Re: [Paddlewise] Lightning

Wayne,

  The advice was good, but the accent was teriffic!  I didn't know that
an Aussie accent would come through so well (strong) in e-mail!  Keep
posting so we can have that bit of Crocodile Dundee!

  - Scott Ives (very boring Virginia accent).

Wayne Langmaid wrote:
> 
> 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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> >
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-- 
Scott Ives
ssives_at_erols.com
- avid father, husband, photographer, kayaker, jet skier and
  Mustang Cobra convertible owner
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