Re: [Paddlewise] Anyone understand lightning?

Thanks Dave,

I was really worried about sailboats but never took the time to think or 
ask about it. It is clear then that the grounded mast is not in contact 
with water to drain the current because that would attract all lightnings.

This means that the boat insulation makes the mast stay at a floating 
potential different than ground and therefore is not a good path to ground.

The same might apply to a kayak, with lower insulation level being 
smaller,  as long as wet paddle is not in the water.

Could that suggest that in a thunderstorm, while in the water, one should 
not use alluminum shaft paddles and keep the wet paddles out of the water, 
and horizontal, so that one is also a floating point?.

I wonder if there are some data of kayakers hit by thunderstorms in the 
sea. Maybe plastic and fiberglass kayaks are good enough insulation to 
protect kayakers form lightning.

Best Regards,

Rafael
el cayuco chief
Mexico

At 07:27 p.m. 20/08/02 -0400, Dave Gorjup wrote:
>In an earlier lifetime I had a Columbia 28 sailboat with a 40 some foot 
>(grounded to the keel) aluminum mast. Sailed it through many a 
>thunderstorm on the Chesapeake Bay and never had a lightning strike. The 
>way I heard it was there is less resistance for the lightning to strike 
>directly in the water rather than travel the mast, stays and other hardware.

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