Grit
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 interact when they’re largely left alone by humans.
The morning before… Continue reading
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 the centerboard case and kiss my wife Julia goodnight. “Goodnight, Bubbie,” she’ll say, and we’ll tell each other we love each other, then snuggle down into our berths. She sleeps on the port berth. I’m on the starboard side. My toes will knock against the bottom of the berth, where… Continue reading
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 is on an anchored boat during storm conditions. The second best time is after the winds start dropping but your body and mind are still buzzing from the pounding, lurching, jerking, and groans in the night. That’s where I am right now. Julia, our sailboat Grit, and I recently… Continue reading
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 goal was a slow, unhurried look at the bands — to really understand their social… Continue reading
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. I said no, we’d be fine towing them. That turned into a debacle.
My advice to Julia this time involved how to pack up the wall tent we’d pitched on Shackleford Banks. In this video I will instruct you… Continue reading
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 from each other at Grit’s cabin table and recorded what went down.
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 eastern end of the island. The Bight is the large anchorage next to Cape Lookout lighthouse. The eastern end of Shackleford Islands is flatter, with more windswept dunes than the more forested, higher western end we’d been anchored off for nearly a week.
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 at the sky.” I wriggled out of my snug bedding, stepped onto the dewy deck, and this is what I saw.
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, “Are you sure you want to tow the kayaks behind the boat?” I assured her that, yes, I did.
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. Only that didn’t happen on account of the, er, bumpy weather.
