Time to get off the lake

[GAMBLER]

Yesterday off of Sandy Creek, we had something really weird happen. Thunderstorms were rolling North of us down the lake. When the storm was due North of us, I kept getting severe static shocks from the wire as I reeled it in . I could see arches going from the wire to my arm. Anyone else every have this happen?

[off track]

yes we've had it happen before.

The static was arcing between the spool and the frame of the reel of our wire.

[skipper19]

That's not the only thing I've had happen near thunder storms on the water. If you have graphite rods they will attract static too. I had my rods in a holder near the grab rail around my console and heard the snapping noise and wondered what the heck?... well there wasn't any lightning yet but the rods were getting charged by the dark cloud going overhead and arching a spark to the grab rail from the rods. I grabbed them to put down in the bottom of the boat and got a good jolt from them too! I can only imagine what would happen if having copper out 600 feet collecting almost an 8th mile of electricity from the lake into a high point on the boat....could be you!....NOT GOOD....UHHH, UHHH.

Mark

[ray koziatek]

hmm copper in water should make a good ground in my mind,,,,,FOR STATIC...lightning will grab a lot of whats around tho it should follow the path of least resistance but a senerio i would not like to try..it was always a treat to watch the new guy reach up and grab a horse collar or rescue basket as the experianced deck hand stood back with the grounding hook giving me that smug look 50 ft below the chopper

[Missdemeanor]

Brian ...I fished the Niagara pro am out of my boat a bunch of years ago. We ran all the way to the oak to find fish....off the oak I had the same thing happen....it sounded like a typewriter out there. My wire rods were snappin and I could see the electric current pouncing back and forth from each rod......myself Joe toomey and a few other boats hauled a$$ into the oak port for safety. Luckily the pro am committee was cool and didn't Dq us due to the potential emergency situation.......

[Silver Fox]

Man, I'd get a charge out of that!

[Has Been]

I had the graphite rod I was reeling the fish in on give me static shocks thru my hand in a bad rainstorm once, but there was no thunder or lightning. It was strange to say the least. I put that rod away & used my glass ones & kept fishing.

[rolmops]

If you have that happen,the next thing might be a lightning flash coming your way. Interesting,but not healthy. Next time it happens,you should ground your rods out by sticking them in the water and then get off the water real fast.

[Lund SSS]

Brian,

I think you answered your own question about when to get off the water. As far as having that happen, I think most of of that have put in our time it will happen. The old Nothin but Net was offshore when the storm was between us and shore when the antenna starts to crack and Keith looks at me and says " your an electrician, is the antenna supposed to make that noise ? "... me, hell no. There's nothing comfortable about knowing your going to have to take a jolt to save the crew but hell, I've been struck by lighting so this isn't going to hurt

Us your best judgment but understand the next thing that happens when there's nothing else to discharge the potential is usually a LOUD BANG and you may not get to fish again EVER

[Gator]

Steve left out the best part of the story...thirteen miles off shore when the storm comes through, the antenna starts talking, and the big engine won't start! When Keith really leans on the key, one of the ignition wires starts smoking. Okay, so we start motoring back in on the six horse.

Now, Keith almost bought it a couple years ago in the Wegmans parking lot from a stray bolt, and as such he's got a healthy fear of lightning. So, with sparks flying around us, he gets this panicked look on his face and declares, "I don't care if I fry this engine". Then he starts cranking on the key again. A little more smoke and, miraculously, she turns over. It was a hell of a ride in. I think we all needed new drawers by the time we made it to shore.

Gator

[jimski2]

It is already too late to get off the water when the ionized air is causing sparks and shocks on the carbon graphite poles. You should have been moving when you heard the thunder and saw flashes of lightning.

[Landshark]

I've had this happen as well but have never known anyone to get zapped by lightning on the water. Anyone know personally someone who has?

[ Post made via Android ]

[Big Dave]

I have heard that lighting hit Tony Buffa's boat in Owsego many years ago while they were coming in. Saw a huge bolt of lighting come from a tiny gray cloud. Must have been an over acheaver.

