I just re-read the guy's post and realized he said 3-4ft waves in the panhandle. I would consider this as rare as hen's teeth, at least when I have been around those parts. Perhaps he should invest in one of those collaspable paddles, at least for backup.

Unfortunately, when you have a straight head wind and surf, you need timing and the ability to get the boat in trim and sailing as close to the the wind with as much speed as possible. The WAVE is not the paragon of cat performance, sadly. Not only does it do rather poorly sailing close to the wind but it has the type of hulls that dont facilitate getting through the surf. And when a bit sideways to the whitewater, these same hulls do you no favors. MY advice it to go OFF THE WIND to gain speed, picking whichever tack would give you the most headway. There is usually a good bit of space between waves and you need to use that space wisely and efficiently to build up speed. As a wave approaches, point higher to take the wave more head on but still keep some speed up. IF you are going fast enough, you will bust through, slowing a bit, but hopefully still with enough momentum and with boat still in good trim to pick up more speed before the next swell.

To be honest, I rarely see waves big enough on the Panhandle to cause too much trauma. But since it's shallow, you probably have whitewater rolling in from farther out on bigger days.

You have a more uphill battle with the WAVE compared to something like a simple H-16. But I think it can be done.

of course, the original poster is gone, never to return.... Let's pray he is either getting a paddle or proper beverages.