erice,
I definitely won't be going out far on my own until I get the experience I need! Don't want to drift into a shipping lane while trying to right an overturned cat which definitely won't show up on radar... Besides, I wouldn't want to put potential rescuers at risk by being a total moron.

Good pointers though: I'll go for a righting bag initially, just in case!

On the subject of righting poles, Why not simply mount it in a central position under the mast step and use some 4mm rope and pulleys to winch yourself out to the tip while hung by your trapeze hook?