Tag Archives: Hilton Head Island

Bluffton mayor’s shrimp boat saved after capsizing off coast of Hilton Head Island

Larry Toomer was guided by a feeling when he sailed his shrimp boat off the coast last weekend. “It was a feeling that I needed to go there, and I was right,” Toomer said. “We found the shrimp.” Then misfortune found the longtime shrimper and mayor of Bluffton. A cable snapped Sept. 1 as Toomer and his friend lifted a heavy net of shrimp and jellyfish onto their boat, the Red Baron. The shrimp had to be thrown back to sea before the 25-foot fiberglass boat could sail onward. Toomer had just pushed the last of the haul off the side when a large rogue wave hit and overtook the vessel’s stern. There was too much water for the two men to bail out. Their only option was to get the boat as close to the Hilton Head beach as possible even as it began to capsize. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:23

A shifting wreck off SC has become a serious threat, sinking and damaging unaware boaters

The Miss Anne hit something in open seas off Hilton Head Island recently and began to founder. It was the second ship to be damaged in a month by a submerged, invisible hazard. The U.S. Coast Guard is warning captains to be wary of a “shifty” shipwreck.The wreck wasn’t supposed to be where the Miss Anne struck it. On the charts, it was 700 yards away. It’s a steel-hulled fishing boat that sank in 2017 in deeper water but now is just 4 feet below the surface. >click to read< 09:13

Hilton Head Island shrimp boat catches fire

Hilton Head Island Fire and Rescue firefighters were kept busy Tuesday by a shrimp boat that caught fire behind Hudson’s Seafood Restaurant. The boat took on water and leaked fuel into the waterway, fire departament spokeswoman Joheida Fister said. The fire was reported around 6:30 a.m. and firefighters arrived to find a fire in the boat’s engine room, Fister said. Flames damaged the engine room and much of the shrimp hold area in the boat, which was docked behind the restaurant. More images, click here to read the story 14:20

Hilton Head Fishing Co-Operative a notable piece of Lowcountry history

The phrase “life-changing” is probably over used — as well as underappreciated. Typically, when we hear this phrase, we expect to hear stories about life and death and survival and courage, and people overcoming life-threatening challenges. However, it is no exaggeration to say that all of these elements are woven into the little-known story of the Hilton Head Fishing Co-Operative, which had an enormous impact on the economy of Hilton Head Island, as well as the quality of life for many native islanders during the 1960s and ’70s. Before the co-operative, individual families relied on the waters surrounding Hilton Head as a means to sustain their way of life; it was the way families fed themselves. Looking forward to the day’s catch was no sport, because fishing provided the meals for the day. Breakfast might be shrimp and grits, lunch could be an oyster boil steamed with fresh corn from the fields, and dinner likely was rice along with the catch of the day. Interesting, well worth the read, Click here 09:05