Has anybody ever seen a beach cat hit by lighting on the beach or in the water? When a storm blows up and you know your mast is the tallest thing around.....when you are off shore. I've dropped the tiller before in a race when lighting hit the water and you get a little tingle.
Posted By: Lance Re: Hit by lighting? - 06/14/05 04:55 AM
When I was 15 I used to help out at a rental place on Clearwater Beach. One day a squall came up and both of the rentals we had out there flipped. We went out and retrieved the Hobie, with me sailing one of them in as the tourists were pretty scared. It was raining so hard I couldn't see the jib! After we had the cats beached I was taking the main down on the Hobie 16 when there was huge flash of light. The next thing I knew is I was sitting in the sand about 15 feet away from the boat. The other guy there said I must have flown about 8 feet in the air. I wasn't hurt but my arms would not stop shaking until about 4 hours later. Being young and dumb I just figured they would stop shaking....and they did. There was no noticable damage to the boat either so I am sure it was an indirect hit.