[Rhodes22-list] Light in the End

[Michael Meltzer]

sitting in the cabin might be a good idea at dock or anchor, but generally I get wind and waves also with lighting. lashing the
tiller and lying ahull is not always the best bet, an autopilot will not be able to handle it, running with it if you have the room
or heading up and pinching at wave tops might be better. Also  you are still "under command" and have to maintain a proper lookout,
getting run over will ruin your day(the 100ton + stuff will not be able to see you, your boat will not show up on radar and they can
not stop and have a hard time turning, might not even know they hit you, their damage will be fixed with a gallon of paint at the
next port of call) Did I mention 40+ knots fairies?.

MJM
----- Original Message -----
From: "brad haslett" <flybrad@yahoo.com>
To: <rhodes22-list@rhodes22.org>
Sent: Thursday, December 05, 2002 8:09 PM
Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Light in the End


> MJM, are you referring to some medical procedure or is
> your software having some fun again?  I assume you
> were asking about lightning.  After about a week of
> research I found out some interesting facts.  You have
> a greater chance of being struck by lightning than
> winning the lottery.  If you live in FLA, play or work
> outside (SAIL), and hang around tall objects (MASTS)
> your odds of being struck go up substantially.
> Lightning travels up to 10 miles toward a random
> target and then selects the easiest path in the last
> 100 feet.  If you stick a 26ft aluminum pole in its
> way you become the target. If you wait until you hear
> thunder to head for the dock you've already waited too
> late.  Many strikes happen in advance of the actual
> thunderstorm in clear air.  If you can't avoid being
> caught then get out of the cockpit and sit in the
> cabin in front of the icebox, drink from non-metallic
> containers, and don't touch two seperate conductors.
> Stay away from the mast area (hard to to in a 22ft
> boat).  If the mast is struck the charge WILL go
> through the bottom of the boat. The stats say you will
> probably be OK but you will need some new underwear
> and you'll find out if Stan did his homework on
> positive floatation.  My personal solution is to keep
> a closer eye on the weather than I did in my power
> boat days.  If I cruised I would most difinitely
> ground the mast but have decided against it on the
> R-22 (after all I've been through divorce court so how
> bad can a lightning strike be?).  When this subject
> comes up again, and it will, I've downloaded a whole
> binder of material to piss people off with.  Brad.
>
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