always walking away unscathed from his exploits
No offence, but clearly there is always a first time.
Despite ferrying a Lake Amphibian across water, the risks are still incredibly high regardless of the number of hours the pilot may have.
Survival suits, rafts etc are only useful so long as the aircraft does not hit the water at the wrong angle. Otherwise, well, it's game over.
I am still baffled as to why some ferry pilots want to fly the North Atlantic in an aircraft that has about 4hrs maximum range, in the middle of the night when no alternates are available.