Twice a year Peggy and I plan boardsailing trips in Spring & Fall to Nags Head in the Outer Banks. We love Nags Head because conditions are great for both beginners and experienced sailors. The bottom is sandy and chest-deep half a mile out from shore, so it’s an easy place to learn. Then there’s the wind. It’s well known the Wright Brothers chose the Outer Banks for their first flight after searching Weather Service records for a location with frequent, steady wind. The Sound offers predictably flat water and small waves for improving skills, with much more challenging conditions in the open ocean.

Although sailing is our main passion, there are many activities, enough to keep non-sailing spouses happy. A paved bike path extends over 10 miles along the ocean-side of the Island, with additional paths on the sound-side to shopping, to the Wright Brothers Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, and on nearby Roanoke Island from Manteo to Elizabethan Gardens and Fort Raleigh National Historic Site. Two grocery stores & restaurants are about a mile away. Activities include surfing, fishing, hang gliding on the sand dunes where the Wright Brother flew, kayaking, diving, walking at Nags Head Woods and more.

Barrett