how many fish the ocean alone?

Actually, it is not different.  It's all part of handling things alone.  If I can't get my boat off and on the truck and in and out of the water alone, I'm going to have an issue at O-Dark-Thirty when I need to load and unload alone.  Also, I have found, generally, other people just get in the way

That's how I feel too.

I fish the ocean alone quite often.  In the early days I would experience a rush upon returning to land safely, but I realized a few years ago that I'd extincted that feeling by going solo so much.  I try to remind myself of that old feeling whenever I return to shore.

Way back in this thread someone asked what could happen other than weather.  I see it like this:  you can experience weather changes involving temperature, moisture, or most importantly wind; the tides, currents and most importantly swell can change; your gear can fail; your body can fail; or you may encounter a wild animal that affects your safety.  Talk here of understanding and controlling these factors to whatever degree possible is spot on.

It's nice to participate in communities such as this, where we share information about our approaches to potential danger, acknowledge the risks we're taking, and celebrate the reasons for taking them.

There IS a difference between well prepared and being stupid, and it's important to know where you really stand as well as how you may affect the entire community if you make a bad move and require rescue or recovery.

See you OTW.