Wedding & Event Venue Near Hilton Head Island, SC.

After months trapped underground in an extended hibernation, this Hilton Head alligator finally got to stretch its legs.

The six-foot gator had been stuck in a small drainage pipe since October, when Port Royal Plantation residents first spotted its snout through the roadside grate on South Port Royal Drive. Matt Kraycar, owner of the Bluffton-based K&K Wildlife Services, rescued the critter from its stormwater solitude Thursday morning. Despite moderate injuries, the gator was released into a Hilton Head lagoon and is expected to make a full recovery.

“I’ve had them in drainage pipes before, but I’ve never seen one in (a pipe) this small before,” Kraycar said. “It was only a 12-inch pipe, and its body was kind of smashed in there.” He guessed the gator got wedged inside the duct after venturing past a tight turn, leaving its long body unable to turn back around.

Neighbors on South Port Royal Drive checked the drain intermittently after their initial sighting in October and only sometimes saw the alligator, according to Kraycar. They called the wildlife removal company Wednesday evening when they realized the animal was trapped.

After removing the metal grate, Kraycar was able to pull the gator to freedom with a catchpole, a humane restraining tool that can be looped around an animal’s neck and tightened. The rescue was done by 11 a.m. Thursday and took about 10 minutes of tugging, he said: “I was shaking him back and forth trying to get him all wiggled out.”

The freed gator didn’t look malnourished, Kraycar said, but the tight squeeze appeared to have rubbed some of its skin down to the bone. He released the reptile at a shoreline about 50 yards away, recording its long-awaited return to the Hilton Head lagoon.

“He kind of hobbled off a little bit, but gators are so strong — I don’t think he’ll have any issues,” Kraycar told The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette. He wasn’t sure if the animal was male or female but estimated it was at least six years old.

Kraycar said the trapped alligator could have fed on small fish in the drainage water during his six-month stint in the pipe. Even still, alligators have a markedly slow metabolism and can fast for months, sometimes years.

The species’ biological clock also came in handy. Every winter, alligators go through brumation, a five-month dormant state similar to hibernation that allows cold-blooded creatures to endure cold and freezing temperatures. The animals’ heart rate and metabolism dramatically decrease, helping them conserve energy and survive with little to no food.

“It might not have been a bad time for it to happen,” Kraycar said, noting that the gator became trapped in the drain about a month before brumation’s typical onset in November. “It was probably going in and out of (dormant periods), which helped it stay healthier rather than just being down there in the summer starving to death.”

This predicament isn’t an uncommon one for the Lowcountry’s apex predators. Kraycar estimates his company removes about one alligator a year from local drainage systems, which can be connected to water reservoirs that the animals call home.

Gators might follow fish into the pipes, Kraycar said, or others could be seeking refuge from cold weather in the fall and winter. K&K Wildlife saw a spike in alligator entrapments after Hurricane Matthew, when flooding and irregular water flow forced many of the animals into storm drainage systems. While some were rescued, other large gators were found dead inside the water lines.

The incidents represent one type of clash between human development and alligator populations in the Lowcountry, where residents have long debated how to coexist with the animals. Over 100,000 members of the once-endangered species live in South Carolina, with the vast majority located in coastal areas.

This story was originally published April 13, 2024, 9:14 AM.

The former Sam’s Club building on Hilton Head Island, which has been vacant since January 2017 when the big box retailer moved to Bluffton, has a new owner.

Hilton Head businessman J.R. Richardson, owner of the Richardson Group, purchased the property for $5.8 million, according to paperwork filed in Beaufort County. The deal closed Feb. 28.

Lee Lucier, chief operating officer for the Richardson Group, said on Thursday afternoon that Richardson aims to give the mid-island eyesore a new life, but it was too soon to speak of specifics.

“We were able to secure the property with the hopes of it being developed as a local asset to the community,” Lucier said. “We think we have a great plan going forward. We’re just working through the planning stages.”

The more than 70,000-square-foot building sits on 5.26 acres in Port Royal Plaza.

A small portion of the space will be a locally owned indoor pickleball club, Lucier said.

