https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZl6-xYtZZg
Wow. That is a really extraordinary account, not of a hurricane, but of a chubasco (the account is clear, the title is incorrect).
Observe the Stella Maris, a big ketch, choosing to fly all sail, including a mizzen staysail, to run a breaking inlet in 60 knots. She seems under complete control. She won her class in the 1939 TransPac and was later rerigged as Tenderfoot II).
The smaller powerboats were probably single-screw. The rescue attempts were heroic, given the craft involved.
The kids on surfboards apparently saved eight people in what was clearly a very difficult undertaking.
Why did so many boats choose to run a breaking inlet, with predictable results?
The gale was not forecast, some or many appeared to be returning from Catalina with no good picture of inlet conditions. My guess is that Southern Californians then, as now, have little practical experience with breaking inlets.
The report is remarkably specific, with names and context--hats off to the people who made it.