While I agree with Mr. Roberts on his rudder discussion, I would comment that the "Jensen experience" is rather atypical. Most sailors would not choose to launch in head-high surf with an onshore breeze (of less than 10 kts). The largest portion of damage was due to the boats "backing up" on the rudders - in this case, high aspect (deep) rudders.

From what I remember from that fateful morning, the sets were steep, close, and head on with a slight southbound current. The carnage played out as follows:

1) First wave either pushed boats back on their rudders (I'm sure this is not recommended with any rudder system) or kicked them on a broad reach.

2) Second wave flipped them (either because they had no steering, or were beam reaching and couldn't head up fast enough to drive over the next wave), and

3) Third wave pushed the boats on to their mast tips (with that characteristic "pop" noise)

Now, I know some of you out there would love these conditions ( [color:"red"]see JC's boat in the picture - keep in mind that the water is about 6-8 feet deep there [/color] ), but I don't really think any manufacturer could design something strong enough to put up with that punishment for long (and still be reasonable in weight)!