I always had good safety lines and harnesses. I'd bet just about everybody on here has no clue about how hard it is to turn a sailboat around in the swells and come back for someone.
I do! Comes from intentionally dropping various things from my Lone Star 13 while sailing in the open Gulf a mile or two off Bryan Beach at Freeport, Texas. Even in a big lake, if the wind is strong enough, there's enough swell to make it very hard to keep an eye on something (or someone) from a small boat. Then maneuvering back to that object or person is even more complicated and difficult.