Chincoteague Island in the Winter Season

Chincoteague Island – Fun and Adventure in the Winter Season
By Sam Serio

Chincoteague Island and Assateague Island in the winter are entirely different, but no less appealing, places than they are in summer season.. The summer throngs of tourists have long gone, and many of Chincoteague's mainstay summer attractions like the beach and bike rental shops have battened their hatches until the return of spring. Chincoteague’s amazing seafood, however, remains available at island eateries all year long! There are many wonderful seafood stands that sell the freshest possible seafood delicacies like oysters, fresh fish, clams, scallops and crabs that you can prepare yourself if you are so inclined.

What a winter visit to these Eastern Shore of Virginia islands will give to those who pay attention is the chance to see the world of barrier islands from an entirely different perspective.

Coming to Chincoteague Island and Assateague Island in the summer, when the water offers respite from the blazing sun and thousands of visitors crowd the beach sands, it's hard to reach beyond the obvious appeal of these islands to the more subtle treasures lying beneath.

By the time winter arrives on Chincoteague and Assateague, the golden, green, and sapphire tones of summer have been supplanted by quieter browns, grey-greens, and grey-blues. The brightest hues you'll find are the iridescent black, blue, and green patches decorating the wings of the teal ducks which now descend on the islands in large numbers, attracting waterfowl hunters in large numbers of their own.

Life changes dramatically during the winter for the herd of Maryland’s Chincoteague ponies on Assateague Island. While the ponies are summertime's biggest draw for the more than one million visitors coming to Chincoteague each year, all that attention make some of the members of the free-running Maryland herd forget their wild heritage and behave like panhandlers, approaching tourists to beg for food.

Visiting Assateague Island in the winter, after the ponies have had a chance to decompress from their days in the spotlight, will let you appreciate them for what they are: living links to an island past which included visits both from Virginia's Native Americans, who gave Chincoteague its name "beautiful land across the water," and from English settlers who arrived in the early 1600s to begin the process of building a new nation.

In the town of Chincoteague itself, the winter decompression from the frenzy of summertime means kids heading back to school and resumption of the town's official business. But it also means that it's time for Chincoteague's Old-Fashioned Christmas Parade, a festive night-time celebration during which Santa himself joins the Saltwater Cowboys, several Eastern Shore marching bands and fire departments, and some ingeniously decorated floats in a procession down Main Street.

Death by Chocolate, during which local merchants entice visitors with chocolate treats, celebrates Valentine's Day and the almost-end-of-winter. Enjoy enough of them, and you'll have a chance to win some terrific prizes!

Finally, as they are everywhere else, the winter days on Chincoteague are short. You’ll simply have to pack as much daylight fun into your visit before the winter witching hour between 4:00 PM and 5:00 PM, when the most glorious sunsets of the entire Chincoteague year occur! By the way, isn’t that Cocktail Hour?

Until the next year, the Chincoteague Insider wishes all lovers of a Chincoteague Island Vacation a very happy and prosperous New Year!

Chincoteague and Assateague Ponies Rock

Chincoteague and Assateague Ponies Rock

Chincoteague (pronounced chin-kuh-teeg) ponies come from an island off the coast of Virginia. According to legend, long ago a Spanish galleon got shipwrecked during a storm off the coast of Assateague Island. The ponies escaped and swam ashore. The truth isn't half as interesting. Colonists living in Virginia probably turned horses loose on the island. It doesn't matter how they got on the island, really. Today they are a wonderful American pony breed. They are well-known for flashy colors, lots of personality and intelligence.

The ponies on Assateague Island are actually divided into two different herds. The Virginia herd is in the south. These are the ponies known as Chincoteague ponies. The northern herd are called Assateague ponies. They are taken care of by the National Park Service.

Every year on the last Monday in July, the Saltwater Cowboys round up all the wild ponies. On Wednesday, the ponies swim across the channel for Pony Penning Day. Hundreds of people line the shores to watch the ponies swim. It takes them five to ten minutes to swim across. It is amazing that even the small foals can make the swim safely!

The wet ponies are then paraded to the carnival grounds. The ponies rest and those who will be in the auction the next day are tagged.

