Fenn Millenium, Elite?

Been wondering. The word is the Millenium is the fastest ski about and faster than the elite, on the flat I assume. All boats being the same weight too.
So when you look at the Ski Shoot Out. the Millenium was slower.
Was it because the paddlers struggled with the Millenium's stability? Which on the flat isnt that bad, I think.
As the word for the Icon is its supposed to be fast too but it too looks slow.
So I wonder is the Mill (and Icon) really slower than the Elite? Is there really any difference? Also if the same paddler (good well trained paddler) paddled the 3 mentioned boats over the same flat water course and same conditions over long distances would either boat actually be any quicker than the other?
I paddled the Robberg the other day and used a GPS and I managed 16.2km/h (On each pass) for the flat out sprint for a quick burst. In the Shoot Out the paddlers best was 13.7km/h Which I read was also done in a quick burst to get a reading.
It just made me wonder is all this talk about the Millenium and 'Bad Boy Icon'' supposed to be fastest. Is it more about keep the talk up to help sell the old boats?
Are the Milleniums and Icon really fast?
Rudi

The Millenium and the Icon are the fastest boats around...but only in "laboratory conditions" and paddled by elite paddlers. Still, there are still guys who are happy on them. In the real world they end up being slower because they are so unstable. The Nelo may be similar...

Over the years I have progressed from the original Fenn Mako to the Millenium, Mako 6, Mako 6 Elite and now Elite SL, and based on my personal experience I never found the Millenium any more unstable or faster than my subsequent skis, so I am rather surprised at all the hype over the Millenium. To me the change from the double footwell Millenium to the single footwell Mako 6 together with the narrower nose resulted in a ski which was faster both upwind and downwind, and the narrow nose trend has been carried further into the Elite and Elite SL. My new Elite SL cuts through the chop beautifully going upwind where the Millenium used to thump, and downwind the Elite SL picks up the runs far quicker than any Millenium.

If the Millenium is so fast there would still be a number of top paddlers using it, which isn't the case.

The Millenium and the Icon are the fastest boats around.

I disagree! They may have been the fastest boats around at the time, but not anymore.

The carbon Millenium was extremely unstable (the glass version much less so) and the ICON was the most unstable of them all! For me, the Mako6 was a revelation in terms of stability compared to the ICON - I owned both and never got used to the ICON even after paddling it 4x a week for 18 months. (I was faster downwind in it however and my best races at the time were downwind.)

And even at the time, the Millenium was a controversial boat - some guys, like Pete Cole, stayed with the original Mako until the 6 came out.

Personally I found the Elite very comparable to the Mako6 in terms of stability, but much, much better from a handling perspective, especially downwind. As a mid-packer the SL didn't seem to be much different - except that I was slightly less stable in it.

But yeah, the boats have been a progression - the Millenium is just plain old tech now. Hear Andrew Hardie whinge about how slow the Mill is and how he watches the guys on Elites come past downwind!

Im still using my Millenium and it is going beautifully. It doesnt even make a wake.