Zeus does not like multihulls!

I’ve been giving this some thought and I have come to the conclusion that Zeus does not like multihulls. Why would I say that? Well, if you’re not up on your Greek mythology, Zeus is the God of thunder and lightning*, and Boat US tells us that multihulls are twice as likely to be struck by lightning than their single-hulled cousins.

Multihull sailboats are almost twice as likely to have a lightning claim as monohulls.

Given the stats, I’d also surmise that he’s not a fan of Florida (Thirty-three percent of all lightning claims are from the Sunshine State and the strike rate there is 3.3 boats per thousand. – Source), and perhaps not the Bahamas, and the region around Panama too.

We personally know at least a half dozen folks who have experienced lightning strikes, including our own incident on the Leopard. In every one of these cases, the boats that were struck were multihulls. Our new friends Jane and Ritchie just shared that their Leopard catamaran Panthera was hit just a week after they made their first insurance payment. They told us that they hadn’t even raised their sails yet! How’s that for bad luck?

Does any of the above mean that monohulls don’t get struck? Of course not. I just think that the stats point towards Zeus being a bit more of a monohull fan. In fact, maybe he was even looking out for us during this lightning-filled passage? Perhaps the favor of the Gods is something that is worth considering in the age-old multihull vs. monohull debate.

*If you’re not a follower of Greek mythology, feel free to select your own favorite thunder and lighting deity.