二月惊雷！！
发表于 : 27 2月 2014 10:59Posted 21 February 2014 - 02:39 PM
Headed out yesterday from Bertie, fishing straight out from the beach about 3 Kilometers. Lines out around 10 am, action was a bit slow. It was a nice day until the storm began to roll in around 3 pm. That is when things got a bit scary. Our group of guys split off to look for more fish and cover ground, myself and a friend of mine went out another 500 yards in one last hope to find fish before the rain. I began to notice a crackling sound my tuque was making, gradually getting louder and more irritating I removed it, only to have my friend notice my hair was standing on end, then he removed his hat and the same was happening. Suddenly we notice our rods and metal lawn chairs are humming so loudly it was impossible to miss. We both knew at this point to hit the deck, a lightning strike was imminent, and we were being used as a grounding point. Sure enough, while laying flat on the ground the static stopped, so after a couple minutes my friend got up slowly to see if the danger had passed, only to get back down right away after receiving a hard static shock to the top of his head. I noticed our loose lines beginning to lift a bit...At this point I was getting extremely worried. You do not quite realize just how vulnerable you are to the elements until you are the highest point on a massive sheet of ice, over 2 miles from shore. Not long after he hit the ice we heard a loud crack of thunder almost directly over head. Our jaws dropped. I decided we should stay down for at least another 20 minutes. I looked towards shore to see the rest of our group heading our direction in a hurry...the same thing was happening to them, and luckily we were all aware enough to know to remain low while this phenomenon occured. Some of you may have experienced this before on golf courses or on the lake, and that crackling static is St. Elmo's fire, which is a very strong indicator of a lightning strike.
Although many of us remember touching the electric ball at the museum and feeling a bit embarrassed with the silly hair, it may serve you well one day. Your hair standing upright is the result of its negatively charged surface becoming attracted to the charge of the energy building up in the clouds above you. This is the cloud “honing in” on the easiest possible location for the lightning to strike. Lightning strikes in the blink of an eye, which is putting it lightly, so the silly looking hair is perhaps the only warning signal of a potential strike.
When you are out on the big water you are always at the mercy of nature, and sometimes quick decisions and awareness is your only lifeline. Who would expect a lightning strike in mid February? There was no warning, no prior thunder was heard, and strangely enough, the group of guys who were about 200 yards west of us appeared to take no notice of this entire situation. After the static stopped I walked over there and they said the did not feel a thing. Although we all made it back to shore safely, we were certainly humbled by an experience that we will not soon forget. Take care out there!
Headed out yesterday from Bertie, fishing straight out from the beach about 3 Kilometers. Lines out around 10 am, action was a bit slow. It was a nice day until the storm began to roll in around 3 pm. That is when things got a bit scary. Our group of guys split off to look for more fish and cover ground, myself and a friend of mine went out another 500 yards in one last hope to find fish before the rain. I began to notice a crackling sound my tuque was making, gradually getting louder and more irritating I removed it, only to have my friend notice my hair was standing on end, then he removed his hat and the same was happening. Suddenly we notice our rods and metal lawn chairs are humming so loudly it was impossible to miss. We both knew at this point to hit the deck, a lightning strike was imminent, and we were being used as a grounding point. Sure enough, while laying flat on the ground the static stopped, so after a couple minutes my friend got up slowly to see if the danger had passed, only to get back down right away after receiving a hard static shock to the top of his head. I noticed our loose lines beginning to lift a bit...At this point I was getting extremely worried. You do not quite realize just how vulnerable you are to the elements until you are the highest point on a massive sheet of ice, over 2 miles from shore. Not long after he hit the ice we heard a loud crack of thunder almost directly over head. Our jaws dropped. I decided we should stay down for at least another 20 minutes. I looked towards shore to see the rest of our group heading our direction in a hurry...the same thing was happening to them, and luckily we were all aware enough to know to remain low while this phenomenon occured. Some of you may have experienced this before on golf courses or on the lake, and that crackling static is St. Elmo's fire, which is a very strong indicator of a lightning strike.
Although many of us remember touching the electric ball at the museum and feeling a bit embarrassed with the silly hair, it may serve you well one day. Your hair standing upright is the result of its negatively charged surface becoming attracted to the charge of the energy building up in the clouds above you. This is the cloud “honing in” on the easiest possible location for the lightning to strike. Lightning strikes in the blink of an eye, which is putting it lightly, so the silly looking hair is perhaps the only warning signal of a potential strike.
When you are out on the big water you are always at the mercy of nature, and sometimes quick decisions and awareness is your only lifeline. Who would expect a lightning strike in mid February? There was no warning, no prior thunder was heard, and strangely enough, the group of guys who were about 200 yards west of us appeared to take no notice of this entire situation. After the static stopped I walked over there and they said the did not feel a thing. Although we all made it back to shore safely, we were certainly humbled by an experience that we will not soon forget. Take care out there!
