I sailed last Wednesday night with my club guys in Scotland. When we went out, we had around 15-20mph wind and it was a bit choppy. Additionally, we had very strong tide currents (up to 6m here). I am not a top sailor, so I was already quite busy but still enjoyed it. After about 10 mins in the race, the wind picked up incredibily and we had gusts up to 50mph!! Some of the larger yachtes that participated in the race were lying leeward for up to a minute with their sails in the water. We finally managed to jibe and head back for the marina (man was I scared!). Things didn't get any easier. Our marina is very narrow and wind came directly from slipway with 25mph+, so had to tack back in harbour. Finally managed to get back without breaking anything . Just the jib got a bit battered.
phil