We spent the last 23 hours hove to in a gale. The wind was not too bad, about 35-40 knots, but the seas built very rapidly to 5 meters. It is quite disconcerting to turn around and see a wave the size of a small family home looming above you. One of these broke into the cockpit snapping our windvane and punching out a window in the companionway dodger. Not a real problem as we carry plenty of spare vanes and we can fix the dodger.