Don't lie down either. Crouch on the front part of your feet to reduce your
connectivity profile with the ground.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"Maxprop" wrote in message
nk.net...

"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

Pointy bits attract lightning. therefore it is important to keep your head
well down and ensure that your butt is your highest point. Do not move
until all the storm has gone past. Obviously you must be in open ground and
not under a tree.

"Capt. JG" wrote in message
...
Don't lie down either. Crouch on the front part of your feet to reduce
your
connectivity profile with the ground.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"Maxprop" wrote in message
nk.net...

"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

"Edgar" wrote in message
...
Pointy bits attract lightning. therefore it is important to keep your head
well down and ensure that your butt is your highest point. Do not move
until all the storm has gone past. Obviously you must be in open ground
and
not under a tree.

Being under a tree would be foolhardy, but being on open ground is equally
so. Get within 20 meters of trees or buildings to be safe. On open ground
you are the highest object around and therefore the most direct path for
charged particles to take to neutralize themselves with their opposing
charges in the Earth. Fact: most sky/ground lightning originates from the
ground up, so the highest object becomes the most likely conductor.

Max