News video - lightning strike sailboat

Oct 9, 2008
1,739
Bristol 29.9 Dana Point
....Repost. For some reason can't edit headline on other one ...

What are the odds...
I saw this video of a lightning strike yesterday morning on a Facebook page called "Bristol Owners", a page for owners of Bristol Yachts sailboats. The video was posted by a member, the owner of the struck boat.
I commented that the video was newsworthy. Now it's on Fox News.
Here's the thing:
That boat is exactly the same model as ours, of which only 216 were built. Now here it is on miraculously obtained and nationally broadcast video.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/lightning-hits-boat-in-boston-harbor-explosive-video-shows
 
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Likes: Jim26m
May 24, 2004
7,129
CC 30 South Florida
Still reinforces the old theory that lightning seems to strike sailboats at the dock or near land. I personally have not heard of a documented incident of a sailboat having been struck by lightning in open seas. At first I thought it could be a statistical numbers thing with more sailboats being at dock or near land than those at sea but cannot dismiss the absence of documented cases at sea.
 
Feb 6, 1998
11,665
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
Still reinforces the old theory that lightning seems to strike sailboats at the dock or near land. I personally have not heard of a documented incident of a sailboat having been struck by lightning in open seas. At first I thought it could be a statistical numbers thing with more sailboats being at dock or near land than those at sea but cannot dismiss the absence of documented cases at sea.
We have lightning damage customers who have been struck at sea. One of them so badly, during a race, that the hull was leaking and the carbon fiber spar was a total loss. I think the reason this myth is around is because of the fact that boats generally spend far less time at sea than at the dock or mooring. A simple odds game..
 
Jun 10, 2017
174
Catalina 1980 Catalina 30 Mk II John's Pass / Tampa Bay
Years ago at the dock, lightening bounced off the roof of a building 20 feet away &
struck the mast top as I was walking to my boat. I burned out my electronics from VHF, FM, Raymarine depth, speed etc.
So, I looked into & gathered info on lightening & boat strikes & here is what I learned. Keep in mind that I also live in one of the lightening capitals of the world.

Lightening is always searching for a path to ground, sky to earth. So, I went thru my boat & discovered how many items on my boat were integrally grounded. You know, those green bonding wires that are tied all into a grounding block and/or attached to maybe a keel bolt or engine tranny housing/shaft to allow for the current to pass down & out.

Well sorry but what I have discovered is that I no longer have a boat bonding system anymore. Disconnecting all of these, rather than being "grounded," I am insulated for my boat is no longer a path to ground.

Another thing I discovered is bonding wires to metal objects like fuel tanks & such, can be a path for corrosion from stray current that may come from other boats nearby in say a marina. I've witnessed especially aluminum tanks with corrosion problems from this but it looks different from what normal corrosion would look like.

I have been in electrical storms both @ dock & anchor watching strikes hit trees, buildings & boats. Since I got rid of my tied-in grounding, I have not had a direct strike.

Now some will disagree with me on this but, I can only speak for myself & my boat that has never been hit again. Nor,
do I see a instance of corrosion.
 
Jan 1, 2006
7,039
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
Terrifying video. I guess all those sparks on the deck aren't hot enough to start a fire. But the notion of a bolt of lightning hitting the mast and nicely following a path to ground is debunked by that video. The entire area around the boat's deck is engulfed in a fire ball. Next time I'm on a boat in a T Storm I'm heading below unless I have to be on deck.
 
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Likes: JamesG161
Feb 14, 2014
7,399
Hunter 430 Waveland, MS
If you stop that video at 5 sec, you will see the strike ABOVE the mast.
As the electrons moved up the mast, from most likely the dock side power plugged in.
If the lightning had struck the full boat and grounded through the keel, the boat would have sunk from the hole in the boat.
Jim...