Harrowing story, I know how following seas can be in a way smaller boat and can't imagine the feeling when you lost control of a 26'r. I was always taught to as stated before to ride the waves at a pace where you have control and aren't fighting them.
Last summer I got into some following seas from a sudden wind storm 40 - 50 mph that even made a couple water spouts. The storm blew with the length of the lake which is only a mile wide but it quickly pushed everyone off the lake. It was the admirals first following seas adventure and we had a few miles to go to get into the dock. It was funny along the way to see idiots in bow rider boats and jerk skis trying to go full speed into the waves, the likes of which I'm sure they've never seen before.