A British couple who spent their life savings to buy a sailboat and enjoy their retirement at sea are now stranded in the Bahamas after their dream vessel was struck by lightning — and the duo are in a race against time to fix it before the hurricane season starts

Mike Beech, 63, and his wife Helen, 61, spent $63,000 to buy the 38-foot Mistral Dancer in July 2018 and began their sailing adventure, the Times of London reported.

On March 23, they were moored off a small island near George Town in the Bahamas when they heard an “all mighty bang” as a lightning bolt struck the vessel’s mast and destroyed the navigation equipment, according to the outlet.

“I never want to experience anything like that again, at all,” Mike, told the Times of London.

“It’s really scary at the moment because all the other boats are racing back to the US to get out of the hurricane and tropical storm belt and we’re stuck here.”

Mike, who is from Suffolk, said he had never seen an electrical storm quite like it.

“But we’re alive because I’m not sure what would have happened if we had been on deck,” he said.

While insurance is expected to cover most of the $45,000 repair cost, the couple will still have to come up with about $7,500.

Mike, who has had several careers, including as a truck driver, and Helen, who was a midwife, receive only a modest pension and can’t afford even that amount.

In the meantime, they are stuck and are in a race against time before the hurricane season arrives.

The couple set off on a 35-day Atlantic crossing in 2022 and spent the past year island-hopping in the Caribbean, where they moored off the small island of Crab Cay before disaster struck.

“At first I thought someone had crashed into the side of us or something,” Mike said.

“With it was this massive flash of white and blue light that just lit the inside of the boat up. It was like a flashbulb but 100 times brighter and with blue light added to it,” he added.

 A friend and fellow sailor has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help the couple cover their insurance excess and any extra costs, including visa renewals and the cruising permit.

The couple tied the knot after 37 years and three children together, then sailed through the Mediterranean to Turkey and later crossed the Atlantic in 2023, according to the fundraising organizer Tony Wells.

“Their savings have been exhausted preparing the boat for ocean passages — the Pacific was in their sights – and upgrading safety equipment,” he wrote.

As of Friday morning, about $4,500 had been raised in the funding drive.

“Mike and Helen are overwhelmed by everyone’s generosity thus far and would like to say a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to each and every supporter,” Wells wrote.

If they can somehow get their craft repaired in time, they plan to continue to Jamaica and then Colombia.