Shaky Light

During our passage to Mayaguana, Jill was at the helm for a spell and said, "I don't know what's wrong with me... I seem to be zig-zagging. I can't steer a straight course to save my life. And the leeway is huge - I'm steering 30 degrees off our course." I had noticed the same thing on my watch.

Back when Greg was visiting, he gave us the Shaky Light, a marvelous flashlight with no batteries. One simply shakes it to charge it. I had analyzed the construction one day and was pretty impressed. A magnet moves through a coil and charges a capacitor. Greg and I had even spent some time musing over other applications.

Hmmm. A big magnet. And where did I keep the Shaky Light? Close at hand, of course. One doesn't want to leave the helm at night to find a flashlight, does one? I hung it RIGHT BY THE COMPASS. As it swung, the compass moved through 90 degrees.

How smart am I, anyway?

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