----- Original Message ----- From: "Dave Kruger" <kdruger_at_pacifier.com> > Nick Schade <nick_at_guillemot-kayaks.com> put it well, and succinctly: > > >> Lightening generally passes through thousands of feet of air between > the cloud and the ground. Air is a excellent insulator. Don't be under > the impression that a fraction of an inch of plastic, wood or > fiberglass will effect the lightening in any manner>> [much snipped] > > I no longer have the post I made a month ago or so detailing how the local > electric potential influences ___where__ lightning strikes. That is perhaps > the main way to decrease your risk: avoid places, postures, and gear that > will enhance the chance lightning will strike on you or near you. As Nick > says, the "insulating" value of anything you might have about won't help you > __if lightning strikes you__. But, you can do something about __not__ being > the place where lightning strikes. I did some research on this about 10 years ago for my newsletter, looking at articles and interviewing NOAA people and the US Coast Guard as well as talking with some kayaking gurus. What seems to have emerged as an area to avoid is an immediate band on either side of an open shoreline, such as a beach. No consensus of how wide the band but certainly 50 to 100 yardson both sides of the water's edge. It had something to do with this area being a transition zone. So the advice was that if you feel you can't make it to shore without getting caught in that zone then to just stay out in the water beyond it. If you can get into shore and further inland especially among a thick stand of trees then that would be you best bet. At that point do all the good things suggested such as with cavers and mountain travelers, i.e. crouch down low on your feet or knees and hunker down with your arms tucked in low and your head lowered and be on your spread out PFD for some level of insulation. (we once did this on a paddle when lightning started striking in the vicinity. There we were a group of about a dozen paddlers keeping some separation between us and with all our asses almost pointing up to the sky. Someone who was oblivious to the danger of lightning came wandering down the path and must have thought it was some religious cult or strange people plucking worms from the ground a la what birds do. :-) There was also some discussion by the experts (who all admitted that nothing about lightning was truly predictable) that if in a boat you can create a zone of security. Basically the area that is reasonably secure is the radius of a circle half the height of a grounded pole or mast at its center. The grounding would be a copper wire hanging over the side (or through the bottom of the boat) at some depth into the water. I am not certain how well it would work in a pitching kayak where the wire could come out of the water. However, just having a kayak under sail with a mast way up there in the sky and not grounded would not be a good idea. Oh, BTW, if you were to find yourself out in the open on shore in that band area mentioned above and had no time to make it further into shore, lying prone or inside your kayak would be better than nothing. ralph diaz-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter PO Box 1365, Highland, NY 12528 Tel: 845-255-7742; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com "Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Thu Oct 30 2003 - 05:14:15 PST
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