after this experience i did a forum search and found some comments from jerry m. about the M15 in heavy >winds. i looked and couldn't find his posting to share, (maybe someone else has or knows the correct >search terms to find the helpful post) but this is what i remember -

*most of the 'power' in the M15 comes from the main. *releasing tension on the main (letting out the sheet, or taking down the sail) takes all the tension off the forestay resulting in the jib 'bagging' and therefore making heal worse. *you need to reef the main and balance the boat in order to gain ground. I believe this is the post you were looking for. Larry

Hi Tom- missed you guys at the race last weekend, but I drank a beer for you. Regarding your floundering around in your boat: look, Moneybags, why don't you break down and get a smaller jib? The problems are these: With the fractional rig, the forestay on the jib depends on mainsheet tension. The harder you crank down on the mainsheet, the stiffer (and flatter) the forestay becomes. In the puffs, I assume that you are easing the mainsheet. When you do this the forestay and therefore the luff of the jib falls off to leeward, making the jib way too full, which heels the boat over even more, as well as dragging it off to leeward. The severe heeling increases the weather helm, and the leeway caused by heeling and the overly full sagged-off jib increases the FEEL of weatherhelm. Also, the more the boat heels, the more of the rudder comes out of the water. To simplify, when you ease the sheet in the puffs, bad things happen. Your 15 has reefing on the jib, if I remember correctly, but if you are sailing in heavy stuff all the time, the jib would get blown out quickly. About a 60 or 70% jib that stops about 18" from the top of the forestay (an intermediate jib, as Lyle Hess would say) would do wonders. (I'd call the top of the forestay the hounds but I know you wouldn't know what I'm talking about). Remind the sailmaker that the sail must sheet in the same place, and have him make it flat and of heavy stuff. If you buy it from Kern he'll know all this stuff. This sail will work better for this reason: Because of less sail area and a lower center of effort the mainsheet won't have to be eased as often and as far, so the forestay and therefore the jib luff won't fall off as often and as far, and will do less damage when it does. I have used a storm jib on the 15 quite a bit, mostly on one trip to Mexico, where it blew 20 to 30 every day. The only headsail I used was a storm jib. If you get the sails right, the 15 will just fly to weather in a blow. But sooner or later you are going to have to reef the damned main. Jerry