OK, so the "cone of protection" is it real?

Only post if you know of a water-based strike first or second hand. We've all heard stories about so and so and so and so, but do you actually know of any incidents?

Don't report land-based strikes. We all know a boat on land is going to get the crap knocked out of it by lightning.

Second hand... the guy who owns a local sail shop stated that he knew a girl whos sunfish was struck while she was on it. She was not hurt but the lightning vaporized all the water in the hull and blew out 100's of pin holes.

Does receiving a shock from a nearby strike count (on the water)? Not enough to make me poop my pants but close.

Live in lightning capital of the world (or so I have been told).

Couple of stories in past few years:

J24 was struck. 2 holes blew out of the bottom of the hull either side of the keel. Keel was warped. Boat sunk and was quite funny to see the top 2 ft of the mast sticking out of the water.

Mates yacht gets struck each year. Last 2 strikes were to the water nearby and all the instruments were fried. B&G quite like him, insurance companies don't.

Central Florida lightning capitol of the USA (reference FAA) .. Rawanda is the official lightning capitol of the world.

I only know of one strike firsthand.

This was just a few weeks ago. We had finished a cabin boat regatta and pulled into dock. We were at awards when a good storm rolled in. We saw a 41 foot boat that was docked take a direct hit lighting up the top of the mast. This was the tallest mast in the harbor. Nobody was on board at the time. The hit blew out all the instruments and blew tiny pin holes through the fibreglass near the keel. When we went down to check it nothing was visibly wrong with the boat. The boat didn't take on any water from the fibreglass damage. I saw the strike and while it was loud it didn't seem like a very large bolt. The boats engine started right up and other than the instruments the boat seemed fine at first until they pulled the boat to look underneath.

I would still like to hear from someone that has first-hand knowledge of a boat being hit while sailing. Though I don't know why this boats incident would have been any different if it had been sailing. But perhaps there is something that disipates the charge when sailing.

I know you are interested in reality, but I just wanted to point out that the "cone of protection" doesn't match theory either.

To design a lightning protection system you imagine a ball with a radius of 150' and roll it across the surface of the earth and up over your structure. Anything it touches is a potential target. The negative area (space between the ball and structure as it rolls over the structure) sometimes approximates a cone, but not always.

I think there is a "fatal" flaw in the request for "first hand" lightening strike information.

BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I agree

I was trying to decide if my info was second or third hand....

Shocking bit of insight

I've got a couple for you.

Dad's J80, struck by lightning. Blew pin holes in the bottom.

I've also had two other friends who have been struck, both while sailing. One was a ~35' Beneteau and the other was a 37 Hunter.

Anyone not here, please raise your hand. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

In the long list of bad boat names this one should rank pretty high:

[quote]In the long list of bad boat names this one should rank pretty high:



THATS JUST ASKING TO BE KILLED!

so, is there any merit to dragging a heavy gauge cable straight down from the dolphin striker, so the bolt runs down the mast into the water without messing everything else up?

I know that stationary lightning rods and cables aren't supposed to have sharp bends in them to prevent the lightning from 'jumping' to something else more direct...

Skydivers without parachutes - first hand only...

Buehler?

I think the best bet is to sail near someone with a taller mast!!!

Most stories have to do with boats with keels or some intentional ground mechanism or boats sitting on land.

My curiosity lies in stories of beach cat sailors who have sailed through lightning storms and lived to tell about it either because they weren't hit or they were, but came out alive.

IMO If you were really worried a/b it besides the #1 safest practice (not going out), I'd say put a lightning dissipater on the top of your mast. They look like a little metal paint brush that's been "fluffed".

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/sto...mp;classNum=776

A class I took, Electro physics for Engineers dealt with this during a lecture. The professor brought in a Gauss generator and cranked it up. As it was (smooth round surface), it would discharge with a bolt/arc to a nearby grounded object because the smooth surface would allow a charge to build. He placed a paper "stake" (pointy thing you put papers on) on top of it and once the electricity had a sharp point to dissipate through it stopped arcing. The charge was being disipated through that point as a harmless invisible stream of electrons.

The lightning dissipaters do the same thing. Since lightning is a ground to cloud phenomenon by having this on top of a tall object it allows the charge to be put into the atmosphere and not accumulate and create the strong discharge, i.e. lightning.

My skipper (who doesn't have a computer) sailed a H20 in the Around the Island years ago and had "sailed the two worst storms of my life on the same day". He said that there was lighting striking everywhere and no one was hit that day. He also told me of a regatta where everyone was scrambling to get boats settled on the beach when a storm came up and lighting struck the beach. Anyone who was touching metal was shocked. He himself was one. He is convinced that sailing in lighting is fine. I don't think I really want to give it a try.