Note to Newbies -
Sailing in these conditions does present safety issues, but these can be dealt with. But another problem is that things start to break, sails begin to rip, etc. in these heavy air conditions. That is the main reason why I try to avoid sailing with the wind above 25 kts.
That is a very good point. If you are relatively new to sailing, welcome the challenge of sailing in higher and higher windspeeds and rougher conditions only after you feel more confident and comfortable with your abilities. I have spent a lot of time sailing in the mid to upper teens and welcome higher wind speeds in the 20s.
Start out sailing when the wind is in the teens, then later, when the wind approaches twenty, then later still in these small craft warning conditions. You will discover most folks head in when the windspeed climbs to the upper teens (and claim it was in the twenties).
This is a lot of exaggeration of windspeeds on all the sailing forums. People talk about flying their spinnakers in 25 kts. and all this other B.S. Start looking at the NOAA historical data for the actual recorded windspeeds after you return. You will discover it is lower than you thought it was. Fifteen knots is a lot of wind; thirty is four times as much.
As an example of how wind seems higher than it is, here is mid to upper teens, gusting to 20, looks pretty intimidating (at least to me, it does, sailing solo in December):