British couple stranded after lightning strikes their boat in Bahamas | UK News

A retired British couple are stranded within the Bahamas after their yacht was struck by lightning.

Mike Beech, 63, and spouse Helen, 61, face a race in opposition to time to get transferring once more earlier than hurricane season arrives.

The lightning fried electrical navigation tools, inflicting £36,000-worth of harm.

They had been moored off a small island close to George City when the bolt, which was captured on digital camera from a distance, hit the mast of their boat on March 23.

The couple – who’ve three kids Alice, 30, Charlie, 29, and Jessica, 27 – had been on the brink of have supper when instantly they heard an ‘almighty bang’ and noticed a robust flash of white and blue gentle.

Whereas their insurance coverage firm is predicted to cowl many of the invoice, they might face prices of round £6,000 and concern their retirement dream might come to an abrupt finish ought to their beloved boat be written off altogether.

Mike, a former truck driver, and Helen, who was a midwife with the NHS for 34 years, can not afford to pay for the repairs themselves. They spent their life financial savings on shopping for and renovating the boat, and solely obtain a modest pension.

However time is of the essence because the Bahamas prepares to enter the hurricane and tropical storm season on June 1, for which they don’t seem to be insured.

A good friend and fellow sailor has launched a fundraiser to assist them cowl their insurance coverage extra and any further prices together with renewing their visas and cruising allow.

‘I by no means need to expertise something like that once more, in any respect,’ Mike advised PA Actual Life.

‘It’s actually scary for the time being as a result of all the opposite boats are racing again to the US to get out of the hurricane and tropical storm belt and we’re caught right here.

‘I’ve by no means seen {an electrical} storm prefer it.

‘However we’re alive, as a result of I’m undecided what would have occurred if we had been on deck.’

Mike and Helen purchased their 38-foot yacht, Mistral Dancer, from Hamble-le-Rice in Eastleigh, Hampshire, for round £50,000 in July 2018.

‘As a small youngster, rising up on Trencrom Hill in Cornwall, I at all times needed to go crusing throughout the Atlantic however by no means completed it,’ stated Mike.

‘Clearly it’s cash after which we had three kids and household life got here first.

‘So it wasn’t till my spouse retired that we might afford to do it, as a result of it’s actually her pension that drives us alongside and retains us afloat.’

Earlier than braving the Atlantic, the couple determined to place their nautical expertise to the check within the Mediterranean.

‘We had completed our skippers ticket and off we went,’ he stated.

They set sail from Lowestoft a 12 months later, handed via the Strait of Gibraltar and headed east till they reached Finike in Turkey earlier than circling again.

The journey proved profitable and in December 2022 Mike and Helen started their 35-day Atlantic crossing, stopping in Lanzarote and Cape Verde on the best way.

‘We had an ideal sail right down to the Canary Islands,’ he stated.

‘Then we actually did decide up some velocity, we had been flying alongside.’

They arrived in St Lucia and spent the 12 months island hopping earlier than dropping anchor in Crab Cay, a small island a number of miles away from George City within the Bahamas.

It was right here that catastrophe struck.

The couple determined to maneuver anchorage after listening to that {an electrical} storm was headed of their route.

‘First we heard the crickle crackle after which there was this all mighty bang,’ stated Mike.

‘At first I believed somebody had crashed into the facet of us or one thing – it was that massive a bang.

‘With it was this large flash of white and blue gentle that simply lit the within of the boat up.

‘It was like a flashbulb however 100 instances brighter and with blue gentle added to it.

‘Clearly it’s over and completed with by the point you hear it.

‘There’s no time to panic.’

Mike peered via the saloon window and noticed the boat’s wind route indicator and aerial fall into the water.

‘I didn’t know what it was on the time, all I noticed was a cloud of smoke with sparks,’ he stated.

‘That’s once I realised we had had a direct strike.’

The bolt was captured on video by fellow boaters who had been anchored greater than 1,000 toes away.

‘You’ll be able to’t see our boat however you may see the strike doesn’t truly hit the bottom as a result of that’s the place it’s hit our mast,’ stated Mike.

Whereas they had been unhurt, the surge has destroyed all of their electrical units bar a number of lightbulbs.

Specifically, their GPS system, autopilot, depth sounder, velocity log, and close-hauled gauge have all fried, in addition to the alternator and electrical relays.

‘The invoice from the surveyor is horrendous,’ stated Mike.

‘I had no concept that it might be so costly.’

The couple, who depend on Helen’s pension to dwell, can not afford to pay for the repairs out of their very own pocket.

They’re additionally extraordinarily involved in regards to the mast and concern their insurance coverage firm, Pantaenius, might determine to write down the boat off altogether.

‘The man who did the survey stated since an EMP (Electromagnetic pulse) has gone via the boat not one of the stuff is dependable for ocean crusing now,” defined Mike.

The hurricane season begins within the Bahamas on June 1, and time is operating out for Mike and Helen to get their boat to security.

‘That’s actually worrying,’ he added.

One other problem is that Mike and Helen’s visas are set to expire later this week in addition to their cruising allow except they pay an extra £400 (500 {dollars}).

The couple are but to learn how a lot their insurance coverage will cowl however stated the native boating neighborhood has been extraordinarily useful and supportive.

To assist them get again on the water, certainly one of their mates, Tony Wells, has launched a fundraiser on GoFundMe for £6,000.

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Mike and Helen had solely been planning on staying a number of extra days earlier than setting sail for Jamaica after which heading south to Colombia.

Had it gone to plan, they had been hoping to proceed their journey and go to their son Charlie in New Zealand.

‘We had been simply passing via right here, we weren’t meant to remain,’ stated Mike.

‘Possibly it wasn’t meant to be and my mom is up there laughing at me.’

You’ll be able to assist Mike and Helen by way of their GoFundMe web page.

Get in contact with our information staff by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For extra tales like this, examine our information web page.

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