lightning strikes at sea

[elgroucho]

Salt water conducts electricity, so why isn't everything in the sea frazzled when lightning strikes the sea?

[jake-the-peg]

Lightning happens when a large potential (voltage) builds up between the ground and the sky.

When over the sea that build up happens in the water. I'd expect over the sea, the high conductivity to mean that the lightning's effect would be much more localised as the charge would easily be able to flow to the point where the lightning would then strike

[Idyllynn]

Because, Just as with a lightening rod is grounding the current to prevent your house or home from being "Frazzled", so it is with the sea water itself as it does touch land at every point.

[Tim Baxter]

Isn't the sea such a huge conductor that the current from a strike is dissipated to such an extent that any body in the water is only exposed to a v small amount of current.  Given that the sea is a good conductor then any charge developing would be spread over its entire surface again dissipating the effect of the strike.

Strikes on land are attracted to a point whose static charge has been built up greater than its surroundings.  Hence a lightning conductor will 'bleed' (conduct) static charge away from the high point to earth thus removing the static build up required for the strike.  It does not ground the current but it does ground the high point and bleeds away the charge.  Yes, conductors are occasionally struck but being at the same potential as 'earth' it's not very often.

Also the sea 'earth' is not much different from land 'earth' in as much as both have the same penchant for electrons.