Preview 2023 Folly Porchfest
Folly Beach Porchfest down-home musical festival where local talent spreads across the island to play in various down-home venues, sometimes literally on someone’s front porch, but more often on a makeshift stage in someone’s backyard. Learn more here Click the tabs...
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In Search of the Elusive Roseate Spoonbill
Many years ago, I saw my first roseate spoonbill in the Atchafalaya Delta, South Louisiana. I wasn’t a birder at the time. In fact, the spoonbill was pointed out to me by my mentor, Ivor. Ivor spent years researching natural processes in the Atchafalaya, including its...
Folly’s Finest
Folly Beach’s Public Safety department has always gone above the call of duty Folly’s police and fire department pose for a picture in the early ‘90s with Mayor Bob Linville seated in the middle (dark tie), next to George Tittle, the chief of police. James Couche...
Dodging Dangerous Summer Storms
Anchored in north-facing Manjack lagoon, Spartina began to roll occasionally on random ocean swells. By midnight, the rolling became regular. Swells, from tropical storm Chris off the Carolina Coast, had found us in Abaco. It was mid-July and time to leave the...
It’s Shrimp Season
Shrimping and crabbing supported many Folly residents for decades Shrimp baiting season starts on Saturday, Sept. 15. Shrimping and crabbing supported many Folly residents for decades. Before opening Oceansports Surf Shop, Bill Perry, pictured here in September 1981,...
The Swamp Angel
The waters where boaters now cruise, the Swamp Angel once terrorized Charleston Built atop a manmade earthwork of sandbags on a ‘Marsh Battery’ between Folly and James Island, the Swamp Angel housed a 16,500-pound rifled Parrott cannon whose shells could reach...
Uncle Charlie’s Beach
We anchored Spartina in 15’ of water near a narrow beach just west of Lynyard Cay. I snorkeled over the anchor to make sure we had a good set. After that, Grace (the dog), Julia, and I dinghied over for a walk-about. The roughly 100-yard long carbonate sand beach was...
Celebrating Independence Day on Folly Beach,
By 1937, over 15,000 people celebrated the Fourth of July on the island. Folly’s Playground amusement park was a primary draw for day-trippers to the island. Mary Barnett Herbert recalls the riotous atmosphere in local bars during the ‘40s and ‘50s, caused in part by...
Big Bertha’s Close Call
We left Nassau the first week of July 1996 aboard Sailing Vessel Royal Affair, bound for New York City. I’d never been to New York and was excited about the visit. The 90-foot charter sailing yacht was one of two owned by my employer — we’ll call him Homer. I took...
Dancing on the Pier with Bing’s Brother, Bob
The Folly Pier was built in 1931, leading to the opening of restaurants and stores that served an influx of seasonal visitors. Throughout the ‘20s, Folly’s investors and boosters worked to improve the road from Charleston and the thoroughfares on the island itself. It...
All Washed Up
John awoke abruptly to the sound of fiberglass splintering against granite as his boat pounded across the rock groin. Soon he and his 32-foot sailboat washed ashore. A friend messaged, wondering if my boat had washed up on the beach. Standing in Spartina’s main salon,...