I have definitely found that heavier boats are much easier to sail through surf, providing you have time to get up some speed. The reason is inertia and force. F=ma. My favorite boat to sail through surf was my early Hobie 18 (sail #130something)--it must have weighed 450lbs and punched right through. Light boats pop their bows up easier and get knocked sideways easier--that's when capsize happens. Also, momentum is easily lost, and with no momentum there's no steering; no steering and you're a sitting duck. For those reasons, the heavy boats carry through the surf much easier.

BTW, in the photo, the larger wave in the distance is clearly at an angle to the boats heading. Onshore winds are really tough to punch out in, especially with short wave periods. If the conditions chewed up Booth and others, I think it's pretty naive to think the conditions getting out weren't tough.