community weblog - [ Lightning Precautions ]

Officially, summer is here, and with it, summer thunderstorms. When a fire-breathing storm rolls over you out on the water, it is hard not to feel that you are at great risk. We all know better than to seek shelter beneath a tree, yet here we sailors are huddled at the base of an aluminum "tree" that reaches defiantly toward the clouds. A metal mast towering overhead would seem to heighten the danger (no pun intended), but as it turns out, that mast is actually your protector. It's powerboaters who most often get electrocuted by lightning.   more...