[Paddlewise] Safety belts and/or towing ??

I've wondered for 8 months (the sum total of my kayaking experience) if the
safety harness strategy used by yachties applies to kayakers. i.e is it a
good idea to connect yourself to your kayak via a line onto a belt when
venturing into rough or isolated water. (I imagine such a line would be
inappropriate for surf). This thought raised itself again when I heard about
Lone Matsens death following her separation from her kayak. Is the risk of
entanglement worse than the risk of separation? I'm told that "hang on to
your paddle and always use a paddle leash" is the appropriate strategy and
this makes sense but I still wonder if the "safety belt" approach is a
useful backup. I know the arguments about rolling and accept them but
rolling won't always work, particularly in some kayaks.  

A related issue is the suggestion that a belt can be used for towing or
being towed and can be simpler than trying to find a tether on the kayak?
For example I use a Klepper Expedition - very hard to roll, stable in rough
water and with a history of use in isolated waters but with only two high
strength tether points at the bow and stern, which are inaccessible from the
cockpit. 

I've been considering making up a belt as a safety line and for towing or
being towed but am very uncertain about its merits. Have these issues been
discussed anywhere? Advice would be much appreciated.

PeterO
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