Richardson made the deal as part of a separate business, Barony Fund 1 Investment LLC. However, Richardson Group will manage the property at 95 Mathews Drive in Port Royal Plaza.

It currently is zoned for commercial development. Lucier said he didn’t anticipate the need to request rezoning.

“The property is in an Opportunity Zone, and we are glad to be able to use it as space for the island in a manner that will serve the community,” Richardson said in a statement.

Opportunity Zones are federally designated areas set up to encourage economic development and job creation by reducing taxes for investors. There are 135 Opportunity Zones in South Carolina but only one on Hilton Head.

In the seven years the former Sam’s Club building has been vacant, several businesses have announced plans that failed to materialize:

Richardson moved to Hilton Head with his father, mother and siblings in 1955. His father, James Norris Richardson, opened a supermarket and other stores in the area that would become the current Coligny Plaza on Hilton Head’s south end.

In addition to Coligny Plaza, the younger Richardson was also behind the development of Windmill Harbour and the South Carolina Yacht Club. Today, Richardson Group also includes Local Pie, Fish and Forrest Fire restaurants plus several workforce housing projects on Hilton Head Island.

Port Royal Plaza is also home to Planet Fitness and an assortment of shops and restaurants including Rollers Wine and Spirits, Fiesta Fresh, Okko, Street Meet, Paris Baguette and Jinya ramen bar, among others.

This story was originally published March 29, 2024, 11:39 AM.

Have you had the chance to head out to any part of Hilton Head Island’s 12 miles of white sand beaches lately?

If so, you may notice some beached jellyfish that have washed ashore.

With the weather warming up, the number of jellyfish stranded or floating among the surf will be on the rise once again.

The phenomenon is natural, tends to happen yearly and can even be expected by locals most of the time, but it’s understandable that the scattering of dead jellies on the shore and many more floating in the shallow surf can be alarming or even off-putting to many beachgoers.

Have you ever been curious about the dome-shaped, tentacled creatures floating through the water?

Although the term jellyfish may come to mind, that’s not the proper name to call them.

“Jellyfish are not really fish, of course, because a fish’s anatomy is centered around its backbone, whereas the jellyfish is a dome-shaped invertebrate. Therefore, it’s more accurate to refer to them simply as ‘jellies,’” states the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

In fact, these roving creatures are actually most closely related to corals, sea anemones, sea whips and hydrozoans.

Frequently, the most commonly found jelly seen around Hilton Head’s shores and around South Carolina is the cannonball jelly. Luckily for many avid beachgoers, this round, smaller-sized jelly generally does not sting and poses no large threat to curious or nearby families.

However, this isn’t the only species you might find in the area.

“We have several species that occur in our waters beside the cannonball/cabbagehead, however, you locally want to call it,” Dr. Joe Staton of the Department of Natural Sciences Chair at the University of South Carolina Beaufort, has said to The Island Packet.

“There’s also sea nettles which are kind of moon jellies that occur worldwide. We get those here. We get Portuguese man o’ war which are not actually in the same group as the jellies with the bells.”

Cannonball jellies are abundant along the coast of South Carolina. If you find one dead on the beach, it’s common to find them without most of their color, as this tends to occur soon after they wash ashore. Some people even accidentally step on them while on the beach without realizing and end up getting a slippery surprise.

Once stranded on the beach, cannonball jellies can’t survive long out of the water and eventually become a food source for shorebirds, crabs, sea turtles and other critters that live along the coast. These jellies are also a favored snack for the endangered leatherback sea turtle and provide nourishment for the visiting mothers and soon-to-be hatching eggs in the future.

Another sea turtle species that visits the area and feeds on these jellies is the loggerhead sea turtle. They are the most common kind of sea turtle to use the shores of Hilton Head Island as their nesting ground, according to hiltonheadisland.org.

Aside from cannonball jellies, sea nettles can be found off the island’s coast and in the surf. These jellies are responsible for the most stings on Hilton Head Island, with the most recorded stings in one day being in the hundreds.

