Fun story. I was in the same cove on a night like is described in this article when all the dingy docks were destroyed by the wind and many people lost their dinghies. But we did not see anyone lose their moorings. That’s scary.
If you don’t sail in Southern California then you don’t know Santa Ana winds. They are offshore winds coming from the East when most of the prevailing wind in the area comes from the West. Santa Anas can get up to 80 knots.
I have sailed through them twice on purpose, thinking that if I kept the sails reefed enough I could use the wind to make good time since I would be on a beam reach. One nice thing about Santa Anas is that they are not accompanied by huge waves because they come from the shore rather than across the ocean. The first time I tried it, I ended up having to take the sales all the way down and motor through it. The second time I was able to sail and it was a fast ride indeed!
This is one great advantage of having furling main and furling head sail both of which can be controlled from the cockpit. You can reef your sails or douse them entirely without risking your life when huge winds like this come up. I’ve seen some YouTube sailors that swear by hank-on head sails and think furling main sales are terrible, but I think furling is a huge safety improvement for cruisers.
https://www.sailmagazine.com/charter/charter-an-unforcasted-santa-ana-wind