Maybe "heaving to" is not a good option for beach cats (or even big multihulls) in big winds. Maybe it is just something that works for big, heavy monohulls with keels. Rick says that heaving to with a beach cat only works in light to moderate winds.

Here is an anecdote: Rick and his son Dave were racing in the Bay to Ocean Race down at Marathon in the Florida Keys. On the ocean side of the race, within sight of the finish line, they were hit by 65 mph winds (as reported by the local Coast Guard Station).

Rick says all they could do was pinch to weather and get their weight as far forward as possible to keep the wind from getting under the tramp.

I asked if they could have "hove to," and he said, "Absolutely not. If we had sheeted the jib to the windward side, we would have blown right over backwards."

Personally, I would like to hear whether any of the people who have sailed around the world on multihulls have ever hove to while at sea -- and how they did it.