question: What happens when lightening strikes the sea? Does it kill, and if so what is it’s lethal range?
comment: Since water is a conductor of electricity, a lightening strike would crawl the surface of the ocean using a process called, "the path of least resistance" until something broke that path. Most fish don't swim in the surface of the ocean so usually ocean junk or sooner organic matter will stop the current. If that happens to be a human then they would become the conductor of the pulse and more-than-likely drown.
passages: The story is set on and off the Rhode Island coast where James Pfeiffer, age 20 and just expelled from college, starts working on a broken down scallop trawler against the wishes of his family. He follows in the footsteps of his father Russ, who now has an unexplained fear of the sea. James comes to learn the very real dangers that exist in the present and truth about his father's past.
  
  Section::::Reception.
   BULLET::::- 22 September 1971 – Lightning F3 "XP736" of No. 29 Squadron RAF dived into the sea 40 miles from Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, cause not known, pilot killed.
  
  BULLET::::- 30 September 1971 – Lightning F6 "XR764" of No. 56 Squadron RAF abandoned 35 miles south-east of RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus following engine fire.
   In "Two Years Before the Mast", Richard Henry Dana, Jr. describes seeing a corposant in the Horse latitudes of the northern Atlantic Ocean. However, he may have been talking about ball lightning; as mentioned earlier it is often erroneously identified as St. Elmo's fire: "There, directly over where we had been standing, upon the main top-gallant mast-head, was a ball of light, which the sailors name a corposant (corpus sancti), and which the mate had called out to us to look at. They were all watching it carefully, for sailors have a notion, that if the corposant rises in the rigging, it is a sign of fair weather, but if it comes lower down, there will be a storm".
   BULLET::::- 1970 July 12: The central mast of the Orlunda radio transmitter in central Sweden collapsed after a lightning strike destroyed its foundation insulator.
  
  BULLET::::- 1994 November 2: A lightning incident led to the explosion of fuel tanks in Dronka, Egypt, causing 469 fatalities.
   BULLET::::- October 29, 2012: Hurricane Sandy caused a ConEdison power plant to explode, causing a blackout in most of Midtown Manhattan. The blue light emitted from the arc made places as far as Brooklyn glow. No person was killed or injured.
  
  BULLET::::- February 11, 2013 An underground methane gas explosion killed 18 miners at the Vorkutinskaya coal pit in northern Russia.
  
  BULLET::::- April 5, 2013 A gas well blowout kills 2 and injuries 2 others in Texas USA.
   Impact to the environment was closely scrutinised. The device, built in Belfast's famous Harland and Wolff shipyard, is rigged with a sonar device which stops the motion of the rotor blades when it detects marine lifeform near it. While there has been no negative affect to the environment - a special protected wildlife area - it has been noticed that porpoises stop communicating while passing the device.
  
  Section::::See also.
  
  BULLET::::- List of power stations in England
  
  BULLET::::- List of power stations in Scotland
  
  BULLET::::- List of power stations in Wales
  
  BULLET::::- List of power stations in the Republic of Ireland
   Section::::Service.
  
  The Essex Reef Light was first lit on July 1, 1889, it featured a fixed red light until December 15, 1892, when it was changed to a fixed white light.
  
  In 1914, the light was deactivated for the winter in between January 12–15 and relit between March 14–16.
   BULLET::::- 1857 Fourth order Fresnel lenses are installed, fueled by lard oil
  
  BULLET::::- 1877 New twin towers of brick lined cast iron and a keeper's dwelling are built further from the shore, because of concerns caused by erosion
  
  BULLET::::- 1893 A brick oil house is added
  
  BULLET::::- 1923 Northern tower of the pair is moved roughly north to become Nauset Light
  
  BULLET::::- 1939 Chatham Light, kerosene fueled since 1882, and rotated via a clockwork drive, is converted to electricity; the light remains active during WWII
   BULLET::::- 8 September 1970 – Lightning F6 "XS894" of No. 5 Squadron RAF flew into the sea 6 miles North-north-east of Flamborough Head, Yorkshire, United States Air Force pilot William Schaffner killed.
  
  BULLET::::- 19 September 1970 – Lighting T4 "XM990" of No. 226 Operational Conversion Unit RAF was abandoned after control was lost during a display at Little Plumstead, Norfolk.
  
  BULLET::::- 1971
  
  BULLET::::- 25 January 1971 – Lightning F3 "XP756" of No. 29 Squadron RAF was abandoned after a fire warning off Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.
   The EMP Commission Executive Report of 2004 states, "In general, it would not be an issue for critical infrastructure systems since they have existing protective measures for defense against occasional lightning strikes. The most significant risk is synergistic, because the E2 component follows a small fraction of a second after the first component's insult, which has the ability to impair or destroy many protective and control features. The energy associated with the second component thus may be allowed to pass into and damage systems."
  
  Section::::Characteristics.:E3.
   BULLET::::- 10 May 1971 – Lightning F3 "XP744" of No. 56 Squadron RAF was abandoned after a fire warning 15 miles west of RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus.
  
  BULLET::::- 26 May 1971 – Lightning F6 "XS902" of No. 5 Squadron RAF was abandoned following an engine fire 15 miles north-east of Grimsby, Lincolnshire.
  
  BULLET::::- 8 July 1971 – Lightning F3 "XP705" of No. 29 Squadron RAF was abandoned after engine fire 35 miles south of RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus.
   The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) has standards for visual signals, including both handheld and aerial flares. Handheld flares must burn for at least 1 minute at an average luminosity of 15,000 candela, while aerial flares must burn for at least 40 seconds with 30,000 candela average luminosity. Both should burn in a bright red colour. Nations which are members of SOLAS require vessels to carry visual signals on board.
  
