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The Grit List: Things to Do Before Setting Sail for Shackleford Banks

Published February 8, 2026

I, Bernie Harberts, did not use generative AI to write or illustrate this article. Spell check and grammar check, yes. AI, no.

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 and I’m writing a post about that trip which I’ll get up as soon as I can. Between now and then, I need to get a lot of stuff done on Grit to get her expedition-ready. Here’s the list of things that need to be checked, repaired, done and acquired.

Solo circumnavigator Bernie Harberts' Nimble 24 yawl Grit at the town dock in Oriental, North Carolina — *Grit* at the town dock in Oriental, North Carolina. She is a 1992 Nimble 24 yawl. Her former name was Mystic but I renamed her *Grit*.

Solo circumnavigator Bernie Harberts' Nimble 24 yawl Grit anchored in Broad Creek off the Neuse River, North Carolina — *Grit* anchored in Broad Creek, off the Neuse River, last fall when I took her for a little ramble under sail.

Chart table and navigation station aboard solo circumnavigator Bernie Harberts' Nimble 24 yawl Grit — Welcome below. I love *Grit*‘s cozy cabin. This scene makes me want to sit down with my chart book, pull out my dividers (the tool I used to measure distances on my paper charts) and leaf through my chart book learning about where I’m sailing next with Julia.

Here, in no particular order, is the list of things I need to get done on Grit before we leave:

To Repair

Sail slug on mainsail
12 v cigarette plug outlet
Engine cover (after I dropped it…)
Surge brake on trailer (needs replacing)
A whole bunch of other stuff

Sail slugs on a nightstand waiting to be sewn to the mainsail of solo circumnavigator Bernie Harberts' Nimble 24 yawl Grit — The sail slugs that need to be sewn to *Grit*‘s mainsail. Here, on the nightstand next to our bed. In the distance, our woodshed.

To Check

Foil on roller furler. It’s a thirty-year old CDI furler.
The usual trailer stuff like bearings, tires, wiring, etc
A whole bunch of other stuff

To Do

Top up water tank
A whole bunch of other stuff

To Acquire

Spare anchor (probably a second hand Fortress FX-16 I found online)
Anchor rode for spare anchor
Flares
Hopefully not too much other stuff

Come Sailing on Grit

Here’s a recent post I wrote about the shake-down cruise I took aboard Grit on the Pamlico Sound (North Carolina).

Solo circumnavigator Bernie Harberts sailing Nimble 24 yawl Grit into Oriental town dock past the fishing fleet, North Carolina — Heading into the Oriental town dock with *Grit*. Here, passing in front of the fishing fleet. Click here to spend a week sailing aboard *Grit*.

I sure look forward to you joining me on Grit‘s voyage to Shackleford Island!

Julia’s side of the voyage at Saddle Under the Stars:

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