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Turk
Admiral

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USA
736 Posts

Initially Posted - 08/27/2005 : 22:09:22

I had a very interesting sail a week ago. A friend of mine from New Zealand came out to sail with me. We knew the weather included chance of thunderstorms, but were determined to "stick it out" and learn a little rough sailing in a storm. As the storm approached all was very calm. Black skies to the west but very calm winds. We were reefed and ready. We begain hearing a buzzing sound and realized the tiller was arcing on the rear metal transom rail. The air was electrified and it got worse. While reaching to put down the motor I received a jolt from the backstay that almost knocked me over. Arcing of electrical current was all around us. We could not touch any metal as it had charged to and excessive amount. The mast and front stay and rear stay had the most energy in them. We began to worry that we were becoming the source for an electrical strike of lightening. I reached for the motor to drop it in the water and get it started but could not hold on to it for the amount of electrical sparks hitting me where I grabbed. I decided to move the rear swim ladder and drop it in the water but in grabbing it, it shocked me and fell forward toward my rear transom seat (cat 250). It began arcing continuously with a spark about an inch long to the transom seat rail. We were electrified! We could feel each arc as it cracked and all the metal lifelines (attached to the front stay) were becoming charged beyond the point we wanted to touch.

I went below and retrieved a pair of pliers with plastic handles and used the to pull out the choke on the motor and put it into neutral. I started the engine and we began moving out of the area. The electrical charge was gone after 500 yards.

Now for my question. Is this a normal situation in an electrical storm or were we in real danger? We were not moving as there was no wind, did we do the right thing and run from the area as fast as we could? Was this a pre-warning of a lightening strike? The event happened over 10-15 minutes, should we have left immediately? Are we lucky to be alive? Has anyone ever experienced this before?

Turk

Turk

www.turk.mysailboatblog.com
2003 C250 WK #663
Northeast Ohio
Mosquito Lake/Lake Erie

Edited by - on

Lightnup
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1016 Posts

Response Posted - 08/27/2005 : 23:36:46

Yikes, scary. Glad you both lived to tell about it.

Edited by - on

Ben - FL
Admiral

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880 Posts

Response Posted - 08/28/2005 : 05:05:28

You should call the [url="http://www.lightning.ece.ufl.edu/"]University of Florida[/url] (Go Gators!) and talk with their science dept. They do a lot of lightning research and would probably like to hear what you have to say. I'm surprised you lived to tell about it. When I was doing work at DuPonte in central FL there was a road named Lightning Strike Rd. where the university does their research and shoot rockets into the clouds with wires attached to make lighting. (see hyper-link above)Here is another... [url="http://www.thomson.ece.ufl.edu/lightning/"]Lightning and Boats[/url]

Edited by - Ben - FL on 08/28/2005 05:20:49

atgep
Master Marine Consultant

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1009 Posts

Response Posted - 08/28/2005 : 06:33:17

Wow! I have seen on Discovery, where most lightning starts at the ground and goes up. You may have been in one of those spots. I am surprised your engine started with all the emf around you. That would be info U of F would likely want to know.
All of my lightling encounters have been the aircraft variety. Neat stuff happens when an aircraft gets juiced. Glad you guys made it.

Tom.

Edited by - on

Turk
Admiral

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USA
736 Posts

Response Posted - 08/28/2005 : 07:16:22

I will email the University of Florida to see if they are interested in any of the information. As for the outboard, it was constantly arching somewhere inside (you could hear a load crack every 2-3 seconds), I guess I never thought that it might NOT start! After telling the story in another sailboat forum, I am finding out that this occurence is, I believe, quite rare. I've heard from several people that were either hit or where in a situation that lightening hit nearby, with only one saying they felt the static charge all around. I can't help but believe that we were very fortunate in getting through the experience. If the sails were full, we would have sailed out of the area fairly quickly and probably not have built up the charge like we did. This may be the reason we don't hear many stories like this.

Edited by - on

britinusa
Web Editor

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USA
5404 Posts

Response Posted - 08/28/2005 : 08:47:27

If you had been down here, had that experience, and told it to folks, then you would have been asked 'How close were you to the Bermuda Triangle'.

The event sounds like something from a SciFi movie.

Here's a bunch of questions that might shed light on the event, I'm sure UF would ask them too.

<ul>
<li>Did you have anything trailing (dinghy, safety line, fishing lines, etc.)</li>
<li>Were any of the electronics damaged (did you have electronics onboard/connected)</li>
<li>Were you receiving radio chatter/static.</li>
<li>Was the compass behaving normally?</li>
<li>Were you wearing boots (rubber wellies?) or Foul weather gear.</li>
<li>Anyone wearing a hearing aid, if so any feedback.</li>
<li>Do you have a swing keel or fixed keel</li>
<li>was the hull antifouled, what type?</li>
<li>Do you have a vhf masthead antenna</li>
<li>Anything else on the masthead.</li>
<li>Rare, but do you have a radar unit on board, was it active.</li>
<li>Ditto sonar unit (depth/fish finder)</li>
<li>Had you recently waxed the boat?</li>
</ul>

Glad you were able to tell us about it.

Edited by - britinusa on 08/28/2005 08:47:58

Turk
Admiral

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USA
736 Posts

Response Posted - 08/28/2005 : 09:05:25

<li>Did you have anything trailing (dinghy, safety line, fishing lines, etc.)</li>

Nothing trailing - Motor was out of the water. I will have the motor in the water next time I deceide to sail in a storm!

<li>Were any of the electronics damaged (did you have electronics onboard/connected)</li>

I only have a depth meter and it seems to be fine. It was not on at the time.

<li>Were you receiving radio chatter/static.</li>

No vhf, but I turned on an AM radio to listen for lightning, and heard none. When the static charge started - it was full of crackles.

<li>Was the compass behaving normally?</li>

Sorry, did not have my compass "on" (Tick Tack computer)

<li>Were you wearing boots (rubber wellies?) or Foul weather gear.</li>

No

<li>Anyone wearing a hearing aid, if so any feedback.</li>

No

<li>Do you have a swing keel or fixed keel</li>

Wing keel

<li>was the hull antifouled, what type?</li>

Petite water based antifouling.

<li>Do you have a vhf masthead antenna</li>

No

<li>Anything else on the masthead.</li>

Windex

<li>Rare, but do you have a radar unit on board, was it active.</li>

No

<li>Ditto sonar unit (depth/fish finder)</li>

Just depth - not on.

[*]Had you recently waxed the boat?[/

Beginning of the summer.

Turk

<b></b>

Edited by - on

ddlyle
Captain

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302 Posts

Response Posted - 08/29/2005 : 21:23:28

I doubt it, but I wonder if there is an underground cable in the area that could be damaged?
(It'd have to be carrying quite a load!)

Edited by - on

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5937 Posts

Response Posted - 08/30/2005 : 11:58:41

At Brookville Lake, you have to go under a very high powered electric transmission line to get into the Hanna Creek Marina. As you sail under it, you can hear a sizzling sound, like eggs frying in a skillet. On about three occasions, I've had the motor in the water, and touched it with my hand, and touched the stern rail with my upper arm, and received a painful shock. Apparently, the rigging and the rails get charged with static electricity from the air surrounding the transmission lines.

I've heard of people whose hair stood up when lightning was in the vicinity, but never heard of the air being charged as much as you saw, without a bolt following. You might have sailed through an area that was electrically charged, but just didn't quite have a strong enough charge to form an actual lightning bolt.

Edited by - on

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