I am looking up at my ceiling where I have a fully rigged wooden model of the “Bluenose” a famous racing yacht.
I would have build it out of carbon fiber with closed cell rigid foam injected in the hull, Spectra weaved sails with the same for the lines, a way to reel in a small sea anchor for when it really gets rough....OR
A way to flood its compartments by a pump or by compressed air so it can reach a safe underwater depth to be free from dangerous waves and then a timer activates a compressed cartridge to “blow the tanks” like in a sub so it comes back up above the surface.
Arguably I could actually design an all electric propulsion model with not sails but an airfoil instead, prop power when no wind, wind and solar to keep batteries charged.
Actually not such a bad idea, the right size I could surmise is under 6 feet or 2 meters, that is for optimum strength without getting too heavy. But a semi submersible with a retractable air foil mast is my idea.
A little boat like this won’t be hurt by waves. It will be like a bobbing cork in rough seas. The lines, masts and sails will be far stronger than they need to be, given the small size of the mast and sails.
The biggest risk is getting tumbled into sargassum weed or other floating debris. I assume the keel and rudder are made to glide over seaweed without snagging. That could be a show stopper. But wind and waves won’t kill this thing. Send it backwards for a while, yes, but not destroy it.
But if it gets tumbled up in waves, and wraps some seaweed or netting etc around the mast, it’s game over.