The Adventure-Boat...Goes Shopping.

It's that time of year. (No! Nothing to do with jingle bells, by all that is sacred in this world! Eat the dang pie first, if you please. Jeesh.)

No, it's gearing up time. The delivery vans are starting to stop by with goodies.

The first time Captain TwoBeers did an Everglades Challenge, the required safety equipment gave me sticker-shock. One SPOT personal locator, a GPS and a back-up GPS, EPIRB and strobes, a hand-held submersible VHF radio, paper charts. 

Add on a few other electronics: a GoPro to capture the fun, a solar charger to keep everything topped up, a basket full of A- and C- batteries, and a motorcycle battery to power the GPS on the overnight watch... Never mind the snake-bite kit (!), hypothermia kit, first aid kits, cooking kit, sleep system, dry-bags for clothes, and the rest of the expedition gear needed for the adventure. 

Johnson brand stock might have gone up based on the volume of Ziploc bags we bought. Bags for flashlights, for food, for electronics, for anything and everything. There's even a jumbo-sized Ziploc that easily gulps up the fluffiest of sleeping bags.

Anyhow, that was then. This time, the basic gear is still in play, so our discretionary spending is going toward upgrades that make the grade. For instance, personal lighting.
 
​A small boat in big water sailing through the night? A tiny boat. Big wilderness. Deep darkness.

Why yes, I think reliable and powerful flashlights are vital for the success and safety of my sailors.

Jeff's cousin Robin steered us toward NiteRider lights. Waterproof, stout, powerful, and designed for use in active sports (night surfing anyone?) these are super cool:

And the solar panel will re-charge them. May everything else we purchase in the next few months be half as nifty!