Claim # 1207401
On the final leg of a 1400-mile passage from Key
West to Martha's Vineyard, my crew, Bill Davis, and I departed Farley
State Marina in Atlantic City at 2200 on June 29, 2012.
At 0230 a storm hit us with thunder, lightening and sustained 55 KT winds. Sails were furled, and I used both engines to hold the boat into
the wind. After about fifty minutes, the wind diminished into the low teens,
the sea remained rough and I returned to course. Almost immediately another
cell formed in front of us. I turned and tried to move behind it, but it quickly
surrounded us and we were hit by lightening.
The cabin filled with electric smoke, the
navigational instruments went dark along with the running and steaming lights. I
made quick assessments and found that despite the odor nothing appeared to be on
fire, and there were no major breaches of the hulls. The VHF was stuck on Ch
16, but the engines were still working, as was a handheld GPS.
I considered proceeding but thought about crossing
the three major shipping lanes leading into the Port of New York without
benefit of lights, radar, AIS, chart plotter or autopilot, and decided it was better
to return to Atlantic City.
I reported our situation to the USCG, made a
security call (which I repeated over the next few hours) for surrounding
vessels with our position and COG. I was contacted several times by the USCG
checking our progress, and once by another vessel requesting a repeat of our
position.
I jerry-rigged starboard and port running lights
with spares and wire I had aboard.
We took turns hand-steering back to Atlantic City
and were back at the dock at 0745. One engine wouldn’t shut off until choked
and neither engine would restart. There were no injuries.
Extra! Extra!, the vessel in this statement, is a
2007 42’ Manta sailing catamaran.