Those are good suggestions. I have flipped a J-24 over so fast that the entire crew except me went into the water, it was a round down that ended with the mast being stuck in the muddy shallows of San Francisco bay for 10-15 minutes. It happened so fast it was like a giant hand grabbed the top of the mast and yanked it over. If you have heavy air DDW laser experience you know what I'm talking about... ;-)

For me, the best solution is in the helm once you get the sails trimmed properly and crew weight properly placed. The driver has to have maximum concentration and can't be the kind of person that will take their eyes off of their job even for an instant. Driving repeatedly in these conditions will help develop a very keen sense of what the boat wants to do next. Then the driver's anticipation goes up enough that crashes can be avoided before they develop. Really what is happening is that the "envelope" of what the boat will tolerate as a safe angle to steer to the wind decreases as wind strength increases. In extreme conditions a change of course of only 5 degrees or less can mean the difference between blasting off yet another wave, or sticking your mast in the water.

.02

Bryan

:: You might be looking for this article...
::
:: http://www.olson30.org/articles/heavyair.html