San Juan 21 Class Association

Hello everybody again, I am spending the night on the San Juan 21 and I’ve got thunderstorms passing through. I see some lightning strikes and it got me wondering, how safe is the San Juan 21 of the mast gets hit by lightning. Has anyone had this happen yet? I definitely figured during a thunderstorm to stay away from the compression post and my steel bulkheads. I am a little scared of the 3 gallon portable gas tank that I usually keep in the cockpit outside. I’ve done a bit of research online and have read where it blows out electronics but I also read in a couple of instances where a blew out small holes in the hull. Wish me luck because I am anchored out here in a thunderstorm right now. I don’t mean to be so grim but I guess if I’m going out in a sailboat then that’s not too bad of a way to go!

Gman! Please reply to this post noting your safety through the storm. Sailboats are not a place you want to be during a thunderstorm. Had I seen this sooner I would have suggested you get to shore as quickly as possible.

My wife and I went out between storm cells and having read the same articles you probably found, thought it best to motor back in and secure for the day.

Hey thanks for the quick reply! I actually just motored back to the dock and I am anchored next to the dock waiting for the storm to pass. I have been out in some decent stuff but this was a very large pop-up thunderstorm. If I do happen to sink I’ve got my life jacket and my wet bag all ready to go. I’ve got about a 20 foot swim to get to the concrete dock where I put in here at Watts bar lake. It kind of makes me wish I had a slip now but I love my trailer sailors!

So.. um.. What happened?

Well I made it out alive! There were lightning strikes everywhere and I decided to pull in near the dock where there were some tall trees in hopes that the trees were taller than my mast. I ended up staying out for three days on the boat. We had some small pop-up thunderstorms during the next few days and every time one of those would come near us I would motor in to a cove with trees taller than my mast. I would always put the keel up halfway and get as close as I could to the shore. From what I read on lots of forums they say to get inside the boat and definitely stay away from anything metal. Since I have metal bulkheads and of course the compression post I would just get near the cockpit wall. I know the safest thing to do is to pull the boat out but every time a pop-up shower comes along I just cannot see breaking everything down to watch a thunderstorm passes in 30 minutes. I camp out for usually three to four days at a time. If anyone has any suggestions I would definitely like to hear them! Thank you Kingtoros for getting back with me!

Well, I am really glad you have survived the storms!

I was worried for a minute but couldn't find any news stories depicting your untimely demise afloat, so I was reassured somewhat lol

As you probably already know, rain is not an issue, thunder and lightning are. I'm not outdoorsy enough, nor am I an experienced enough sailor to advise on lightning strikes on the water... Just glad you're okay!

-Toros

Not a lot to do but stay away from metal. If it wants you bad enough, it won’t matter, so just take the opportunity to have a drink and enjoy the storm.

Kuriti That was my philosophy exactly! And that’s exactly what I did!