Vacation Rick: Otter Island Shelling Excursion Offered by Edisto Watersports and Tackle--Pure Isolation

Saturday, July 25, 2020

Otter Island Shelling Excursion Offered by Edisto Watersports and Tackle--Pure Isolation

The ACE Basin is one of the largest undeveloped estuaries along the Atlantic Coast comprising of 350,000 acres. ACE is an acronym of the three rivers. It is where the Ashepoo, Combahee and Edisto Rivers empty into the body of water called the St Helena Sound.

There are five protected areas in the Ace Basin; ACE Basin National Estuarine Research Reserve, Ernest F. Hollings ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge, Bear Island Wildlife Management Area, Donnelley Wildlife Management Area, and the 10,301 acre St. Helena Sound Heritage Preserve. An area managed by the SCDNR that consists of several small upland and lowland islands located along the northern shore of the St. Helena Sound.

These upland and lowland islands are far-reaching and offer archery hunting for deer in November only and primitive camping opportunities. Otter Island, the drop-off point of our boat excursion, in particular, has further protections due to its unique and rare plant species and its historic status.

This particular self-guided Shelling Excursion is offered by Edisto Watersports and Tackle located on Edisto Island, which was the starting point of a 15 minute ride to the shores of Otter Island. This adventure only takes place at low tide, which on this day was 3:15 in the afternoon. The ideal number of participants is ten. There were a total of 9 in our group including myself and vacationers from Richmond, Virginia and Columbia, Sc.

We were dropped off at a high spot near neighboring Pine Island, and after a few words from the captain, the group scattered in their search for shells, sand dollars, and bullets left over from World War II target practice. I was more interested in getting some good photographs of the island's birds and possibly taking a dip in the water.

It was a typical humid Lowcountry day with plenty of sunshine, and if it wasn't for the hefty breeze coming off the Atlantic, it would have been downright hot. Great for walking the extensively exposed low tide sand along Otter Island's beautiful sandy beach.

The shelling was more like a treasure hunt as they were scattered about in small groupings in between the exposed oyster patches and the sand dollars were few and far between, which was good because it forced excursion hikers to cover a larger portion of the island beach during the 2 1/2 hour time limit. I did find an area where the sand dollars were more plentiful, which was where the island's maritime forest began about a mile from the drop-off point .

On my hike up the beach, I discovered one of the island's back-water tidal impoundments where the fish were plentiful and a few of the island's waterfowl prowling the shallows for a quick snack. Otter Island is also home to the bald eagle and several other rare birds. I also found red-painted stakes tagged with aluminum foil strips marked with numbers along the beach where the sand met the island's low growing grasses. Loggerhead turtles come to the island to lay their eggs and I assume these stakes marked their nesting locations.

Fallen trees grayed by the hot sun and salty air added to the natural beauty and remoteness of the island. Because of the limited time, exploring into the island's maritime forest was not possible on this excursion.

Anytime I am on the beach is a good day. Uninhabited Otter Island is secluded beauty at its best. If you are expecting to see plentiful piles of shells, you will be disappointed. You will have to strategically hunt the beach and exposed low tide sands for that cherished find, but during your search, you just may find that World War II artifact the excursion advertises.

It’s a nice 15 minute trip on the boat where you just might see some of the dolphin that frequent these waters, but there again, this is not what this excursion is about. It is all about being in a place that is truly uninhabited by people. A place where you and your family can enjoy hiking the Lowcountry's water and sand in total isolation, and possibly happen upon a rare find. I hope you enjoyed the photographs. We did catch a rainbow on the way back.