At the auction on Thursday, the foals are sold to people who have come from all over the country. The money raised from the auction helps the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Department. While it may seem sad to sell the foals, it keeps the herd on Assateague to around 150 ponies. This is an amount the island can support in good health. The foals that are sold get to go to loving homes with the lucky people who bought them.

On Friday, the older ponies are returned to Assateague for another year. The wild ponies are checked twice a year to see if they are healthy. They have their hooves trimmed, they get shots to prevent contagious diseases and they get wormed.

Pony Penning Day used to be the only place you could get a Chincoteague pony. Now there are small herds of these rare ponies being raised in other parts of the country. Now it's easier for those of us who are crazy about Chincoteague ponies to get one of our own!

Chincoteague ponies are on the large side for a pony. They can range from 12 hands to 13 hands high. A full grown pony can easily carry a person up to 150 pounds.

The most famous Chincoteague pony was Misty. She was made famous by the book "Misty of Chincoteague" by Marguerite Henry. The book was written in 1947, and remains a favorite of children everywhere. Like almost every other girl who read Misty's story, I've always wanted to go to Pony Penning Day to get a pony.

Misty even had a movie made about her in 1961. She toured schools around the world for awhile. Misty then retired back to Chincoteague to have babies of her own. Misty died on October 16, 1972. If you're lucky enough to visit Chincoteague, you can see her hoof prints in the cement in downtown Chincoteague. She has a statue honoring her as Chincoteague's most famous pony, too.

Chincoteague ponies have their own registry now, like other horse breeds. It began in 1994. It is known as the [http://www.pony-chincoteague.com/]Chincoteague Pony Association. Since Chincoteague ponies were bred by natural selection, there is quite a range of characteristics. Some ponies look more like Arabians, while others look like small Mustangs. Their heads should be expressive, with a wide forehead. Their eyes should be large and soft. Their nose should be short, and can be either dished or straight. It should end in a firm, tapered muzzle. They weigh about 750 pounds and you can find them in almost any color. Pintos are very common.

The Chincoteague ponies are smart. They do well in horse shows. They learn quickly and are fun to ride. They can be a wonderful breed to add to your stable.

Sydney Rose is a nine-year old girl who is crazy about ponies and horses. Together with her mom, she has created [http://www.HorseCrazyGirls.com]http://www.HorseCrazyGirls.com, a fun and safe place for girls to find online horse games and printables, learn about their favorite horse breeds discuss their favorite horse books and lots more. She is hoping to get a pony or horse for her tenth birthday.

Sailing the Waters of Chincoteague Island

Sailing the Waters of Chincoteague Island

Assateague Channel. Chincoteague Bay. Little Oyster Bay. Eel Creek. Black Narrows Marsh. Hairy Head Pond.

You've probably heard of two of these bodies of Chincoteague Island water, but unless you're a local or regular visitor to Chincoteague, may be a stranger both to the rest of them and to Chincoteague's five remaining lakes and marshes, and six additional creeks.

Sailing the waters of Chincoteague Island is not a simple matter of heading out into Chincoteague Channel or Assateague Channels or the Bay. If you want to, in fact, you can spend an entire day sailing the waters of Chincoteague while spending a minimal amount of time on any of those bodies of water, as long as you choose the correct craft!

Thanks to Chincoteague Island's booming boat rental business, finding the right craft in which to navigate the less-frequented waters of Chincoteague isn't difficult. Simple skiffs and sleek kayaks are available to tackle the island's inlets and marshes, while ungainly pontoon boats and modest motorboats can handle either crossing Assateague Channel or battling the sometimes tricky currents of Chincoteague Bay.

There are five public boat ramps spread out across Chincoteague Island, requiring purchase of a weekly pass ($5.00) or annual ($20.00) ramp user decal. The Post Office, Town Hall, and Harbormaster Office all sell the passes and decals.

The boat ramps themselves are at Curtis Merritt Harbor on the southern tip of Chincoteague; right across from the Fire Department at the Town Dock; at Fir Landing of Deep Hole Road, and on the eastern side of the island at Memorial Park and on East Side Road. Some of the boat rental businesses also have private boat ramps.

We’ll put a little more wind in our sails on this subject in the next Insider Post.
Until then…
Good Sailing!