DAUFUSKIE ISLAND, S.C. — Potential developers believe hundreds of jobs and tens of millions of dollars have been lost because of Daufuskie Island’s longstanding ferry problem.
Kevin McCarthy, chief executive officer of the island’s Bloody Point Golf Club and Resort, and others hope a new effort to create reliable ferry transit between the island and South Carolina’s mainland will work.
McCarthy and more than a dozen private and public leaders are urging the U.S. Department of Transportation to award Beaufort County a $325,000 federal grant to lay the plans for an effective public ferry system.
The county would contribute $100,000, and the total amount would be spent on a feasibility study for a new solution.
“A bridgeless island is an anachronism in today’s economy,” said Rep. Weston Newton, R-Bluffton, as part of the grant proposal, which was due at the end of April and includes a letter from McCarthy.
“Daufuskie has been held back both economically and socially for years.”
Ferry service would begin by linking Daufuskie with Hilton Head or Pinckney Island through a non-profit public service route. Ultimately, it would connect Beaufort, S.C., with Savannah via a commercially viable route, according to the grant summary.
Obstacle to growth
The eight-square-mile island between Hilton Head and Tybee islands is famous for its Gullah Geechee history and attracts 50,000-200,000 tourists a year.
During the Civil War, Union soldiers passed through the island, liberating the slaves who then founded the community. Descendants have remained for generations in relative isolation, which helped them to preserve their language, rituals, art and traditions.
However, some estimate only about 15 families are left, as other Gullah residents were forced to move away to seek employment.
Some public and private ferry service exists for the island, but it’s fragmented across groups, with much focused on tourists. As a result, island residents have a hard time traveling to the mainland for work, groceries and medical care.
While advocates call for a strong ferry system to help the Gullah community, others argue the entire island’s future is at stake.
The Daufuskie Island Resort owns Melrose Landing, according to grant materials commissioned by the county. However, bankruptcy proceedings against the resort brought uncertainty to the Landing’s future. The bankruptcy also took a chunk out of the number of daily ferry trips, further worsening island access.
For Daufuskie, discussions about the island’s future — and often its past — tend to point to the ferry problem.
“For decades, not a single operator of Melrose, Bloody Point or the Daufuskie Island Resort has been able to succeed because of this obstacle,” wrote McCarthy in the grand application. He purchased the assets of the bankrupt Bloody Point Club in 2011.
The recession of 2008 hit Daufuskie’s housing industry especially hard. While 40 residential units were built in 2006, county assessor figures show 2012 yielded fewer than five new units. It was the lowest number since at least 1997.
Building activities on the island come with added concerns — materials and machinery must be floated by barge to Daufuskie. Construction waste must be barged back out.
But before any building plans are laid, people have to want to live on Daufuskie.
“I don’t know anybody who comes to visit who doesn’t say, ‘What a magnificent place,’” said Chuck Hunter, a co-chairman of the Daufuskie Island Council. He said the sentiment is frequently followed by: “But I’d never live anywhere with no bridge.”
‘Dock your boat’
Homes and resorts are only one piece of the economy affected by poor access to the island. Marshside Mama’s restaurant, which is located on Daufuskie, also has seen its growth limited.
“We haven’t had ferry service in so long that it’s kind of a moot point,” said owner Beth Shipman. “We’ve figured out how to make the business survive without it.”
She said most of her customers arrive by private boat. Indeed, the restaurant’s website invites visitors to “Dock your boat and come ashore.”
“If there was a ferry service and it came right here to my restaurant, that would be awesome,” said Shipman.
For others, the urgency is greater.
As McCarthy, of Bloody Point, put it: “Without an island-wide ferry service, Daufuskie may be doomed to repeat the economic failures it witnessed over the past three decades.”