Lightning damaged boat: Retired couple stranded in Bahamas

An English couple on vacation at sea were stranded in the Bahamas after their boat was struck by lightning.

Mike Beach, 63, and his wife Helen, 61, spent all their savings on a yacht. They embarked on their journey on a pleasure boat worth more than 50,000 pounds or $85,000.

However, the couple's trip turned disastrous on March 23 when their ship was struck by lightning. The incident, which caused “a great deal of noise” and damaged almost all of the boat's equipment, cost at least £36,000 (more than $61,000) in repairs.

With no money saved and only a modest pension, Mike and Helen Beach couldn't make repairs. On the eve of hurricane season, they are in a race against time to raise money to repair their boat.

“It's really scary right now because all the other boats are going back to America to get out of the hurricane and tropical storm zone and we're stuck here,” the 60-year-old said. Glass.

However, a crowd-funding campaign was launched by the couple's friend and fellow sailor so they could pay their insurance premiums and the additional costs the situation created.

The fundraiser closed on Friday evening after Mike and Helen reached an agreement with their insurer.

“Pontenius Insurers responded very quickly and today Mike and Helen accepted a sweet offer. With your help, they will be able to rebuild/replace all internal systems destroyed by lightning,” it said.