BOCA GRANDE - On a recent trip to the "World's Most Crowded Fishing Hole," I watched as the tarpon fleet scrambled for cover before an approaching storm.
At first, I thought the squall linewas a blessing. The system looked like it would remain offshore as it meandered south.
But a loud clap of thunder and a flash of blinding light let us know, regardless of the bite, we'd better be on our way.
Summer is the peak time of lightning strikes, with deadly storms forming on nearly a daily basis.
You can get hit by a bolt from the blue jogging, golfing, even working in the yard. But anglers are particularly vulnerable because of the time they spend on or around open water.
Lightning is a seasonal hazard (as are shark and alligator attacks and hypothermia in the winter), and many outdoors enthusiasts brush off words of caution.
But the fact remains that lightning kills an average of 73 people in the United States each year. That is more than by tornadoes, hurricanes, gators or sharks.
Many struck by lightning survive, but the road to recovery can be long. Some are scarred for life, others never fully recover.
This week has been declared Lightning Safety Awareness Week by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
With that in mind, it doesn't hurt to remember these safety tips:
Buy a weather radio or VHF and keep it on your boat so you can listen for reports of approaching storms. Even better, go online and check out some of the many weather sites. Bay News 9, at www.baynews9.com has a particularly good weather radar.
If you are on the water and see a storm approaching, head for port. Boats, with electrical antennas, outriggers and aluminum towers, act as lightning rods.
If you are caught in the open and hear buzzing sounds on radio antennas or a mast starts to glow, you have waited too long. The phenomenon, known as St. Elmo's fire, is caused by an extreme buildup of electricity, and a lightning strike may be imminent.
If you see a flash of lightning, don't try to figure out how far away it is by counting "one Mississippi, two Mississippi." Use the 30-30 rule. The first 30 stands for 30 seconds. If you see lightning, count to 30. If you hear the thunder before you've finished, the lightning is probably close enough to hit you. The second 30 stands for 30 minutes. When you think the lightning is over, wait 30 minutes before you go back on the water.
Remember, lightning can strike as far as 10 miles from the thunderstorm. Many fatalities occur well ahead of or after a storm has passed, hence the phrase "a bolt out of the blue."
Another good resource is a new publication from the Mountaineers Books called Lightning Strikes: Staying Safe Under Stormy Skies $12.95. Written by meteorologist Jeff Renner, the book explains how thunderstorms form and provides strategies for staying safe using the four A's (anticipate, assess, act and aid.) For a copy go to www.mountaineersbooks.org
