Headed for Hilton Head? Look beyond the shopping, golf and culinary goodies that line the shore of this slice of South Carolina and get out on the water:
Set sail for historic Daufuskie Island aboard either Pau Hana or Flying Circus. The former is Hilton Head’s most formidable catamaran, a 53 foot-long, 26 foot-wide Coast Guard certified ship capable of comfortably holding 49 passengers. If you know author Pat Conroy’s work, you already know Daufuskie, the picturesque setting for his novel The Water is Wide. In the book he labels it Yamacraw Island. Daufuskie is home to a way of life that’s all but disappeared from Carolina and Georgia low country. A sailing ship is the perfect way to travel back in time to this special island.
Motor over to Daufuskie on the ferry. It shoves off from Hilton Head’s Broad Creek Marina. Once on the island you can either walk (recommended) or get about on a rented golf cart. If you’re fascinated by Gullah culture, this is the way to embrace it.
Work up an appetite and head out on the water in Spirit of Harbour Town, a million-dollar yacht set up for other-worldly dinner cruising along the coast of the Carolina low country. The chef is Michael Ramey and he will prepare Pasta Carbonara, pair it with a first-rate wine, and then render the evening even sweeter with the consummate chocolate dessert.
That’s the perk the palate. Pair it with a feast for the soul, this as Spirit chases the sun west across Calibogue Sound and into the almost mythic saltwater estuaries behind Daufuskie Island. See the High Point Light House. Watch as Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins ride Spirit’s bow wave, illumined by the by the shifting shades of the setting sun. Sure beats hanging out a sports bar back on Hilton Head.
Story by Jerry Chandler
(Image: Britanglishman)
