The term to Google is “heavy weather sailing”. There are a number of techniques that start with checking the weather well ahead of time.
If you’re stuck at sea with a hurricane barreling down you can try to sail around the equatorial edge of it (in the northern hemisphere you try to sail south of it). Hurricanes tend to veer away from the equator. Moreover the wind and waves will be behind you, so you’re less likely to get knocked over by a gust or a wave. The boat is quite literally surfing.
If things get really bad you might heave-to which is a way to work the wind against itself causing the boat to mostly stall. It’s supposed to be very safe in heavy winds, but you would be pointing at the waves which is bound to be unpleasant.
Finally, a sailboat’s keel is very heavy. Check out the diagrams at [1]. The mast has to be well below water before the sailboat prefers turtling to upright.
In theory. In practice things will never ever go as planned and you're going to have to improvise. Stuff will break, wind will change direction rapidly, you may have to chop a sail, you may lose a mast.
The very best way to deal with heavy weather is to be on the shore.
If you’re stuck at sea with a hurricane barreling down you can try to sail around the equatorial edge of it (in the northern hemisphere you try to sail south of it). Hurricanes tend to veer away from the equator. Moreover the wind and waves will be behind you, so you’re less likely to get knocked over by a gust or a wave. The boat is quite literally surfing.
If things get really bad you might heave-to which is a way to work the wind against itself causing the boat to mostly stall. It’s supposed to be very safe in heavy winds, but you would be pointing at the waves which is bound to be unpleasant.
Finally, a sailboat’s keel is very heavy. Check out the diagrams at [1]. The mast has to be well below water before the sailboat prefers turtling to upright.
[1] http://troldand.dk/en/?The_Boat___Stability