Titusville: Land of Lightning Strikes

Titusville, Florida: 2009

Aptly named, we thought afterwards!  WJ3 was struck by lightning while on anchor near the Titusville Marina in July 2009.  In a stunning display of sparks, lightning blew the VHF antenna off the masthead, destroying the windex too and cooking the (old) VHF radio.  Most sensitive electronics no longer functioned properly (they appeared to be okay; lights came on but nobody home!) including some auxiliary autopilot harness components (not the computer, nor the front panel, or the rudder indicator, or the gyro compass – they all checked out okay subsequently).  The fixed GPS lighted up but wouldn’t send information; the handheld GPS showed a position on its dial but would no longer interface with computer.  The water and fuel tank monitoring system also stopped working – I expect it is probably the front panel that failed and I plan to start with that first – an upcoming repair for 2011.

However, the boat’s major metal fittings are grounded and this appears to have saved us from major damage.  I had recently replaced (the day before the strike would you believe) a corroded copper strap joining the base of the mast to a keel bolt (whew).  US-manufactured boats apparently have to be grounded (unlike European-manufactured boats, I’m told) so avoided major structural damages because of this.  Wouldn’t like to repeat the experience however as most technicians simply recommend to replace everything, which of course is very expensive.  It did take quite some time to identify what components worked and what didn’t any more however, so it would probably be a waste of time (and money) to pay for a technician to try and work out where exactly the problem(s) lay rather than just replace stuff, which an owner can fairly easily do.  I plan to replace the sensitive electronic components asap.

You've just got to be there to appreciate these storm fronts

We, thankfully were not hurt despite my standing in the cockpit to watch the storm, as it suddenly changed direction and came directly toward us.  We heard a loud bang and then the First Mate, standing more cautiously on the companionway stairs saw sparks shower behind me into the water.  She said the fishing rods on the stern appeared to light up like Christmas trees. We were the only ones in the anchorage/marina who suffered from a strike that evening.  Our lucky day – yes and no!