Just come back from a surf in a thunderstorm. What's the likelihood of getting struck by lightening while out on the ocean, holding a paddle? It was an eerie feeling surfing out there alone...Maybe I am just a wooss!

As far as I know Carbon conducts lighting so I wouldn't be to keen holding a 6ft pole with storms close by.

I had a similar situation early in the year - big front came through huge amount of lightning, but still nice swell and offshore. Didn't feel safe standing up, let alone waving a carbon paddle around. I stuck it out for about 15 minutes before my nerves got to me.

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foamballer said..
I had a similar situation early in the year - big front came through huge amount of lightning, but still nice swell and offshore. Didn't feel safe standing up, let alone waving a carbon paddle around. I stuck it out for about 15 minutes before my nerves got to me.

Wise move FB. As the tallest object around and given that you have a conductor in your hand the odds are stacked againstbyou.

ET.

Yeah, probably a bad idea...

Google carbon fishing rods and lightning..

yep.

you're standing in a large body of conductive material, holding a length of conductive material.

I used to fly fish a lot in a thunderstorm-prone area...would always break down rods and head for the pub when we felt it coming (trout would go off the bite too when the barometer dropped)

I've been out on my boat fishing in an elec storm a few times. The most extreme had the fishing line buzzing and sparking in the eyelets with myself and mate cracking up at each others hair, which was standing on end and our skin was electrified!

We sat the rods on the floor, put down the radio aerial and sat on the floor until it passed.

At the end of this video Jonathan and I were near the end of a downwinder.. During a thunder storm.. with lightning.. We had stopped and noticed a very loud clicking sound coming from our carbon paddles.. It was like those Geiger counters that you see in movies when they are detecting radiation.. But the weird thing was when we moved our paddles the volume and clicking sound increased.. It was like a light sabre in the Starwars movies.. We were laughing as we took turns and moving our paddles through the air and we could easly hear each other's paddles from about 20-30 feet away from each other.. We soon noticed the hairs on our arms were stand on end like I've never seen before.. Straight up.. So funny.. and so lucky we didn't get zapped..

As soon as a storm approaches I leave the water ... and I don't even sup. In the northern hemisphere mountains there are plenty of stories of hikers' hair standing on end ... right before they get zapped. You were lucky, dj.

I went out side to watch a huge thunder and lightning storm a few years back . l was next to the missus and her shoulder length hair was on end , mine was as normal . She even said she felt a bit weird . We went inside ..... It was a little bit freaky .

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2381677/How-know-youre-struck-lightning-Picture-brothers-hair-end-minutes-before.html
www.thecohiker.com/hiking-tips/lightning-safety-tips

just like that

Perhaps the eerie feeling I got was my hair standing on end! Anyway I escaped with my paddle between my legs before the worst of the storm hit.
Next time I will head home at the first sign of a thunderstorm.

Cheers

Maybe a good reason to wear Croc's ..