"Capt. Rob" wrote in message
ups.com...

It's strange that every lightning strike I hear of at City Island is on
a mooring and never at a slip. Everyone I spoke to says this is just
luck since our marina is just 1/2 mile away from her mooring area.

On a mooring a boat is a solitary object with a metal 'lightning rod'
protruding into the air above. When the charge in the sky attempts to find
a route of least resistance to the opposing charge on the Earth a solitary
mast is serendipitous. At the dock there are many masts protruding upward,
but there are also land-based objects nearby which probably offer as
favorable an opportunity to equalize those charges as the masts.

The principle is the same for golfers--don't stand alone in the open with a
9-iron over held aloft over your head in the thunderstorm unless meeting
your makers is chief on your list of things to do. Stay in the proximity of
trees, which will take the strike most likely.

Max