Why not a small gas powered life preserver type thing on the top of the mast
Hasn't that been done? CO2 cartridge with pull ring?
Some guys would just swim out to the mast tip and put a spare jacket under it.
if they made something like that I would consider buying it. I have thought about carrying one of those seat cushions for that purpose as well. I have gone over many (well... enough) times and never gone turtle but I have been afraid of doing it. I didn't even have a problem when I had to swim the thing to shore (don't worry Pete, this was all my stupidity- at the time- and the first time I had the boat out).
Hey, while we're at it- how do you make sure your mast is water-tight? If it has a leak up top but sealed on bottom then won't you just accumulate water and create a bigger problem?