Vadja Hawx 43 vs Fenn Elite SL (Carbon)

I'm 5-6 years out of ocean paddling and have paddle dolphin spec ski's before that

Wanting to get back into paddling in a serious way (paddling at least 3-4 times a week) and looking a high quality 2nd hand ski's: Vadja Hawx 43 vs Fenn Elite SL (Carbon)

I'm 184cm weight hovers 90-94kg when regular exercising and more normally around the 95-99kg when I don't exercise

Paddled the Vadja Hawx 43 and with a spec ski/beach paddle was able to paddle this ski with no issue, with a more traditional river/flat water paddle I struggled initially (probably due to some bad spec/beach habits)

I hopped on to the Epic V12 and nailed that on a ocean paddle in Dunsborough in West Australia's Margaret River region

Would like to do a few flat and downwind races this year ,and in this year or next the Hawksbury Classic

Would welcome thoughts what ski suit my scenario and other ski's I should consider

I think you'll find you'll end up with 2 ski's to cover all options. I'm the same size as you paddled for only 4 years 4-5 times per week. Started in old beat up Epic V10, moved to V12 which was great on the flat for me but I struggled in larger ocean conditions. So moved to Epic V10 Elite 2gen which really opened my options in all ocean conditions but was a little slow on the flat. I've just moved to Stellar SEL Excel 2gen, really, really happy - same stability as the V10 but I find it picks up runs easily, more maneuverable & quicker on the flat - for me! Sounds like you'll have lots of options to test:

Think Ion or Uno Max
Fenn Elite S (I hear really good things about this new boat)
Hawx 43 or you may consider a 46 as a second boat for big conditions
V10 2nd gen or V12 - can't go wrong - new V12 is out soon. V14 is fast but may limit you for big ocean conditions unless you've got great balance
Try the new Stellars - SEL and SES - i'm considering an SES as a second boat for the flat, quick little beastie but we both maybe a little heavy for it

I hope you have access to try all these options.

Goodluck, Matt