Thoughts:
One boat is ok, as two is probably not realistic. Boat ABSOLUTELY must have an airhorn to establish immediate contact.
Spreading out is ok but there needs to be pre-established rally points – say off beechey head and at the Race Rocks approach, and after Race Rocks. Those ahead wait at those spots, regroup, then leave together.
At 15-20mph, we are moving fast…so if someone wipe outs or loses board, the crowd is way ahead…..and much less fun trying to race to catch up if there’s big seas and overpowered...rushing just leads to more wipeouts.
Any time air horn blows once, time to rally. It was unclear what 2 blasts mean...."medical emergency, get to shore"....but there's nowhere to go on shore....really can only keep going?
Boat should ideally stay at the back of the pack, can see everyone in front, so can tell if there’s trouble. Especially in Race area.
Rest: at one point, my toes were numb in my straps and it felt like calves were cramping up … but couldn’t stop or the group is gone. Would be nice to be able to stop for a breather now and then…even 30 seconds to float in the water and flex your toes. Rally points.
Spare board: should have at least one spare board in boat in case anyone loses one or something breaks. But also would be fun to stow a 2nd board, change it up part way.
Visibility: if someone had an emergency and had to punch out, it would be quite difficult to find them how the seas were around Race. As I was body dragging in 3-4’ waves off Race to find my board, I was thinking about how my black on black colour pattern isn’t exactly optimal for search and rescue. High-vis vest would be very useful. Bright coloured helmet optimal or strips of reflective tape.
Mobile VHF: I didn’t have a pocket, so gave mine to RainX…..but that could save your butt, and also open up communication possibilities with rest of the team. They are about $100.
Flares / whistle / light: the basic stuff you keep in a “go bag” in a boat, so they can find you if you go overboard…if things go really bad, you’re just a little black dot floating in a churning sea, somewhere in a 5km square patch, at dusk.
PFD: mandatory…in the very wrong situation, it’ll save your life.
Personal locator: many Swiftsure fishermen now carry personal epirbs, cost about $300, when you flip the switch, it sends out your GPS coordinates to search and rescue, and also has a bright blinking light. I don’t have one (yet) but when I get one, I’d bring it on next one for sure. That feeling of comfort should things go poorly.
Not wanting to be a buzz kill or get silly about safety … but those are some things that come to mind.
Overall.....super fun.....I'd do it again fore sure. Maybe next time on a strapless foilboard.
oh well, I'm sure you will post some where old guys can see them too
Waiting impatiently for some go-pro footage 
looks like a fun event, nice going. That swelly spot looks like the reef just east of Otter Pt 