Another one that can be found in the area is the Portuguese man o’ war. Even though it may resemble a jelly, the Portuguese man o’ war is what is known as a siphonophore and appears bluish-purple in color.

If you come across one on the beach or in the surf, it appears similar to an inflated plastic bag.

“The important thing about the Portuguese man o’ war, if they’re washed up on the beach, they’re like dead bees. They can still sting you, so don’t mess with them,” Staton had said.

The best advice when around these multitudes of dead jellies is to not directly touch a dead jellyfish if you don’t know what kind it is.

In most cases, jellies travel in groups called “blooms.”

These assemblies tend to form in a short amount of time after the population expands following a rise in water temperatures, as they prefer and thrive in warmer waters. Thus, these clusters tend to form and follow the spring and summer months.

Rough winds, storms, swells, tides and currents can send the jellies to shore, which in certain events can happen all at once. A cooling of the water temperatures can also contribute to mass deaths of the jellies that will eventually get washed ashore or consumed.

Not sure if you’ve come across a floating jelly or stepped on one on the beach and have been stung? Always consult with a lifeguard if one is nearby or evaluate the potential sting area yourself if you know what to look for.

According to Mayo Clinic, common signs that you’ve been stung by a jellyfish include:

“Diagnosing jellyfish stings generally doesn’t require a visit to a health care provider. If you do go, your provider will likely be able to diagnose your injury by looking at it,” reported Mayo Clinic.

Mayo Clinic states that most jellyfish stings, unless severe symptoms are also present, can be treated by:

Mayo Clinic also listed these actions to avoid as they are unhelpful or remain unproved to provide aid.

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Lovers of luxury and wellness, get ready: Six Senses is headed to the Lowcountry.

Set to open in 2026, the Six Senses South Carolina Islands will consist of a sprawling 460-acre property spanning Hilton Head Island, Daufuskie Island and Bay Point Island and will include a resort, one of the brand's celebrated spas and even residential offerings.

Once open, guests will start their Six Senses journey on Hilton Head Island at a "welcome hub" with a restaurant and a shopping outlet, according to a statement from IHG, before being whisked off to the resort or residences on a hybrid yacht or electric water boat.

On Daufuskie Island, visitors will find guest rooms, suites and cottages along the beach, plus an all-day restaurant, a "specialty eatery and bar," a beach club, a pool grill and various programming available throughout a visit.

For folks wanting more space to spread out, a few two- to five-bedroom guest residences will be available to book.

Daufuskie Island will also be home to a Six Senses Spa and the brand's integrative wellness program, which includes activities like yoga and meditation, as well as visiting wellness practitioners with various specialties. Much of Six Senses focuses on personalization and, as IHG shared, an "approach that fuses scientific advances with ancient wisdom worth remembering."

But it won't all be mindfulness. Guests can also enjoy some adventure on Daufuskie Island with water sports, sailing and fishing, as well as some local culture with studios highlighting local artists.

Outside the resort itself, guests can take advantage of a round of golf or even equine therapy at an integrated farm and golf course located on the island, which happens to be the southernmost inhabited sea island in South Carolina.

On Bay Point Island, branded residential villas will be available. These villas will be hurricane-resilient and modular and will feature eco-friendly designs and systems, including renewable energy, reverse-osmosis water supplies and helical piling that limits soil disruption. According to IHG, a limited number of these villas will be available for sale in 2024.

The residential units highlight the entire resort's focus on sustainability, which is designed to help protect the area and reduce its overall environmental footprint.

There's still much to learn about the upcoming resort, which is planned in partnership between IHG, Whitestone and Redrock Portfolio, Inc. What remains to be seen is whether it will open as the first Six Senses in the U.S., as properties in Hudson Valley, New York, and Napa Valley, California, are also in the pipeline.

The property also solidifies what Jolyon Bulley, IHG's CEO of the Americas, told TPG earlier this year about IHG's plans to launch Six Senses in the U.S. in "leisure resort" areas before potentially moving into "selected urban areas."

You might remember that an urban Six Senses was originally planned for New York City, but that project was scrapped in 2022.

