Watch: Frantic kayaker tries to outrun lightning storm

Saturday, August 22, 2015, 9:20 AM - When thunder roars, get indoors, but that's hard to do when you're far from the shore.

Erik Walasek was out with a friend on a kayak fishing amid the mangroves of Aripeka, Florida, when a distant storm quickly became a lot less distant.

GoPro footage from his own kayak shows the fisherman frantically paddling to shore 

"It was by far the scariest 10 minutes I've ever had on the water," Walasek wrote on Facebook in mid-August. "At least 10 bolts close enough to make me think I was going to get struck."

Aside from the lightning, which is a major threat to anyone caught out on the water during a storm, Walasek also had to contend with torrential rains, and he was soaked through by the time he reaches safety on shore.

Not to be deterred, he's been back on the water since then, but he's warning other boaters to keep an eye on the weather.

"If you think it's time to go in, go in, don't just sit and wait and see where goes," he told ABC affiliate WFTS. "You got to be safe because I was lucky."

In Canada, lightning flashes occur more than two million times a year. Environment Canada says 10 Canadians are killed by lightning each year, more than 160 are injured, and more than 4,000 wildfires are sparked.

SOURCE: WFTS | Environment Canada