A decade or so ago two NSPN kayakers were rescued in Ipswich Bay by a Coast Guard helicopter from the Cape Cod airbase. In this video you can hear the helicopter hoist operator crew members updating the pilots on the stages of the effort and giving control commands.  If you watch carefully you can see the rescue swimmer let go of the rescue basket as it's being hoisted aloft with the first paddler. The video ends as the rescue swimmer arrives in the cabin holding a paddle.  No idea what became of the kayaks... Rescue swimmers (see Junger's The Perfect Storm) wear a lot of gear: masks, snorkels, fins, drysuits, Co2 pfd's, helmets...

Thanks, everybody. The high-end brands are outside of my budget.  These from local Audubon stores are more my speed. Which of these would you suggest? One is 10x, the other two are 8X: Audubon store binocs

Well you can’t go wrong with any of the top brands such as Leica, Zeiss, Canon, etc but the prices aren’t exactly basic. On the other hand good optics really do make a difference and one good pair of waterproof shock resistant bins will last a lifetime or two. Definitely get compact ones with 8 x power magnification. Less isn’t strong enough for birding and more is too hard to use while in a boat, the image will jiggle around too much. I love my Leicas and have never regretted the 500 or so that I spent on them. And I am not even really a real bird watcher! I just like to look at cool stuff.

If identification is a goal, I've become a huge fan of the Cornell University ornithology app called Merlin. It is especially good for identifying calls. I had no idea the variety of birds in our woods that I never see but hear their calls.

I recommend compact binoculars (30 ish mm) rather than full size, much easier to fit into a small dry bag and grab when needed. Not too much magnification, maybe 8x. Otherwise the field of view is too small and it’s hard to switch between naked eye and binos.  I’m a fan of the Sibley guide as the pictures and keys are excellent.