Either way, the upcoming push of Six Senses from sea to shining sea is a big win for IHG loyalists, though only time will tell what kind of price tag comes with the resort experience.

Featured image by IHG HOTELS AND RESORTS

Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

There’s no rest for the weary on the PGA Tour. A week after the year’s first major, several of the game’s top players are back at it this week, competing at the RBC Heritage, of the tour’s signature events.

That includes the happiest man leaving Augusta, Scottie Scheffler, after winning his second green jacket in three years. Scheffler made a quick stop home to Dallas to celebrate with his wife Meredith, who is expecting their first child before the end of the month, before coming to Hilton Head Island, S.C.

Along with Scheffler, Masters runner-up Ludvig Aberg is making his way to Hilton Head Island, S.C., along with the other top-five finishes at Augusta: Max Homa, Collin Morikawa and Tommy Fleetwood.

Of course, also in the field is Matt Fitzpatrick, the event’s defending champion. Fitzpatrick outlasted Jordan Spieth in a playoff a year ago to claim the title and the tournament’s memorably plaid tartan jacket. Fitzpatrick’s victory came with an extra bit of satisfaction for the Englishman; he and his family vacationed at Hilton Head on several occasions growing up. His mom and dad were in attendance last year for his win.

All told, 27 of the top 30 players in the Official World Golf Ranking are competing this week at Harbour Town Golf Links, one of Pete Dye’s first course designs. The course opened in 1967 and began hosting a tour stop in 1969. The only eligible top 30 player not in the field is Viktor Hovland.

With the RBC Heritage being one the tour’s signature events, the field size is just 69 players deep, with everybody playing all four rounds thanks to the tournament having no 36-hole cut.

The overall purse is $20 million with the first-place prize money payout of $3.6 million. The winner also earns 700 FedEx Cup points for his victory.

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Harbour Town Golf Links

Hilton Head Island, SC

250 Panelists

In the late 1960s, Jack Nicklaus landed the design contract for Harbour Town, then turned it over to his new partner, Pete Dye, who was determined to distinguish his work from that of rival Robert Trent Jones. Soon after Harbour Town opened in late November 1969 (with a victory by Arnold Palmer in the Heritage Classic), the course debuted on America’s 100 Greatest as one of the Top 10. It was a total departure for golf at the time. No mounds, no elevated tees, no elevated greens—just low-profile and abrupt change. Tiny greens hung atop railroad ties directly over water hazards. Trees blocked direct shots. Harbour Town gave Pete Dye national attention and put Jack Nicklaus, who made more than 100 inspection trips in collaborating with Dye, in the design business. Pete’s wife, Alice, also contributed, instructing workers on the size and shape of the unique 13th green, a sinister one edged by cypress planks.

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TV Schedule

Golf Channel will carry live coverage on Thursday and Friday from 2-6 p.m. EDT. On Saturday and Sunday, Golf Channel will start the coverage from 1-3 p.m. with CBS taking over with late afternoon coverage from 3-6 p.m. Golf Channel broadcasts will be simulcast on Peacock while CBS coverage will also be featured on Paramount+.

RELATED: Sign up for ESPN+ to watch PGA Tour Live and its 4,300+ hours of tournament coverage

Streaming Schedule

PGA Tour Live streaming coverage takes place on ESPN+ from 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday and from 7:15 a.m.-6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. There will be four live streams that include main feed coverage, featured groups and featured holes.

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Radio

PGA Tour Radio on SiriusXM will broadcast Thursday and Friday from 12 noon-6 p.m. On Saturday and Sunday, airtimes are 1-6 p.m.

Leaderboard

Find all live PGA Tour scoring data here.

