My own experience
Some good points here, about it's your choice and your risk profile.
I crossed both the Channel and the Irish sea. Despite all the horror stories out there these are my own thoughts and findings
1. Take life jackets & raft with you
Although realistically I am sceptical if I actually could inflate the raft if standing on a wing after surviving a ditching attempt. It also strikes me as fairly heavy, there is a high chance it slips into the sea and would be gone. I'd rather cross with than without but it seems to nowhere near ensure survivability.
2. The Irish sea is far more barren than the Channel.
I, maybe naively, am not to worried about crossing the channel. Yes the caveats of there are more dead pilots in the Channel from IMC than WW2 etc but there is lots and lots of shipping. You would most likely come down near a boat. Yeah, I've not tried it but I find that reassuring. The Irish sea is far, far more barren. To my mind it is a far more dicey proposition. That said I still did it, and would possibly do it again.
3. Your own level of risk
When I crossed I was late 30s, unmarried and relatively fit. Today I am almost 40 and with my first born in January. I would now think twice, although probably still give it a whirl. It's not something I would make a habit of, and if I were going to do it multiple times, I'd certainly ensure my life insurance was paid and my will was up to date. It wouldn't stop me, but you know, you are opening yourself up to risk.
There is no simple answer, if you want to live in a bubble of cotton wool, don't fly. On the other hand there is real potential for it to go wrong, are you accepting of that? You can't let fear live your life, if mankind did we would never have gone to the moon. When I am in a care home, my life done, I know I'll look back and remember that mission to Newtonards as something that was a real achievement and something I truly enjoyed.
I guess you have to ask yourself "do you feel lucky punk? well do yah?"
Last edited by PompeyPaul; 11th Oct 2012 at 20:02.