August 26, 2011
Yesterday I reported on our preparations for Hurricane Irene. Little did we know, that may not even have been our biggest threat. Just two hours after leaving the boat to come back to prepare our house for the storm, Shear Madness took a lightning strike from a severe thunderstorm passing through the area. John and Leanne were on board monitoring the storm. They are fine, but the lightning struck an antenna and caused serious problems for our electronics and electrical systems. All is stable for now, but a full assessment will be done after Irene passes by. Seems like much of the work we just had done in Florida will have to be done all over again – and then some! Why is Mother Nature so angry?? The following photos show the antenna that was struck and some of the damage.
Shear Madness 
#1 by Cindy Hurst (@CindyHurst) on October 13, 2011 - 10:21 pm
I also had an “enlightning” experience this summer. I was struck by lightning while driving my car. I was able to get out of traffic safely and was not hurt at all. My car was completely dead though. Pretty much fried all the electronics. I’m so glad no one was hurt in either event. I, of course, am very happy to have this in my back pocket every time I do something stupid going forward — you know I was struck by lightning…
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#2 by Chuck Kleiner on August 31, 2011 - 1:06 pm
Ouch
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#3 by Anonymous on August 30, 2011 - 11:59 am
Bummer, Kathy. I’m glad no one was hurt. I’m sorry for all your electronic troubles.
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#4 by Rodge and Steph Pringle on August 29, 2011 - 3:15 pm
Shocking news, aye! thoughts and prayers to those tragic losses due to Irene. I recall that John has been onboard (flying) when struck by lightening, be carefull Leanne when holding hands. Great pix and looks like awesome fun (fishing and fixing!!). Ka kite ano (take care) from the NZ crew…fairer winds and following seas to you all. Rodge and Steph
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#5 by Terry Dunn on August 27, 2011 - 2:21 pm
Sorry about this! Sure hope you stay safe during the rest of Irene…. This is the most hurricane prep I’ve done in years, and we will likely only be in danger of strong winds and flooding.
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#6 by Anonymous on August 27, 2011 - 8:10 am
Simply Amazing what your luck has been. However, the entire east coast has had its challenges this week. I hope that your damage in minimal and thank you so much for keeping all of us informed of your travels.
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#7 by Anonymous on August 27, 2011 - 8:05 am
Which antenna got hit? We own N4744 and are out of Stuart Florida. This summer we were on our way from West End to the Berry Islands and got hit underway. We were about 10 miles away from Freeport and the strike hit the SSB antenna. We are still working through the electronic damage including areas like the stabilizers, thrusters, ECU on the main engine, etc. I can tell you it has not been a fun experience.
Doug
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#8 by Anonymous on August 27, 2011 - 1:26 am
I always wondered what a couple of thousand amps would do to a whip antenna; where did the amps comes out?
Neil
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#9 by Doreen on August 26, 2011 - 10:37 pm
yikes! glad you are all okay. sending positive thoughts your way for the next few days.
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#10 by Anonymous on August 26, 2011 - 8:37 pm
Hi John & Leanne – watching this from afar. Not a great start to your holidays!! Stay safe. Dave Woodhouse
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#11 by Anonymous on August 26, 2011 - 4:04 pm
Wow!! Stay safe.
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#12 by Anonymous on August 26, 2011 - 3:15 pm
Be safe! Prayers for you and your crew Bradley. Kathleen
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#13 by Anonymous on August 26, 2011 - 3:02 pm
Hmm – I think Mother Nature is ticked off by the 535 members of “The Clown College” (aka Congress)
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