Hi there,
Bernie here with your latest issue of The Grit.
I hope your first week of spring is going well with not too much wind or rain (more on this in just a sec). In this issue of The Grit, riding a one-dollar horse across America, sailing a yawl to the wild horses of Shackleford Banks and your thoughts.
5,000 miles across America on a one-dollar horse
A few years ago, I heard of a Long Rider with the improbably mythic name of Sea G Rhydr. I filed her away as one of those names too good to be true — attached to a trip that was probably also too good, or too bad, to be true.
Then, two episodes of the Travel Grit podcast ago, I interviewed Gin Szagola about her historic ride across Australia. Somewhere in there, Gin said something like, “my best friend Sea G Rhydr.” Listen to Gin’s story here.
My first thought: say what?
Gin put me in touch with Sea. Turns out, the woman with the epic name was incredibly charming — and had taken an epic voyage across America that exceeded even her name.
Sea riding her one-dollar horse Jesse James (Sea G Rhydr photo)
And so she became my most recent guest on the Travel Grit podcast.
In this conversation, Sea talks about forging an unbreakable bond with a horse nobody else wanted, the songs she sang to keep them both calm on a trail above a thousand-foot drop, and the one thing that turned the whole trip around when everything else stopped working: having the right story to tell.
Rambling News: Wind, Rain and Grit
In rambling news, my wife Julia and I are holed up in Oriental, North Carolina, rigging our sailboat Grit for our upcoming trip to Shackleford Banks. Shackleford Banks is home to 130 wild horses and zero humans. The last settlement, Diamond City, was scrubbed off the island by a hurricane about a hundred years ago and ever since then, the horses have run free.
A sketch of our upcoming trip by our friend artist Laura Turgeon. (paper cut out, ink and colored pen pens)
I say Julia and I are “holed up” because stormy weather has blown through the area (think tornado-snapped telephone poles) delaying our launch. We hope to be under way soon.
Launching Grit at the wildlife ramp in Oriental, NC. This is the scene from last fall when I took her for a spin on the Pamlico Sound.
Another photo from that same trip. Grit anchored on the Pamlico Sound, North Carolina, not far from Shackleford Banks. She’s a 1992 Nimble 24 yawl. Grit is trailerable, which means when she’s not floating, she lives in our hay barn.
Julia and I plan to post what we learn about the wild horses on Shackleford Banks at ConsideringAnimals.com and RiverEarth.com. Well, if we have cell coverage. If we don’t we’ll just soak up the out-there-ness of sand dunes, salt grass and wild ponies. It’s nice to visit those increasingly-rare corners of the world that are out of reach of cell towers.
What’s Up?
Always great to hear from you with whatever’s on your mind – too-ambitious spring planting, wild bees, thoughts about the guy with the faraway look in his eye pedaling a touring bike up the highway – whatever. And of course, if there are any old-school travelers you’d like me to interview on Travel Grit, let me know.
Write me here.
Now swing into the saddle with Sea and me and let’s hit the trail!
Stay Gritty,
Bernie
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