Monday, July 1, 2013

The Romance of Summer - on Hilton Head Island, SC

Wildflowers on Hilton Head Island
photo by Mary Pracht
“Shrimp boats is a-coming. . .there’s dancing tonight!”

Part of summer’s romance in our area is the sight of shrimp boats trawling off of local beaches.  We see these big boats with their tall, cathedral-like spires rigged to pull cumbersome nets that are followed by swirls of crying seagulls and schools of porpoise.

When the trawling has been completed and the nets pulled up (haul-back) the catch is unloaded to release the bycatch onto the boat’s deck floor where sea creatures such as stingrays, flounder, shark, and horseshoe crabs are separated from the prized shrimp and shoveled through the scupper hold, back into the ocean.  (A few months ago on a gift page in an upscale magazine I saw a bronzed horseshoe crab offered for sale at a shop in New York.  It had been made into a wall light fixture and the price was just under $4,000.00.)

In earlier shrimping years, a good catch would be upwards of 10,000 pounds and bring close to $30,000.  Now a good catch is around 25 pounds per boat per day. In November and December of 2011, South Carolina commercial shrimpers caught 514,826 pounds of shrimp.  The same two months in 2012 brought in only 353,522 pounds.  There seems to be no magic answer to the lack of shrimp.

Other contributors to the enchantment and romance of summer are enticing arrays of fresh grown vegetables and fruits brought to local farmers’ markets from nearby fields and orchards.  Buyers crowd around stalls perusing red, yellow, green and purple peppers; fresh unshucked corn trailing silky tassels, luscious red tomatoes – and green for those who appreciate slices of green fried tomatoes!  Newly dug potatoes, green beans, green peanuts (for boiled peanuts), okra, zucchini, yellow squash, sweet Vidalia onions, peas, butter beans, fresh peaches (think peach pound cake, peach pie); blackberries, blue berries, (more pies or tarts) and don’t forget the watermelon!  Fresh herbs and mushrooms are another attraction. 

Coastal areas are getting a lot of attention from the national media: The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Bloomberg have all recently written about Hilton Head.

Nearby historic Beaufort, S.C. was chosen by Coastal Living Magazine as first place winner of the magazine’s “America’s Happiest Seaside Town,” one of 10 best places to live by the sea (June 2013 issue).  Cited is Lowcountry friendliness and urban refinement in the beautiful South Carolina town known for its historic antebellum architecture and rich African-American Heritage.  Located on the Intracoastal waterway in the heart of the Sea Islands, it is a natural stopping place for the boats, sailboats and yachts that travel those waters.

While writing a newspaper column (for 16 years with a deadline every week) I once wrote about Jackie Kennedy Onassis visiting Beaufort with her friend, Maurice Tempelsman while cruising in the area.  They came from Savannah, Georgia where they visited antiques dealer Jim Williams’ “Mercer House,” made famous in John Berendt’s “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.”  A couple of months ahead of Jackie’s signature in Williams’ guestbook was the signature of her sister, Lee Radziwill.

The article in Bloomberg (June 14, 2013), “U.S. Vacation Home Rebound Lifts Hilton Head to Hawaii” mentions values this year in the Hilton Head area jumping 11.1 percent from the first five months of last year with sales rising 9.3% (according to the South Carolina Association of Realtors).

They mention one couple buying an oceanfront condo on Hilton Head for under $500,000 sight unseen.  We’ve seen that happen before, especially when the buyer is familiar with the complex and can easily see myriad photographs of the property via the Internet.  That kind of offer is normally contingent on the purchaser actually seeing the property within five to seven days of acceptance by seller.

On my beach street alone, two lots are slated to have large “spec” houses constructed in the next few months.  It has been a few years since we have seen much spec building because banks were not willing to assist with funding spec construction.  Both lots had older homes that have been torn down. 

In the Sunday New York Times on June 9, 2013 there were stunning photographs of homes “On the Market in Hilton Head, S.C.” with photographs by Stephen Morton for the New York Times.  Shown were homes in gated communities with amenities that included swimming pools, wine rooms, elevators, movie theaters, yachting and golf.

According to the South Carolina Association of Realtors, April 2013 pending sales (properties under contract but not yet closed) hit the highest level in three years!  May was a solid sales month for our real estate market.  Total sales were up six percent compared with sales in May 2012.

Contact Diann at: diannwilk@roadrunner.com

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