Thunderstorms are frequent there. Once, while we were in harbour I went out to watch a thunderstorm that seemed particularly dramatic. I'd only been out a minute, looking up at the sky, when a lightning bolt hit the top of the mast I was looking at. The mast stayed up and I shot back below deck.

The next morning I climbed the mast to check the damage. There was just a steak of burned paint to confirm I hadn't imagined the whole thing.