Do we know of a single case of someone falling off the bow of a sail boat under power and being injured by the motion of the boat or the motor? I'm actually curious, because I have never heard of it. Fall off anchoring or docking, but injuries were always the result of hitting dock and never related to the boat or motor, so let's exclude this, since it isn't bow riding. Falling in always carries some risk of drowning, particularly if the water is cold. And hanging feet under the rail to get wet is clearly foolish, but I guess we can include these.
High speed power boat bow riding is an unrelated subject, IMO.
I think it is obvious that neutral is the only choice. I already have that reflex from crab floats.