I can't think of many situations in powered aviation that you can't avoid by simply turning around. Where in a Yacht and even a lot of powered vessels you can be at the mercy of the winds and tides should you get in the wrong position. Half the wrecks along southwest coastal Victoria are sailing vessels that knew the rocks/cliffs were there but due to the navigation limitations of the time ended up in a situation where the south westerlies gales just drove them into the cliffs with almost no chance of recovery. Bass strait offers all sorts of nasties, from high winds, to large swell with crests and chop and confused and strong currents, waterspouts, squall lines, severe thunderstorms etc etc. Modern GPS and survival gear makes ocean boating safer, but no where near as safe as aviating across similar distances and stretches. Not confusing this with Sunday drinks motoring around Sydney harbor or docile coastal waters or bays that is. I lost two friends to a sailing mystery, where a yacht vanished mid pacific and heard of many more instances since. Ocean sailing is definitely something not to be underestimated.
I cant really think of the aviation equivalent these days, gliding and even paragliding safety can be easily controlled and you don't tend to stray too far from origin to get 'caught out' by weather. More getting caught by weather is just pushing the situation around an approaching front rather than being caught by unforecast weather 2 days into a week trip and having to re-plan and come up with solutions while sliding up and down 10m swells.
Last edited by 43Inches; 28th Dec 2021 at 09:27.
Reason: Ooops speeling