[FISHIN AGAIN?]

I have had that happen with the grahite rod and while casting out of my boat in front of Sandy with a cleo, the cleo never hit the water. The line went straight up into the sky and stayed there. I cut the line and hauled a## back to shore.

[Tim Bromund]

Just remember this one important point about thunderstorms on the water. No matter how small your boat may be, you are still the tallest thing in the area and are therefore a lightning target. If you just can't get into a port, at least get as close to shore as possible so that there are taller objects around you.

[GAMBLER]

It is already too late to get off the water when the ionized air is causing sparks and shocks on the carbon graphite poles. You should have been moving when you heard the thunder and saw flashes of lightning.

Not my call. I was the first mate on the boat. If it was my boat, I would have been having some eggs over easy with bacon and white toast. One thing I do not like is thunder and lightning when I'm the tallest thing on the lake.

[muskybob]

Ray would be out there just to say he was the tallest something.

[rolmops]

I have read somewhere that aluminum boats are less of a deadly risk compared to fiber glass boats,because aluminum is far better grounded and as such not charged differently from the lake around it.

There are stories where lightning hit a fiber glass boat and it blew the through the hull transducer right out of its hole causing the boat to sink.

[bigbrookie]

i remember the day tony buffas boat was hit (late 80's i believe it was). i was the mate on the dixie dandy at the time and we got the call from tony a little while after it happened. i'm pretty sure they all took a hit, but his mate (paulie?) took the worst of it. scared the crap outta me for sure. momma nature needs to be respected at all times.

[jekyll]

Talora rods seem to pop when storms are near. First time I noticed this was when a storm was 10 miles away. I heard a snapping sound coming from my rocket launcher and reached for a Talora and bam. I got quite a surprise. I've heard it from the antenna on a protable radio sitting on the dash. Static was arching from the antenna to the window frame. This was the first indication of a coming storm. This warning gave me enough time to run into the Salmon River and anchor before a real dandy of a storm hit.

[Traveling Circus]

One unfortunate guy was struck and killed in a small boat in Presque Isle Bay (Erie Pa.) back in the late 80's early 90's..... he was killed, and knocked out of the boat... and I believe divers recovered the body later in the day.....I also seem to remember that there were 2 young girls on the boat who were uninjured by the lightning bolt. The boat was within several hundred yards of a grain storage silo complex and a power plant (with stack) .... so he wasn't exactly the tallest thing around. You should do everything you can to up the odds, but lightning doesn't always follow the rules....

Once saw a Tstorm south of Rochester while walking on the Charlotte pier...... everyone on the pier had their hair standing up on end in a big sphere..... We ran for the car, but no lightning ever struck the pier area.....

[rolmops]

One unfortunate guy was struck and killed in a small boat in Presque Isle Bay (Erie Pa.) back in the late 80's early 90's..... he was killed, and knocked out of the boat... and I believe divers recovered the body later in the day.....I also seem to remember that there were 2 young girls on the boat who were uninjured by the lightning bolt. The boat was within several hundred yards of a grain storage silo complex and a power plant (with stack) .... so he wasn't exactly the tallest thing around. You should do everything you can to up the odds, but lightning doesn't always follow the rules....

Once saw a Tstorm south of Rochester while walking on the Charlotte pier...... everyone on the pier had their hair standing up on end in a big sphere..... We ran for the car, but no lightning ever struck the pier area.....

In my physics 101 course book there is a picture of a girl standing at an overlook scaffold of the Grand canyon. The girl's long hair stood out in a perfect circle. In the comment under the picture it said that 10 minutes after the picture was taken, the scaffolding was hit by lighting and 2 visitors lost their lives

[jimski2]

Lightning hit a new Bayliner off Barcelona, NY a few years ago. Same thing, the rods were giving electrical shocks, the hit blew a 12 inch hole in the bow of the boat, the occcupants donned lifejackets and jumped overboard. They were picked up and the Bayliner drifted around for a couple days till someone towed it in. The owner never sailed again.