I have the answer on how to handle survival conditions -- go out on a Wave and enjoy the hell out of it.
I remember a while back we were racing Waves in gusts to 45 mph at Lake Eustis. Downwind I was wishing for a longer bow.

Normally downwind you aim the Wave for the leeward mark. But, in those conditions you tacked downwind, sail all the way out. When a big puff hit, instead of heading down, like in a high-tech cat, you headed up to dump the air entirely. And when jibing, try to wait of a lull, and after coming about, instead of heading down for stability, do the same thing by heading up and dumping all the wind.
Upwind was just plain fun.
Rick