Sailing to the Wild Horses of Shackleford Banks: The Complete Series
My wife Julia and I spent three weeks anchored off Shackleford Banks, North Carolina aboard our 1992 Nimble 24 yawl Grit. Shackleford is a deserted eight-mile barrier island that’s home to 103 wild ponies that have survived on brackish water, cord grass and penny wort for 400 years.
We experienced the whole range of emotions during our three week trip to the area: 40-knot gales, fouled anchors, dead sea turtles and mornings so quiet the only sound was the sound of mullet splashing and ponies cropping cord grass in the dunes. Here, in chronological order oldest to newest, are the posts I wrote during our stay. Julia’s posts are listed below.
-
Back Under Sail After 22 Years: Why the Nimble 24 Sailboat Is the Perfect Shallow-Draft Cruiser
Grit‘s tanbark sails glowed in the setting sun as we sailed up Broad Creek. We ghosted into a cove under full sail and I lowered the anchor into the tea-colored…
-
The Grit List: Things to Do Before Setting Sail for Shackleford Banks
My wife Julia and I are sailing our yawl Grit to Shackleford Banks, North Carolina, to observe the wild horses that live there. We plan to head out March 15…
-
The Grit List: A Broken Axle Before Shackleford Banks Voyage
My wife Julia and I plan to sail our Nimble 24 sailboat Grit to Shackleford Banks, North Carolina, this March to study the wild horses that live there. But before…
-
Shackleford Banks: Sailing to the Island of the Wild Horses
As promised last week in my get-the-boat-ready-to-float list, here’s a hand-drawn (as opposed to AI-drawn) map of where Julia and I are heading for our mid-March trip. We’re sailing to…
-
Launching Grit: Storms Delay the Start of Our Shackleford Banks Voyage
Thunder storms, downpours and a tornado. Whew. Today was the day Julia and I were going to launch our sailboat Grit in the Neuse River and head toward Shackleford Banks.…
-
Sailing to Shackleford: The Adventure Begins With a Sinking
The last thing my wife Julia said as I pushed our two kayaks into the water instead of loading them onto the deck of our Nimble 24 sailboat Grit was,…
-
Small Boat, Wild Island: Life Aboard a Sailboat off Shackleford Banks
My wife Julia and I are settling into life aboard our yawl Grit off Shackleford Banks, North Carolina. While Julia just posted about our second day on the island, I…
-
Sunrise at Anchor: Shackleford Banks From Aboard Grit
Good Sunday morning from aboard Grit anchored off Shackleford Banks. I was lying in my berth this morning, wrapped in my cozy green wool blanket when Julia said, “Wow, look…
-
Balloon Releases Kill Sea Turtles: A Warning From Shackleford Banks
My wife Julia and I found the tangle of three balloons and white ribbons on the ocean side of Shackleford Banks. Half-buried in a sand dune. Mylar. Red metallic sheen…
-
Fairy Lights in a 40-Knot Gale: Anchored Out at Shackleford Banks
That morning, watching the breakers crash on the ocean side of Shackleford Banks, I had dictated this into my phone. I’m standing on the ocean side of Shackleford Banks and…
-
A Calm Night at Anchor: Shackleford Banks After the Storm
Goodnight from Julia and me, anchored off Shackleford Banks aboard our sailboat Grit. Dead calm tonight. Low tide. Two nights ago, right here, a little wind crawled into our open…
-
Shackleford Banks: Six Nights at Anchor
Good morning from Grit off Shackleford Banks. We’re anchored two miles from the western end of Shackleford Banks where the island meets Beaufort Inlet. Calm weather today, so we’re making…
-
Adrift, Fouled and Sideswiped off Shackleford Banks
Six days after dropping the anchor off Shackleford Banks, and two days after the 40-knot gale beat us up, it was time to move Grit to the Bight on the…
-
The Day Grit Went Adrift, Ge Fouled and Sideswiped off Shackleford Banks
Yesterday I wrote about how Grit fouled her anchor, went adrift and got sideswiped off Shackleford Banks. That night, after the day’s adventure settled down, Julia and I sat across…
-
How Not to Pack a Canvas Tent: A Shackleford Banks Lesson
This week I found myself in a similar predicament to the time my wife Julia said we should carry our kayaks on the deck of Grit, our Nimble 24 sailboat.…
-
Someone to Stand Watch: What the Wild Ponies of Shackleford Banks Still Know
My wife Julia and I had been anchored off Shackleford Banks on our sailboat Grit for nearly a week, studying the wild ponies that call the 8-mile-long uninhabited island home.…
-
The Rock, the Vine, and a 40-Knot Gale: Anchoring at Shackleford Banks
“The single commandment of anchoring is, ‘Thou shall create scope.’” Reese Palley / flamboyant art dealer, author, sailor, environmentalist and businessman The best time to write a post about anchoring…
-
Sketching Grit: How We Fit a Life Aboard a Nimble 24
How do 2 people live in 8 feet? I’m writing a post about that right now. The working title is Life in 8 Feet — it’s about the two weeks…
-
How to Provision a Sailboat for Two Weeks: Why the Sausages Worked but the Wine Didn’t
The homemade cured sausages that survived Lucky and Diggity were a hit. The bottle of red wine that had a cork instead of a cap was a bust. Here is…
-
Wild Horses, Rough Seas and Lessons from Shackleford Banks
This week Julia and I joined Lynne Carnes on her Creative Spirits Unleashed podcast to talk about our time aboard Grit with the wild ponies of Shackleford Banks. Lynne interviewed…
-
Life in 8 Feet: A Couple Lives Aboard a Small Sailboat
The last thing I do at night on our sailboat Grit before I drop off to sleep is say, “Goodnight Chickadee,” reach over the table that sits on top of…
-
25-Foot Sailboat: Are We Closer at Sea or on Land?
