Yacht couple up the creek after lightning strike
A RETIRED British couple are stranded in the Bahamas after the yacht they spent their life savings on was hit by lightning.
Mike and Helen Beech were moored off a small island near George Town when a lightning bolt hit the mast of their £50,000 boat with an “almighty bang” at 6.30pm on March 23 during an electrical storm.
The strike destroyed all of its electrical equipment, which will cost £36,000 to repair and must be fixed by the start of hurricane season in June.
The pensioners’ insurance is expected to cover the majority of the bill but will leave them to pay £6,000 out of their own pockets, which they say they cannot afford.
The yacht could be written off, which would ruin the Suffolk couple’s dream to sail around the world and visit their son Charlie, 29, in New Zealand.
Mr Beech, a 63-year-old retired truck driver, said: “It’s really scary because all the other boats are racing back to the US to get out of the hurricane and tropical storm belt and we’re stuck here. I have never seen an electrical storm like it but we’re alive. I’m not sure what would have happened if we had been on deck.”
The Beeches bought Mistral Dancer, their 38ft yacht, from Hamble-le-rice in Hampshire for about £50,000 in July 2018. They crossed the Atlantic in 2022 and have spent the last year island-hopping in the Caribbean.
Disaster struck last month when they were cooking dinner while moored off the Bahamian island of Crab Cay, which they were preparing to leave to set sail for Colombia. The bolt was captured on camera by sailors more than 1,000ft away. The GPS system, autopilot, depth sounder, speed log, and close-hauled gauge have all been destroyed, as well as the alternator and electrical relays.
A Gofundme page for their insurance excess and costs of renewing visas and cruising permit has received £2,500.