Thankyou for the compliments. I'm now feeling very embarrassed!
I put it down to being a wimpish sailor, really. I had three rules (a) don't go to sea if there's a sniff of F6 in the forecast, (b) don't sail at night and (c) try to go round pointy bits at slack tide, preferably during neaps!
I think the tributes should really go to the design and build quality of the boat. Despite being in a a few uncomfortable situations (mainly because I ignored rule (a)), I've had every confidence that the boat will "take it". OK, a few things didn't work as well as expected (roller reefing - now fixed) but nothing broke at a critical moment. This confidence in the boat has been increased by the adoption of the "spreader" mast configuration. It has stiffened the rig considerably and (I think) improves the upwind performance too.
I wouldn't want to do it in an open boat. The idea that I was carrying with me a snug cabin, that would be available to me once we had got somewhere, buoyed me up a few times!
Rob J