāre paddling looks good! You probably need an experienced and trained paddler in your area who you trust to watch you paddle to get realistic fine tuning of your stroke.
I really think going straight has a lot to do with the kayak type. In current design solstice, it had no skeg and I donāt use the rudder, I can stay straight very easily. I have gone on long rides in the solstice and staying straight or parallel with other kayakers is no problem. In the Necky Chatham and also boreal Alvik, I can never stay straight even in very calm water. The Alvik is terrible. I always thought it was me and my lack of abilities but since owning 4 sea kayaks now and with a lot of practice, I think itās the boat and itās rocker/hull shape. The Chatham stays a lot more straight then the Alvik.
However the Alvik in rough water, going straight or staying in control is improved
You gave some great inputs I did not catch. No I am not trying British style. I donāt even know what that is
In 3 weeks I have 2 days (16 hours) booked with Wayne Horodowich. I had completed a 1 hour session with an aca lvl3 for some general paddle maneuverability
If those two kayaks refuse to go straight, try adjusting your sitting position to see if it helps. Sounds like a very subtle change might straighten out your paddling in those two hulls since you paddle straight in other boats. You may be right about the boat causing the turn, however our weighting/way we sit in the kayak affects it also. Itās worth observing.
Your plan is great, and two days with Wayne H should help you more than you can imagine. I hope to meet him some day.