You should not go max speed in a storm. As for the suggestion to use the longship, I just found it:
a. too big for my needs as a single or even two player(s), and
b. too unwieldy, it takes forever to turn and is just too big to maneuver through small rivers.

So, I stick with the karve. Much smaller and much better handling. Just can't go that fast in a storm. ;)