A big advantage is if you live in an area that does not have a glider club, but want to go soaring. You can takeoff and climb without needing tow plane and lots of help, turn off the engine, feather the prop, and sniff out thermals. If you are club oriented and a club is nearby, you need to contribute your time while others are getting their rides. Not uncommon for people to go to the field, and work all day, in hot weather, for one tow and flight. I have a Scheibe SF-28A tandem style motor glider, and its for sale. PM if interested.
Glider pilot bails out
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zaitcev
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Pete Zaitcev
Yes, it's common. In some countries, it is mandatory, and emigrants are used to it.
In the U.S. it is only required to wear parachute if you fly aerobatics. However, many pilots wear them anyway. Remember that gliders often fly in close proximity to each other and the risk of mid-air collision is non-trivial for them.
About 10 years ago there was a guy in NM (Taos IIRC), who bough a stupidly expensive glider from Germany for bajillion dollars. One day he was soaring east of Moriarty, when one of his rudder cables snapped. Not flying coordinated, he could not make the airport, so he bailed out rather than crashing and possibly cartwheeling. {Update: See Tony's post for corrections below.}
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tonycondon
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Parachutes are required in Competition and basically all semi-modern gliders have seatpans that are designed for the pilot to be wearing a parachute.
It was a South African glider that had the rudder cable break on a flight out of Moriarty.