  Section::::Civilian use.:Fusee.
   The first lightning conductors on ships were supposed to be hoisted when lightning was anticipated, and had a low success rate. In 1820 William Snow Harris invented a successful system for fitting lightning protection to the wooden sailing ships of the day, but despite successful trials which began in 1830, the British Royal Navy did not adopt the system until 1842, by which time the Imperial Russian Navy had already adopted the system.
   Section::::Design.
  
  Section::::Design.:Overview.
   The first lightvessel conversion to solar power was made in 1995, and all vessels except the '20 class' have now been converted. The '20 class' is a slightly larger type of vessel that derives its power from diesel electric generators. Where a main light with a visible range in excess of 20 nautical miles (37 km) is required, a '20 class' vessel is used, as the main light from a Trinity House solar lightvessel has a maximum range of 19 nautical miles (35 km).
   This section lists a limited selection of notable incidents.
  
  Section::::Reported encounters.:19th century.
  
  BULLET::::- Eagle Island lighthouse (1861) – water broke the glass of the structure's east tower and flooded it, implying a wave that surmounted the cliff and overwhelmed the tower.
  
  BULLET::::- Flannan Isles Lighthouse (1900) – three lighthouse keepers vanished after a storm that resulted in wave-damaged equipment being found above sea level.
  
  Section::::Reported encounters.:20th century.
   The original light source was an experimental laser-based light, and the lighthouse may very well be the first in the world to experiment with this light source. However, the experiment failed, and the light source was replaced in 1975 by a regular electric lamp.
  
  Section::::Current display.
  
  The light characteristic shown is two white flashes every ten seconds (Fl.(2)W. 10s), visible at 170°-330° for . The light source is an electric lamp, fed by a battery float charged from the mains electricity.
  
  Section::::Structures.
   Section::::Known or suspected rogue wave incidents.
  
  Section::::Known or suspected rogue wave incidents.:Before 1950.
  
  BULLET::::- On 11 March 1861 at midday the lighthouse on Eagle Island, off the west coast of Ireland was struck by a large wave that smashed 23 panes, washing some of the lamps down the stairs and damaging beyond repair the reflectors with broken glass. In order to damage the uppermost portion of the lighthouse, water would have had to surmount a seaside cliff measuring 40 m (133 ft) and a further 26 m (87 ft) of lighthouse structure.
   Section::::Watercraft protectors.
  
  A lightning protection installation on a watercraft comprises a "lightning protector" mounted on the top of a mast or superstructure, and a "grounding conductor" in contact with the water. Electrical conductors attach to the protector and run down to the conductor. For a vessel with a conducting (iron or steel) hull, the grounding conductor is the hull. For a vessel with a non-conducting hull, the grounding conductor may be retractable, attached to the hull, or attached to a centerboard.
  
  Section::::Risk assessment.
   BULLET::::- 14 December 1972 – Lightning T4 "XM974" of No. 226 Operational Conversion Unit RAF was abandoned off Happisburgh, Norfolk following engine failure and fire.
  
  BULLET::::- 1973
  
  BULLET::::- 3 April 1973 – Lightning F6 "XS934" of No. 56 Squadron RAF was abandoned 20 miles east of RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus following a fire.
  
  BULLET::::- 5 June 1973 – Lightning T4 "XM988" of No. 226 Operational Conversion Unit RAF was abandoned in a spin 23 miles off Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.
   Section::::Prevention and mitigations.:Monitoring and warning systems.
   Sailing vessels underway and vessels under oars
  
  BULLET::::- 26. Lights for fishing vessels
  
  Fishing Vessels
  
  BULLET::::- 27. Lights for vessels not under command or restricted in their ability to manoeuvre
  
  Vessels not under command or restricted in their ability to manoeuvre
  
  BULLET::::- 28. Lights for vessels constrained by their draught
  
  BULLET::::- 29. Lights for pilot vessels
  
  BULLET::::- 30. Lights for vessels anchored and aground
  
  BULLET::::- 31. Lights for seaplanes
  
  Section::::Example regulatory content.:Part D – Sound and light signals.
  
  BULLET::::- 32. Definitions of whistle
  
  BULLET::::- 33. Equipment
  
  BULLET::::- 34. Maneuvering and warning signals, using whistle or lights
   BULLET::::- All clear: A 30 second steady tone that marks testing of the sirens every first Saturday each month at noon and the end of an emergency for which the immediate danger signal was sounded.
   Although some of the more iconic reflexes of Dyeus are storm deities, such as Zeus and Jupiter, this is thought to be a late development exclusive to Mediterranean traditions, probably derived from syncretism with Canaanite deities and Perkwunos. The deity's original domain was over the daylight sky, and indeed reflexes emphasise this connection to light: Istanu ("Tiyaz") is a solar deity (though this name may actually refer to a female sun goddess), Helios is often referred to as the "eye of Zeus", in Romanian paganism the Sun is similarly called "God's eye" (exact equivalent of Armenian "akn tiwakan" - "eye of God") and in Indo-Iranian tradition Surya/Hvare-khshaeta is similarly associated with Ahura Mazda. Even in Roman tradition, Jupiter often is only associated with diurnal lightning at most, while Summanus is a deity responsible for nocturnal lightning or storms as a whole.
   In October 2017 the main rotational light at Noss Head Lighthouse Tower was extinguished by the Northern Lighthouse Board and a new, static LED beam was installed. There is no longer a characteristic loom of the light across the sea from Noss Head following this innovation.
  
  Section::::Operational details.
  