If you ever make it out to Atlantic Beach/Beaufort NC do take a boat tour out to Shackleford Island. I went during Memorial Day Weekend (aka: my birthday) and it was such a great experience. My visit was a little out of the norm because that weekend there was a “system” out in the ocean which meant that the beach was very windy and the water ridiculously choppy. So I would have been better served on the boat rides there and back wearing a wetsuit because I was soaked after each trip. And because of the winds blowing the sand about the tour guide saved us from a spot that had no wind cover where another set of horses are usually found. There is apparently an east side/west side issue on that island with the horses but apparently no gang signs or drive by shootings occur;). The winds did however bring out the surfers. It was a beautiful visit. Next time I hope for less wind and to take the option of coming out there for the day with a picnic and doing my own tour around the island.
Here is a site with info about the horses. One of the poor girls (horses) was so thin it broke my heart. We were told she was one of the older horses and that she had given birth at the end of 2011 but that the foul was too taxing on her so they had to take it away. Despite her skeletal frame being so apparent I still thought she was beautiful and couldn’t stop taking photos of her. It is hard not to want to “help” them but they cannot handle our food so it is very important not to feed them or leave anything behind. Here are images from the day:
Here is my favorite horse of the day:
This was their leader:
And here is some of that east/west side rivalry I spoke of:
Here are some of those happy surfers:
The water here is actually such a beautiful color and so picturesque with a sailboat added;)
The seagulls here did not annoy me to death. They were unique looking and SILENT. Just very attentive and watchful and fun to photograph.
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Great to find your photos of surfing on Shackleford Island. Do you realize that those waves are a pretty rare event for the East Coast? Amazing that you just happened to be visiting. : )
Nope I had no clue about the waves being rare here. Having grown up in Cali since I was 12 I kind of assumed beach = waves. I don’t get to the beach much in NC but in Cali you can always expect dolphins and surfers out in the water. I figured it must have been a pretty big deal though because our guide stated that professional surfers were coming in just to catch the waves from the “system” that was coming in.