"The trick is having the foresite to know those limits and the maturity to test them whithout risking other lives. The sailors who are the subject of this thread had neither."

I`d have to agree with Steve T. In an offshore wind of that strength, the sailors were basically saying to the Coast Guard : "We`re going for a quick sail, please come fetch us in a few hours." Looking at the wind graphs Tracie posted I`d have to say that conditions must have been beyond survival conditions.
Also agree with Steven Medwell (must be something to the name !), It`s generally about 20 knots when most sailors are already being tested to their limits, as well as the limits of the boat.
We all take risks : any of us could drown in 12 knots of wind, never mind 35-45 knots. Some of us also skydive, paraglide, snowboard etc - all sports involving evaluating the risks, and being prepared for them. There are two types of paraglider pilot : One type flies with a reserve parachute, has it repacked & inspected regularly, watches the weather report every day for 3-4 days before going to a flying site, then evaluates the weather himself, and asks advice from the local pilots. The other type arrives at a flying site, and without checking his equipment, the weather forecast, or the actual prevailing conditions, launches off into the sky without noticing that all the local pilots are waiting for the conditions to calm down to a safe level. It`s this type of pilot that makes the sport appear dangerous to outside observers, since they`re always making the newspaper headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Fortunately for the sport, they are also a self-regulating bunch : By virtue of their attitude to safety, they keep their own numbers down.
I`m sure this thread would have a different tone if the headlines had read : Coast Guard fails to locate catamaran sailors, search called off after 5 days.

Just my thoughts, on a positive note, maybe the guys involved have learnt to respect the elements, and woken us all up to the power of nature.
It`s great fun to push ourselves past the limits, but always keep in mind the "what if this goes wrong" thought - If they had gone out on a small lake in an onshore wind of the same strength and informed someone of their intended time of return, that would be enough safety for me. Flares would then be a bonus, not a necessity. I`ve sailed in 48-55knots (recorded) on a hobie 16 like that, was great fun, never upright for more than 30 seconds, capsized more than 15 times before we lost count. The answer to the "what if this goes wrong" question was that we would end up upside down, drifting back to a friendly shore with no breaking waves & dangerous rocks or reefs. There is a way of taking risks, pushing the envelope, and coming home safely, even if it goes wrong.