You absolutely could lose the paddle overboard, offshore. I always had a bit of line on mine, tied to a stern rail or something, as insurance.
When I sold Ankle Biter in Hawaii, the buyer wanted the "top half" of the Navik, so I gave it to him. The paddle and "bottom half" must have hit something in the water as it completely self destructed about 6 days out. Making a "bottom half" of the vane is not a project for the faint of heart and it would almost certainly cost a lot of boat bucks. It literally is half the vane.
1968 Selmer Series 9 B-flat and A clarinets
1962 Buesher "Aristocrat" tenor saxophone
Piper One Design 24, Hull #35; "Alpha"