[Rhodes22-list] sailing and lightning

[Richard Smith]

This has been debated 1,000's of times on boating sites and groups...

fact's

1: No-One repeat NO-One has been killed by lighting while on a sailboat.  It
seems that the rigging acts as a Faraday cage and protects the crew.

2:  Ground straps are not going to help if your mast gets struck and may
(possibly) increase the chances of a strike.  A lighting strike has a
potential of millions of volts and thousands of amps.  There is NO-WAY to
protect against this.  A strap however will discharge a static voltage which
may build up in the rigging from nearby strikes.  This condition can fry
your electronics.

3:  In general it's best to get away from land and ride out the storm.  With
the sails down your boat will be OK.

Richard Smith