og:
Point taken though I still think that when discussing staying alive in this context it is worth keeping the big picture in mind.

I (and my wife also) always wear a constant wear aviation life jacket, and carry a plb on my person and take a dingy when crossing water. I bought one of those fisherman's sleeveless jackets with lots of pockets, which I put all of my valuable stuff in (passports, licences etc), packed in waterproof resealable (sandwich) bags. I have a handheld vhf as well, based on the principle that if you aren't wearing it, you are unlikely to have it available after ditching. and always fly as high as possible and go over the narrowest part. Recently returning from France, we refuelled at Deuville, and they were quite surprised that I went up the coast overland to Cap Gris Nez to cross the channel at the narrowest point, rather than straight out over water from Deuville, like most of the other traffic.

Just leaving home for a flight to Martinique - over the sea.

PLB, raft, jacket all ready.

Reading this topic has made me nervous:(

Well I survived, very iffy weather on Martinique - managed to get out and now on Bequia - back to Barbados this afternoon☺