a little light from above

I have dualing "to do" lists these days.  One for the spring sailing trip, which starts in about 10 days, and another for the annual crawfish boil which is just three days away.  One list says "change outboard oil," the other says "pick up two sides of salmon, brown sugar and salt" for the smoked salmon that will be served alongside the crawfish.

I received two solar powered inflatable lights from Amazon yesterday, one for Spartina and one for the house.  Like all good equipment ideas, the suggestion of the lights came from my kayaking friend Kristen.  It was only when I was emailing with her about lights the other evening I realized there were in fact two manufacturers and I had chosen a slightly different lamp than the one she uses.  I purchased luminAID lamps, she uses the Luci solar lamps.  They are similar, though the Luci is more elegant looking while the luminAID has a more utilitarian design.  They cost about the same and are both available at Amazon.

The solar powered inflatable (and inexpensive) lamps were designed for third world use, where electricity is often not available, and for disaster relief situations.  The luminAID lamp, when deflated and folded, is pocket sized.  The small solar panel charges the battery in seven hours, storing enough energy to provide light for up to 16 hours.  When in use the lamp is inflated, making a small "pillow" that glows.  The lamps are waterproof and will float.  Pretty cool.  

I'm not sure where I will store the solar lamp on Spartina.  Maybe in the light kit, with the other flashlights and notebooks.  Or maybe in the survival kit.  I see it as a piece of emergency gear - either to provide light for myself or to attract attention.  And like all good emergency gear I may never use it, but will always be glad to have it on board.

I've been making headway with my other tasks - updating the SPOT profile, organizing food in the plastic jars and checking my gps waypoints.  I will get more serious about packing starting Monday.  In the meantime, I will be focusing on the crawfish boil.  A bunch of friends, not to mention 300 live crawfish from the swamps of Louisiana, will be here soon.