I have been in my share of lightning storms out on the water.

scary chit for sure but dumping the main, flipping the boat and getting in the water with lightning all around does not seem like a good decision to me.

I would rather take my chances on the boat, avoid touching any metal, and hope that if my mast gets hit, i am not in a puddle of water that will conduct the charge through me.

several years ago we had the topic "if anyone has first hand knowledge of someone beinghit by lightning" many people had stories of cats on anchor, on land and in a marina getting hit but almost none of a boat underway (not saying it's not possible) but rare