Lightning flashed, hail fell and the wind roared as the mostly novice crew aboard a 26-foot boat pulled down the sails and motored for the Minnesota Point sand spit outside Duluth on Saturday evening.
Although they were doing everything right under the circumstances, lightning took a deadly toll as the sailors scrambled through knee-deep water on the spit, trying to hustle everyone to safety, Sgt. Wade Rasch of the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office said Sunday.
"There was a blinding white light and they were all blown off their feet," Rasch said. "They were hollering. It was chaotic."
Skipper John Lintula, of South Range, Wis., told authorities that the lightning momentarily knocked him out and into the shallow water. Tragically, it also struck close to 9-year-old Luke Voigt, who later died in a Duluth hospital, Rasch said. Four others standing in water near the boy were hospitalized with serious burns.
Yards away on the sandy beach, Luke's 7-year-old brother, Daniel, stood unharmed. Their dad, Paul Voigt, who was in ankle-deep water near Daniel, was among those shocked by the bolt, Rasch said.
The excursion had begun about 3 p.m. under sunny skies as Lintula and his wife, Vicky, launched their boat near Duluth. They had invited the Voigt family for an afternoon sail and a hot dog barbecue on the big lake.
The crew of eight included the two boys, their parents, Paul and Lorie Voigt, of Iron River, Wis., the boys' grandparents, Frank and Mary Voigt, of Pierz, Minn., and the Lintulas.
Less than two hours later, about 5 p.m., the Duluth office of the National Weather Service issued a marine weather statement warning boaters to seek shelter because a thunderstorm with hail was sweeping in.
