A yacht sailing in the 75th Brisbane to Gladstone has been struck by lightning mid-race as parts of south-east Queensland were lashed by wild storms on Good Friday and into Easter Saturday.
Organisers say the crew of the yacht Celeste is safe and no injuries have been reported.
Queensland Cruising Yacht Club (QCYC) Vice-Commodore Harley Cowlishaw said conditions were rough overnight, but the vessel that was struck by lightning would continue to sail.
The QCYC said in a statement that Celeste lost all electronics from the strike, but still had VHF radio connectivity.
Eight yachts have retired from the race so far, suffering issues, including torn sails and seasickness, leaving 38 remaining crews still racing.
All competitors are understood to be safe and accounted for.
The yacht Celestial — which won the 2022 Sydney to Hobart — is on track to claim line honours around midnight on Saturday night, with most others expected to finish some time on Sunday.
As of 9am Saturday, the yacht Celestial was leading the fleet just north of Fraser Island and Maritimo 11 was leading the race overall, on corrected time, meaning it's a frontrunner for The Courier-Mail Cup.
Competitors Ocean Crusaders J-Bird II, Mayfair and Kerumba were all close behind.
QCYC Commodore Ian Gidlow said on Friday evening that it had been a "lively" start to the milestone 75th Brisbane to Gladstone, which set off from Moreton Bay on Friday morning.
"About eight or so nautical miles into the race, spinnakers were up and the fleet looked like it was making good progress," he said.
Hail, lightning and heavy rain closed out Good Friday
After a rainy day, significant storm activity was recorded across much of Queensland late on Friday night, bringing heavy rain, large hail and strong winds.
Several severe thunderstorm warnings that were in place for large parts of central and south-east Queensland have now been downgraded.
The Darling Downs copped dangerous supercells overnight with giant 10-12cm hail falling near Toowoomba and Dalby, and wind gusts of around 100 kilometres per hour at Oakey.
Emergency services responded to about 30 calls for help, with most of the call-outs involving leaking or damaged roofs.
Senior forecaster Peter Markworth from the Bureau of Meteorology said the storms were short and sharp, but "quite loud and visually spectacular".
"We saw two rounds for the most part across Brisbane, [with] most of those storms starting out in the west," he said.
About 20mm of rain fell in parts of Brisbane in the hour between 11pm Friday and midnight on Saturday.
Brisbane is expected to enjoy a windy but otherwise sunny Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday, with clear conditions expected to continue into next week.
