sailing a 125 ( 2 person dingy) had the kite up, my crew out on trap pushing 35-50knott wind speeds (125s are wind rated to 20-25) Australia day race in port lincoln few(many) yrs ago we had a storm hit badly, thunder and lightning when u have an 18foot peice of aluminium stuck in the sky and steel cables all around you.. FUN FUN FUN!
we had a lightnig strike about 2 boat lenghts in front of us, the static electricity snapped my battons( figerglass strips in the sails to stiffen them) straight thru my sails and shreaded my main sail.
awesome power of nature. it went from dead calm to 35-50 knotts in a matter of minutes. that storm also traveled across the gulf ot devestate adelaide with in an hr of hitting port lincoln whiping out the Heron ( another msall class of yatch) Nationals.
being in the middle of that storm was an awe inspiring feeling, the buzz around you and the hype.
love a storm!