Well, my dad comes from a long line of sport fishers, and would get on a bow w/o one.
Damn, he doesn't like going up there even if the rail is Stainless, he prefers them to be a bigger OD aluminum.
I guess if you're out 3-4mi at sea, broke down in 6-8s, and need to throw an anchor out, it'd be nice to have.
But imo, this guy could have put an old school lifeline out there for some security.