Your backup person can then call for help if you don't turn up.

Now I sail from Eastbourne there are generally few, or no, other boats about off the shore when the club is closed, and I now sail a Laser and a Contender, neither of which has room for oars! And neither would be easy to get to shore if that little pin you never though of as being a risk failed and left you unable to make progress in the right direction. So I don't do it. If I did I'd certainly choose my conditions very carefully, onshore wind etc and take a phone in a bag, just in case.

We used to go out wave jumping in an old 505 when racing was cancelled due to too much wind.

There was a risk element, but chances of not hitting shore eventually from any point in the eastern solent are not too extreme.

Then again, when I wasn't sailing I was usually going too fast on a motorbike in those days.

These days, I would carry an Icom and a phone in an aquapac.

And have a few key numbers like harbour offices in the phone memory.

Also be aware that if you break something, you could be other a while, so another layer under the drysuit and/or don't forget the sun grease.

There's always something unexpected that can go wrong and make your day end badly, but the same applies to the drive home. Life isn't about eliminating risk, it's about mitigating it to an acceptable level and then, well accepting it and living!

But google the first sentence of Swallows and Amazons too. 

Know your capabilities. Be aware that the wind blowing off the land makes it look easier than it is and vice versa. Know what the tide is doing and when - flood is your friend, ebb less so.

If something on the boat looks dodgy, fix it first. Tell someone where you are going and when you should be back. Take a cheap phone in an Aquapak (with a SIM that gets a signal in the locality). Learn to paddle your laser in no wind and contrary tide (lie face down on foredeck, facing forwards, one leg each side of the mast, and 'swim' it. Far faster than a paddle. You only need to get to a mooring buoy or some land you can hold on to until things change for the better.

Make sure the rig is tied down to the boat and cannot fall out if the boat turtles. (a class rule actually, and very sensible too). And make sure the elastic is sufficiently tight that the plate cannot fall out either.

Keep a decent whistle on a lanyard in your buoyancy aid pocket. Also keep 3-4m of 2mm dyneema in a pocket too - to act as a spare if a rope breaks. Run another spare rope as a painter, from the bow loop, around the mast and back and tied off as another spare and tow-rope.

If you are really worried, fit the boat with a hatch cover  and pouch and keep a flare in there (in a waterproof sandwich bag).

If something does go wrong (Murphy's Law), count to 10, don't panic, rationalise and act accordingly. Stay with the boat whatever you do. Don't panic is easier said than done, I know, when the wind is screaming, the boat bouncing on the waves, upside down, with the plate fallen out for example. Nevertheless.

If the toestraps break or you fall out, keep hold of the mainsheet and let go of the tiller. The boat may capsize but you won't get separated. Or break the extension.

Finally, Lasers are pigs until you know how to master them. Learn how to get the rig right and the chance of falling in fall dramatically.

Doh. Agreed. Well done Jim.

I've not read it for a while. Like 40+ years

casting for roles... form an orderly queue behind Graeme and I.

As for swallows and amazons, I never read it.  I tried it once as a kid, but I preferred Roald Dahl 

I hope you are also planning a trip to Peel Island (Wildcat Island) on Coniston too.