I do not think I would ever catch an Inspire in rough water, we were doing it in calm seas.
When we do this it is far more controlled than you may think. I hover about 5ft above the boat and lower the landing gear. Then the catcher walks under it and grabs it and I turn it off.
I do agree its not for the faint of heart but flying around in the ocean with a expensive craft is not either.We do use gloves.
I have raced motorcycles for 30 years,spent the last 10 years as a chainsaw carver and run a large contracting company that takes logs from the woods and builds homes with them. This hobby of aerial filming is safe compared to all of that!.
That video was bad in the thought that he was close to other people and had it crash,I stay away from people. Endangering ourselves is one thing.
I would use a Phantom with prop guards to film around crowds. I would also give everyone a heads up as to what I was doing and how close I would come.
I bet we could build a pole with a gripper that could be safer to use on the boat.