Santa Ana Gusts at Sea!

Tonight, I was just sailing along when a wall of wind hit the boat, pulling it over on its side. Everything that wasn't secure inside the cabin went flying all over the floor. What a rumpus and racket it made! Buttercup (my wonderful golden Labrador)and I went super fast through the waves as the gusts pulled the starboard side of the boat down toward the waters edge. Wow! How exciting! It was gusting so hard though, that I began to wonder how much pressure the big genoa sail could take? I was beginning to wonder if taking it down and replacing it with the smaller sail might be a better idea. Waiting five minutes or so is usually a good idea, so I did and just used the 'fishermans reef' temporarily - letting wind spill out of the sails to keep the boat at a safe angle. I was glad I waited, for the gusts declined in intensity and I was able to get back to the harbor safely. One more problem arose - that of my battery. So without navigation lights I made make shift red and green port/starboard lights from a see-through green and red cup and put flashlights inside. Then I arranged them on the correct side of the boat and what do you know! They worked great! All in all a very interesting night sail.