A coworker of mine is a big fisherman who goes out into the Gulf of Mexico just about every weeked. Some of his friends just ended up being airlifted of an unmaned oil production platform out in the Gulf. The weather report was wrong and they ended up in large swells (waves) which flipped their boat. The were able to grab lifejackets, a flare gun and a signal mirror then swim to the oil rig. Attempts to signal a boat 1/2 mile away didn't work but a passing helicopter saw their overturned boat and began circling the area. The fishermen were able to catch the heli-pilot's eye with flashes from their mirror. The copter landed on the rig, picked them up and flew them back to shore.

The fishermen were pretty torn up by the barnacles they had to climb over to get on the rig. They are all adding leather gloves and shoes to their carry-kits. One guy ripped his feet apart beacuase the "Crocs" he had been wearing got knock off his feet when he hit the water.

First-hand account here on a fishing forum.

About a year ago a Korean shrimp boat sank in the same area and the sole survivor, a young lady, spent a week on a similar unmanned platform. She saw helicopters fly overhead but couldn't signal them. She finally found some paint and painted a big sign on top of the rig.

-Blast

Good old mirror does it again.

As for having leather boots and gloves in a "carry kit,", if they ain't wearing it, it won't do them any good if the boat suddenly flips them in to the water. Even if they did manage to find the carry kit while in the water, putting shoes/boots on while treading water sounds like a difficult job at best. Wearing decent footwear and cargo pants with a good pair of gloves in a pocket sound better to me...

Glad they're ok.

Reinforces having your basic survival goodies in your pockets at all times.

Never did like crocs though I see other nurses all over the place wearing them and swearing by how comfortable they are.

Still sticking with my sneakers. They stay attached to my feet til I'm ready for them to come off.