Re: [Paddlewise] Lightning

G'day -

We had a massive storm down here in Sydney, Australia about 10 days ago - 20,000
homes and businesses with their roofs smashed in by hail the size of small
bricks, over 25,000 cars damaged, many total write offs - $800,000,000 in damage
so far.

And the only person killed was a fisherman in his small dingy out on Botany Bay
- hit by lightning and as dead as you can be (which is pretty dead).

All this from one supercell thunderstorm which pissed off out to sea and was
never heard from again.

The nerve - a cheeky hot and run storm.

Paddling in lightning storms?

Well .............  roll that dice.

Regards -

Wayne Langmaid
Central Coast Kayak Tours - only an hour north of Sydney, Australia (thank
goodness!)
http://www.kayaktours.com

Robert C. Cline wrote:

> I think I've posted this before:  I've been in sailboats and in motor boats
> during severe storms... some with lighting strikes some 50 feet from the
> boat.  I thought for sure we were going to be killed...I would have gotten
> off the water if I could have.  I flew into an airport during a lightening
> storm once and met a fellow pilot seeking refuge on the ground, he advised
> thathe'd rather be down here on the ground wising he was up there, than up
> there wishing he were down here.
>
> I guess the only good thing is, in seawater, you're pretty close to being
> grounded.
>
> I read about a fellow who was sitting on the fantail of a steel hulled boat
> and was struck.  He was badly burned and it blew out a hole in the boat
> where he had been sitting.. he survived.  Most of the sailing articles I've
> read recommend grounding the mast during electrical storms.  I bought lead
> straps to wrap the mast and trail in the water... not that I knew it ever
> did any good.  As for salt vs. fresh water, I would think that salt water
> would dissipate the electrical charge better, thus, you would be able to
> survive a strike that was closer to you in salt water.  A direct hit would
> probably fry you either way, regardless of what you were wearing.
>
> Robert
>
>  Does anyone have information on kayaking accidents involving
> >lightning?  Is boat/paddle/clothing composition a relevant factor?  Salt
> >versus fresh water?>
> >
> >I've been paddling on the salt chuck for 20 years, never do get off the
> >water when lightning is about, and I've never been hit.
> >
> >Dead man paddling :) ,
> >Doug lloyd
> >
> >
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