My wife Julia and I have spent the last two weeks anchored off Shackleford Banks on our 25-foot sailboat Grit. We came here to learn more about how wild horses…
-
Wild Ponies of Shackleford Banks Have the Last Word
It was our last day observing the wild ponies of Shackleford Banks and my wife Julia and I went out to see what they were up to. We’d come to…
-
No Fridge, One Burner, Two Weeks: Cooking Aboard a Small Sailboat at Shackleford Banks
My wrist caught the bowl of oatmeal on Grit‘s galley table. It did a steamy Charlie Brown loop and landed next to the centerboard case with a plop, spraying oatmeal…
-
The Sacred Maritime Forest of Shackleford Banks
My wife Julia and I had spent the afternoon observing the wild ponies on the middle part of Shackleford Banks and were following a sandy beach back to Grit, which…
-
Shackleford Banks: The Beach That Made Me Put the Camera Down
The first two days, my wife Julia and I had just focused on observing the wild ponies of Shackleford Banks and making sure our sailboat Grit didn’t drag anchor. The…
-
Farewell to the Wild Ponies of Shackleford Banks
After two weeks anchored off Shackleford Banks aboard Grit, we felt like an extension of the uninhabited island. We knew the dark blue part of the channel we needed to…
-
Shackleford Banks Wild Horses on Today’s Horsewoman Podcast
Earlier this spring, Julia and I spent two weeks anchored off Shackleford Banks (North Carolina) studying the wild horses that call the 9-mile uninhabited island home. While we were at…
-
Warwick Schiller Podcast: Wild Horses of Shackleford Banks
This spring, my wife Julia and I towed our sailboat Grit out of the barn, launched her and sailed her to Shackleford Banks, North Carolina, where we spent the next…
Julia Carpenter’s Posts from ConsideringAnimals.com
Julia wrote a parallel series on the wild ponies of Shackleford Banks focused on herd behavior. Essential reading if you’re interested in what wild horses still know — and what that means for the animals we keep.
1. Shackleford Banks — The Trip Begins
First ponies spotted stepping from the woods as Grit drops anchor.
2. The Second Day on Shackleford Banks
Coffee aboard, dolphins off the bow, and the first long pony watch.
3. Sunrise at Shackleford Banks
Morning light over the anchorage.
4. Ponies Staying Alive on Shackleford Banks
How a herd survives a hard winter on a barrier island.
5. Good Night From Shackleford Banks
A quiet night dispatch from the boat.
6. Studying the Ponies of Shackleford Banks
Julia’s observation method: bands, body condition, and behavior.
7. By Sea and Land on Shackleford Banks
Two weeks in, a full account of life on the island and the water.
8. Dangers Lurk But So Do Opportunities on Shackleford Banks
A pony skull, a black widow, and what the island keeps hidden.
9. The Important Role of an Established Mare on Shackleford Banks
Mare 12N drives a newcomer back to the band.
10. The Lieutenant Stallion Comes After a Mare
A stallion spots a mare down the beach and goes after her at a gallop.
11. Spirits Unleashed Podcast: Our Trip to Shackleford Banks
Julia and Bernie talk about the trip.
12. The Lieutenant Meets an Adversary
Two stallions meet, posture, and settle it without a fight.
Grit is a 1992 Nimble 24 yawl. Shackleford Banks is part of Cape Lookout National Seashore. Access is by boat only.
← Back to Travel by Sail — more trips aboard Grit, Sea Bird, and other boats.
Let's Keep in Touch
Sign up for The River, the RiverEarth newsletter, for occasional doses of rambling and homestead life. Plus you'll get a free copy of my 155-page illustrated ebook 19 Million Mule Steps.
Explore More of RiverEarth
