Lightning cuts through sailboat, leaving crew sinking in remote Atlantic, officials say

Two mariners faced a terrifying predicament in the remote Atlantic, when a lighting strike punched a hole through their sailboat just minutes before sunset.

The unusual mishap occurred at about 6 p.m. Sunday, March 3, in waters 1,120 miles southeast of Bermuda, according to the United States Coast Guard.

“To put the distance from shore in perspective, the mariners were roughly the same as if you drove from Portsmouth, Virginia to Odessa, Texas, near the Texas-New Mexico border,” USCG Petty Officer 1st Class Starr Franklin said in a news release.

The crew’s dire situation was discovered when an emergency radio beacon that was picked up by USCG watchstanders in Virginia.

It wasn’t until 4:45 a.m. March 4 that a USCG aircraft based out of Elizabeth City, North Carolina, located the 19-foot sailboat, named Lhor One.

“The airplane crew ... established communications with the mariners, who reported they were taking on water after a lightning strike reportedly cause a hole in their vessel,” officials said.

With time running short, the aircrew located the motor vessel Frio Ionian about 1,726 miles east of Bermuda and directed it to the sailboat, officials said.

The Frio Ionian reached the sailboat at about 10 a.m. and removed two men, ages 20 and 24, who were uninjured, officials said. Their identities were not released.

The men were attempting a nearly 7,000-mile voyage from Guadeloupe to France when the mishap occurred, officials said. The fate of the Lhor One was not revealed.

This story was originally published March 6, 2024 at 9:38 AM with the headline "Lightning cuts through sailboat, leaving crew sinking in remote Atlantic, officials say."