That video is really old, and was a bit of a publicity stunt to prove how good tri-Marian's can be in foul conditions. The basic commentary is right, a mono could not have surfed that wave and may have broached and rollled. I've seen a similar video of a cat doing the same thing on the southport seaway. Not sure whether it's sillier to remain at sea and suffer even worse conditions, or take a punt to get to safety. Hard call that one, but they had been at sea all day and night from Sydney. I'd say it performed flawlessly!
For those with tables who can't see the original link, it's also on YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n83xc0qx ... ata_playerAs an aside, the 43' Lock Crowther tri featured in the video used to hold a number of speed records, it still may. It's also for sale in Pittwater, under the name Current Sunshine.