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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph...t_1443600i.jpg

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/pict...July-2009.html

:eek:

Ouch.....

cool picture. 18' yacht:rotf2:

The mast on the boat to the left was hit also. Does a boat actually survive that type of thing LIKWID?

Well grounded? Most of the time.
Last year there was a J/24 down at New England Boatworks that had THOUSANDS of pinholes in the bottom from a lightning strike. Same thing with a Rhodes 19 that got hit in Padanaram last year also.

LOL, ya i guess that would make my old 22 ft Bristol a super yatch. :rotflmao:

The Real definition of yacht is a small fast sailboat ;)

Mike, it was both, but not as fast as you could Ho a Plug. :doh: :D

Sounds kinda like what happens to airplanes,,, It is not where they are hit that gets to much damage but where the ground (exit point/s) are,,, basically it melts aluminum or leaves it super brittle and thin with lots of pin holes,,,

The boat on the left didn't get hit, but what happened was that when lightening strikes, it doesn't just strike the ground, or a random point.
Because we're talking about opposing charges, most times the ground will send off what are called "step-leaders" that reach up looking for contact with the lightening discharge. When the charge meets with the step-leader, a connection is made and the energy of the discharge is drawn down this connection, creating the visible bolt we see as "lightening. In many cases there are mutiple step-leaders sent skyward, and only one makes a connection. Because of the limited timeframe involved, they are only visible when filmed at high speed. That's why when they say "If you feel your hair stand on end, you are in danger of getting struck". It's the sign that your body is sending up a step-leader.

All those years of watching the Discovery Channel and the Weather Channel do pay off eventually.