Having read most of this, I have to agree. Firstly let me introduce myself; I am an old but not bold pilot with over 10,000 hours, mostly single seat.. There are no old, bold pilots. I have 'survived' many survival courses, incl sea, & winter; all run by the RAF Sea Survival School. They were pros!. I presently fly a single engine puddle-jump aeroplane. Unlike my other past single engine aeroplanes it does not have a bang seat, dingy or ballistic parachute. If I ditch, I will be struggling. I do not fly over water out of sight of land. Skye Demon will show me my gliding range over water and I try to stay within that boundary. If I cross the Channel it is at the narrowest point and as high as ATC allow, I carry a LSJ over water, but no dinghy (weight reasons). I carry a PLB and a mini survival pack, but no shark repellant
.
Many pilots are bold. They will not grow old bones. As the man says, you only get one chance of sea survival. My advice if you have to cross lots of water, have two engines, fly high, have a PLB, LSJ and a dingy. Do not fly in icing, even if you have an aeroplane with a de-icing system.