When Lightning Strikes | Wicked Tuna
It's getting a little rough out now. You can see it in the skies and feel it in the change of the waves. We just see this storm coming along the horizon. Looks like a lightning strike squall. Bottom line, I have to catch fish to provide for my family, and sometimes that involves taking a few risks.
You guys don't need to worry. Lightning's only dangerous if you're on a boat. It's not good. Here comes the wind shift. Weather change. Big storm coming. As a fisherman, captain, and boat owner, you need to know about weather at all times. With high winds comes high seas.
But the biggest concern is lightning. And got that big pole up there, great conductor of electricity. If it hits that, it'll go right through the boat, and we lose our electronics. When it comes, that lightning bolt's coming, you know it's coming. I mean, the hair on your head starts to stand up when that lightning bolt hits; makes you jump, no doubt about it. It's pretty scary.
Hang on, guys! Hang on! Oh, just going through a severe lightning storm right now, and we definitely got to pay attention. As you can see, we're right in the heart of it. Try to avoid touching the steering wheel as much as possible. It's scary, man. Anytime you get stuck in these situations, I don't think I've ever been in a lightning storm like this with you before.
The problem is everything on these boats is electronic. All the machinery is here between the radars, the fish finder, the plotters, including our engine and our controls for our engine. So, you know, worst-case scenario, if we got hit, you know, we'd have to pray that we didn't kind of go on fire.
But on top of that, we have to pray we don't lose—oh my goodness—we've got to kind of pray that we don't lose our engine and our generator. You know the old saying is, you know, lightning strikes the highest moving object that's in that area, and right now we are definitely the highest moving object. So I'm not going to stay out here risking catching on fire, man.
We're headed in! [Music] Whoa, get inside! Wow, that was close! That was a quarter mile away right there! Woo! Wow, it's getting bad! Wow, it is absolutely pouring right now. I wouldn't want to be out here in a small boat. I don't want to be out here in a big boat. Go!
We're going to get whacked here. We're prime candidates for a lightning strike right now. I'm going down! Everybody get down low! I'm telling you, you better get down here! Stay down! That lightning is close. Please God, don't let us get struck right now! Oh!