OK... that helps. You are talking about a lot of different water with a vastly different weather/conditions difference from he Great Lakes. We fortunately are not quite the Skip Novack exposed to the Roaring Forties sailing of the Southern Oceans.
River sailing the Columbia is vastly different. There I consider the weather patterns, that predict the heavy winds of the gorge. There are times to be on the water and times to be anchored and watching the kite sailors flying (literally flying) by on their tethered wings.
The Lower Columbia - stretch from the Bonneville Dam to the Ocean most of the time is full sail sailing. Occasionally you might throw in a reef, but unless you crave combat storm sailing up and down the river to test your boat, not much reason to reef more than a second reef point. I sailed the river in my 15ft Montgomery, sailing as far up river as The Dalles, and as far down river as the Ocean. When the winds got more than 25knots I could easily find a spot to hide out till the wind velocity changed. Granted it was like camping in a pup tent, but it was cozy. Nothing like your beautiful 34ft Hunter.
Ocean Sailing is all about weather planning. There are plenty of spots along the coast to ride over the Bar and snuggle in with the Professional fishing boats for the couple of days (ok maybe a week during the winter) it takes for a storm to blow through on the North Pacific Coast. Weather forecasting and the usually long time development of North Pacific ocean storms gives an alert sailor ample time to prepare.
Inside the Salish Sea and the Puget Sound are 42,000 sq miles of water to explore.
Map of the Salish Sea & Surrounding Basin – Maps by Stefan Freelan
This is all inland water that provides rich sailing, exploring, and adventures behind a sheltering land mass from the open ocean. So far in my 10 years of exploration I have yet to cover but a small portion of the area first aboard my 15 ft trailerable pocket yacht, and now my 35ft Cal.
During all that time nothing more than a furled in jib and a double reefed main sail have been needed. When considering my new mainsail I decided to got with 2 reef points. Between the 2 reefs and the newer designs of sails for better trimming I am confident about sailing in the Salish Sea and around Vancouver Island.
I road out a November storm (recorded 60 knot gusts) a couple of years ago in a marina. The mast was swinging through 50 degrees as the boat pulled on the lines. Finally at one point, about 3 am, one of the dock cleats let loose with a loud bang. One of those deferred maintenance issues in the Marina. Next morning it was evident who had prepared and who had not. Knowing how to take the sails off your rigging and storing them inside when winds are forecast means your furled jib doesn't become shredded, or break your mast in two pieces as it is whipped around by the gusts.
Congrats on the "New to You" boat. Where are you located?
