NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Lightning at sea
From: Lisa Fiene
Date: 2004 Oct 15, 09:20 +1000
From: Lisa Fiene
Date: 2004 Oct 15, 09:20 +1000
I distinctly remember being in a 47kt gale once. We were surrounded by storm fronts, and there was much lightning and rain. As we had a following sea which was not too large at the time (only about 4-5m), and the wind was from the NE & blowing us where we wanted to go, we decided to run with it, after double reefing. We had a plan to heave to should we start to get pooped, but that never happened. It occurred to me at the time (among other things), that our mast was the highest thing out there - thoughts of Benjamin Franklin actually came running through my brain. The lightning was no longer cloud to cloud, but vertical. Ahem, I thought. In this situation, as our boat is constructed of steel, if we did receive a lightning strike on the mast, what would have happened? Would it blow through the hull, (as I know has happened on GRP and timber yachts), or would it dissipate in some way as it's steel? Would it possibly though still have the chance of arcing across to us if we remained in the cockpit anyway, even if steel IS some kind of advantage in this situation (if that's the word)? I guess what I'm asking is that if we're ever in that situation again, what should we do: a) Heave to, go down below, have a shot of rum and pray for the day. b) any other suggestions? As a complete novice in the wiles of electricity, your opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Lisa