Epirbs
Epirbs are the way to go. I mainly sail in the ocean and I got the ACR one mentioned. I also got a life jacket with a built in hydro pack. If something devastating happens to me on the water, I can activate the epirb and sip on some water till help shows up. The epirb has an internal GPS and within minutes, it notifies authorities exactly where I am and they can look up my personal info that is updateable via website.

Helping others
Just make sure someone else helps or the till he gets underway. If you need to go back just keep track of your time helping and it will be taken off of your overall when you finish. It is not rocket science. Do the same to others as you would have them do to you. Put yourself in their position.