[Paddlewise] lightning

Just a couple of nasties to recount. just the thought makes me go cold
though.
One time we were heading down to les minquires reef off Jersey about 12
miles and it was a super calm day with no wind. Over Normandy we could see
big clouds building, but they were at least 15 miles away. As the paddle
progressed we watched the clouds get bigger and bigger. Well the last half
mile to the ref developed into a sprint and it became a case of every one
for themselves. We could see the strikes comming down east of us. We landed
just in time and had dashed into the Customs hut. We were then hit by a
serrious line squall and lightning strikes all around. Phew.. a close
shave.
Last summer I was in the Gulf islands with a few freinds and my two
children Nicholas 5 and Krista 8. We were on Rhum island i think and with
the weather looking a bit dull we decided not to paddle that day as the
kids were having a great time messing about on the rocks and behaving like
little castaways. Who needs flashy toys when you have the ocean to play
with. Anyway over Vacouver island we watched a storm brewing and the main
debate was the yes it will/no it wont miss us debate. It hit us and we
spent the next two hours in the tents. Again a lot of strikes into the sea
all around us and some close flashes. Well it stopped and we came out the
tent to watch a group of paddlers go by. We learned this tour  group had
paddled all through the storm which really seemed a bit risky. We could'nt
help wondering whether trip deadlines might have played a part in deciding
to keep paddling in the storm. Kevin who was with us has a big thing about
lightning and thought they were crazy.Kevin had once been on an Alpine lake
when two or three sailboarders just in front of a campsite and group of
there school mates had been killed by a strike. and by all accounts it was
a close call for him having only got off the water moments earlier. Hence
he always darts for cover when lightning is about. A wise move I suspect.
Cheers 
Derek
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