Positive lightning defence

I experienced the worst and most violent storms of my sailing life on the eastern Adriatic. Winds that increased to gale force within a few minutes and lightning that flashed around us in a constant barrage and felt far too close - a frightening scenario that I will never forget. Fortunately, we sailed out of the celestial inferno in one piece and only under a storm jib, without suffering any damage.

If you listen to Holger Flindt, head of the claims department at Pantaenius, Europe's leading yacht insurer, you might think you've been lucky. "Damage caused by lightning is increasing and has become a real issue in the last ten years," says the engineer. Expressed in figures, this means that lightning strikes account for 6.5 per cent of damage worldwide. However, according to the insurance experts, this is significantly higher in individual shipping areas - in the Mediterranean ten per cent, in Florida, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, lightning damage even accounts for fifty per cent. In the last five years, the company has paid out 28 million euros to its customers for damage caused by lightning strikes. It is therefore not surprising that Pantaenius supports and promotes the use of lightning protection systems on board. One such system comes from Paraguay, is called CMCE (acronym for Compensador Multiple de Campo Electrico) and prevents the occurrence of lightning. The manufacturer Sertec has been installing its tried-and-tested technology in public buildings, stadiums, sensitive industrial facilities and airports for years.

Until now, the South Americans have not focussed on shipping, but their CMCE capacitor, which was developed specifically for the marine sector, seems to be made for the yacht industry. "This innovative system is therefore not only supported by us, but also recognised as a condition-compliant protective measure that exempts customers from a deductible in the event of damage caused by lightning strikes, even in particularly high-risk sailing areas," Holger Flindt explains. If, in the event of a direct or indirect lightning strike and due to the overvoltage that occurs, the entire on-board electronics are brought to their knees, the damage can quickly amount to several hundred thousand euros for large formats.

The CMCE system is based on the same functional principles that physicist and electrical engineer Nikola Tesla researched at the beginning of the 19th century. "During a thunderstorm, a potential difference arises between the negatively charged clouds and the positively charged earth. As a result, the charge concentration increases in certain places, so that lightning can form there," explains Arne Gründel, who coordinates the marketing of the new system in Northern Europe as Sales Manager of the North German on-board electronics professionals Elna. "The CMCE system ensures potential equalisation, which prevents lightning from occurring in the protected area. These handy little devices absorb excess negative charges from the air layer and discharge them through the earthing. The process eliminates positively charged upward currents and thus prevents the formation of a lightning channel."

According to the Paraguayan manufacturer, the probability of a lightning strike within the protected area is reduced by 99 per cent. The CMCE system is available in three sizes: Gold (1.06 kg, 9,000 euros), Platinum (2.75 kg, 12,000 euros) and Diamond (6.17 kg, 19,000 euros). The larger the capacitor, the more negative charge the device can dissipate. The Sertec engineers use the yacht's dimensions to calculate the size of the unit and how many CMCE units need to be installed on board.