How scared are you of lightening at sea?On the Greek sail trip we had a spot of bother with a storm as we approached Orei. To the south west were dark clouds lit occaisionally by brief flashes of wriggling white lines.
It didn't go down well with some of the crew: "Let go of the bimini - its support has got metal in it!" I was told.
I've been unhappy at the sight of lightening mid channel, where it is clear that our mast is the only thing that is both a) metal and b) above sea level. But in the middle of the Greek isles there are loads of mountains and buildings, some with lightening conductors that must be really tempting for those electrons high in the clouds.
And then take as an example what happened to Liza Copeland and co on "Still Cruising" when they were struck by lightening off South Africa. No one suffered in the blast though ok almost everything electrical was fried.
So relax, it will be ok.....but... OMG!!! I had this terrible thought...
What about my iPhone??? It will become an expensive slice of toast!!
After a moment of worry it was suggested that the solution was a Faraday Cage, an enclosure made of conducting material which ensures that the electric field within it is constant - see the Wikipedia article here.
But how many yachts go to sea with a Faraday Cage? Ah-ha, another thought - what about the oven?
So it was that in the midst of the thunder storm my precious iPhone was stored for safety in the yacht's tiny oven.
In the end we didn't get struck by lightening, and to this day I have been wondering..... would it have worked?
