We are new to F18s and were out "training" on the water yesterday. The winds were 17 gusting to 28 and it was more than a handful. Sailing upwind wasn't an issue but turning off the wind was flat out exhilarating. When over powered while reaching, what are my options to depower? Keeping the main tight and steering down seemed to be the only thing that worked. The only problem was with the main in tight, best not steer down too far. I did this once with an immediate gybe. We both went swimming and practiced our righting technique. My crew was pretty much done "training" for the day after that. The steady 17-18 mph winds seemed ok but gusting to 28 seems beyond what we can control.