Tee times (all times EDT)

First tee

8:15 a.m. -- Alejandro Tosti

8:25 a.m. -- Austin Eckroat, Erik Barnes

8:35 a.m. -- Matthieu Pavon, Erik van Rooyen

8:45 a.m. -- Lee Hodges, Adam Svensson

8:55 a.m. -- Emiliano Grillo, Cameron Young

9:05 a.m. -- Tony Finau, Adam Schenk

9:15 a.m. -- Chris Kirk, Mackenzie Hughes

9:25 a.m. -- Sam Burns, Kurt Kitayama

9:35 a.m. -- Jason Day, Eric Cole

9:50 a.m. -- Cam Davis, Byeong Hun An

10 a.m. -- Russell Henley, Andrew Putnam

10:10 a.m. -- Lucas Glover, Si Woo Kim

10:20 a.m. -- Keegan Bradley, J.T. Poston

10:30 a.m. -- Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth

10:40 a.m. -- Wyndham Clark, Sahith Theegala

10:50 a.m. -- Max Homa, Tommy Fleetwood

11 a.m. -- Justin Thomas, Kevin Kisner

11:10 a.m. -- Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Chandler Phillips

11:25 a.m. -- Akshay Bhatia, Will Zalatoris

11:35 a.m. -- Grayson Murray, Thomas Detry

11:45 a.m. -- Stephan Jaeger, Shane Lowry

11:55 a.m. -- Peter Malnati, Jake Knapp

12:05 p.m. -- Corey Conners, Tom Hoge

12:15 p.m. -- Tom Kim, Harris English

12:25 p.m. -- Seamus Power, Patrick Cantlay

12:35 p.m. -- Adam Hadwin, Patrick Rodgers

12:45 p.m. -- Rickie Fowler, Brendon Todd

1 p.m. -- Sepp Straka, Denny McCarthy

1:10 p.m. -- Taylor Moore, Justin Rose

1:20 p.m. -- Brian Harman, Sungjae Im

1:30 p.m. -- Nick Taylor, Matt Fitzpatrick

1:40 p.m. -- Ludvig Åberg, Rory McIlroy

1:50 p.m. -- Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele

2 p.m. -- Webb Simpson, Gary Woodland

2:10 p.m. -- Brice Garnett, Nick Dunlap

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First tee

8:15 a.m. -- Akshay Bhatia, Will Zalatoris

8:25 a.m. -- Grayson Murray, Thomas Detry

8:35 a.m. -- Stephan Jaeger, Shane Lowry

8:45 a.m. -- Peter Malnati, Jake Knapp

8:55 a.m. -- Corey Conners, Tom Hoge

9:05 a.m. -- Tom Kim, Harris English

9:15 a.m. -- Seamus Power, Patrick Cantlay

9:25 a.m. -- Adam Hadwin, Patrick Rodgers

9:35 a.m. -- Rickie Fowler, Brendon Todd

9:50 a.m. -- Sepp Straka, Denny McCarthy

10 a.m. -- Taylor Moore, Justin Rose

10:10 a.m. -- Brian Harman, Sungjae Im

10:20 a.m. -- Nick Taylor, Matt Fitzpatrick

10:30 a.m. -- Ludvig Åberg, Rory McIlroy

10:40 a.m. -- Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele

10:50 a.m. -- Webb Simpson, Gary Woodland

11 a.m. -- Brice Garnett, Nick Dunlap

11:10 a.m. -- Alejandro Tosti

11:25 a.m. -- Austin Eckroat, Erik Barnes

11:35 a.m. -- Matthieu Pavon, Erik van Rooyen

11:45 a.m. -- Lee Hodges, Adam Svensson

11:55 a.m. -- Emiliano Grillo, Cameron Young

12:05 p.m. -- Tony Finau, Adam Schenk

12:15 p.m. -- Chris Kirk, Mackenzie Hughes

12:25 p.m. -- Sam Burns, Kurt Kitayama

12:35 p.m. -- Jason Day, Eric Cole

12:45 p.m. -- Cam Davis, Byeong Hun An

1 p.m. -- Russell Henley, Andrew Putnam

1:10 p.m. -- Lucas Glover, Si Woo Kim

1:20 p.m. -- Keegan Bradley, J.T. Poston

1:30 p.m. -- Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth

1:40 p.m. -- Wyndham Clark, Sahith Theegala

1:50 p.m. -- Max Homa, Tommy Fleetwood

2 p.m. -- Justin Thomas, Kevin Kisner

2:10 p.m. -- Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Chandler Phillips