About The Coastal courier. (Hinesville, Ga.) 1980-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 29, 2018)
14 - COASTAL COURIER (Hinesville, Ca.) -SATURDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2018 PART 1 of a two part series on Sapelo Hammock Golf Club CALL 912-876-2566 TO SUBSCRIBE Business acumen, civic pride save community golf course BY Bob Claxton GUEST COLUMNIST Twice in trouble, twice reborn. Those simple words well describe the story of Sapelo Hammock Golf Club in Shellman Bluff. First time visitors are always taken with the beauty of the golf course because of the natural surroundings in which it’s located. Shellman Bluff is the departure point for those wanting to venture into the nearby realm of unspoiled rivers and creeks, miles upon miles of untouched salt marsh, and barrier islands where one can walk on a beach for hours with no trace of another human footprint. The story of Shellman Bluff’s golf course began in the late 1990’s when the remarkably scenic facility was first envisioned and constructed. In 2002, it was purchased by a group of local developers and tied into two adjoining coastal residential com munities: Cooper’s Point and Sutherland Bluff Plantation. The club did well for several years un til the recession of 2008 took its toll and it was subsequently forced to close in July 2010. The impact for the nearby residents was severe and immediately became ev ident as weeds began to reclaim the formerly pris- tine 171 acres of prop erty that winds through majestic moss-laden live oak trees, saw palmettos, tidal marshes, beautiful homes and a signature is land green. Then came the first rejuvenation: a small group of determined lo cals refused to accept what had happened and thus formed Shellman Bluff Acquisition, LLC in late 2010 to raise capital to purchase the proper ty from the prior owners. The common stock offer ing, in conjunction with a friendly local lending in stitution, accomplished its goal and work to restore the landscape began im mediately. After months of intense cleanup, fer tilization, irrigation, and repair by the 110-strong group of investors and volunteers, the course re opened in July 2011. Since its formation, Shellman Bluff Acqui sition had been able to continue in operation through the original of fering and ongoing addi tional contributions from its owners and volunteers, even though it was never fully capitalized. Despite that kind of communi ty support, it was diffi cult to avoid yearly loss es caused mainly from the debt incurred in the original acquisition and the necessary investment to restore the course. In December 2017, the out look appeared dim for the golf course. The club was closing out its sixth year of financial losses, with operating expenses again exceeding revenue. Con sidering the general trend of golf courses around the nation and the number of closures (205 nationally in 2017 alone), the out look didn’t look positive by any measure and clos ing the doors became a looming possibility. And then came the proposal that would start them on an entirely new pathway: a rebirth by means of a new capital infusion pro gram involving the sale of preferred stock. The preferred stock offering was the incentive that was needed to entice common stock holders and new investors. The preferred status assured the new investors full ownership with no outstanding debt and assured them of hav ing collateral - the golf course itself and its build ings and facilities. That was the only viable option available as it was evident that the course would have to shut down with in a matter of weeks if no major changes were made to the business model. It was either restructure or go into bankruptcy and foreclosure, a pain ful notion that absolutely no one could accept and would have been so det rimental to the local area. Within a matter of three months, preferred stock sales totaling $1,250,000 were confirmed, thus al lowing the club to pay off 100 percent of the debt (around $800,000) and providing a cushion for operating expenses for the next several years. And the vast majority of the sup port came from within an area of northern McIntosh County mainly populated by area natives, weekend fishing and golfing fami lies, and retirees in gated communities. However, this stroke of genius alone could not assure success for the long term since revenue short falls were still predicted for the coming years. The club simply had to gener ate more rounds played, increase revenues and market itself to the out side world, a world that needed to go well beyond McIntosh County and surrounding rural Geor gia counties, including Liberty. Part 2 of this story will run in the next issue of the Coastal Courier. DNR: Shrimping season set to close Monday in Georgia SPECIAL TO THE COURIER editor@coastalcourier.com 912-876-0156, ext. 1023 The Georgia Depart ment of Natural Resources (DNR) announced Thurs day that the commercial and recreational shrimp ing season in state waters will close as prescribed by law at 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 31, 2018. Under the closure, all food shrimp harvest ing activities, including trawling, cast netting and seining, will be prohibit ed both commercially and recreationally in Georgia’s territorial waters, which extend three miles to sea from the state’s shorelines. Anglers and commer cial bait-shrimp dealers may continue to harvest shrimp to use as bait. Waters from three to 200 miles off Georgia’s coast are managed by the National Marine Fisheries Service, a division of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Admin istration, and are not af fected by DNR’s Monday closure. Today’s announcement comes after members of DNR’s Coastal Resources Division (CRD) consulted with the Shrimp Adviso ry Panel, a subcommittee of the state Marine Fish eries Advisory Council. The panel is comprised of 11 stakeholders, in cluding commercial and recreational shrimpers, and makes recommenda tions to DNR staff about shrimping-related policy. Based on scientific data gathered by DNR biolo gists and input from the Shrimp Advisory Panel, CRD is not recommend ing an extension of the shrimping season past Monday. Georgia law al lows for shrimping season to be extended to Janu ary and February at the discretion of the Com missioner of Natural Re sources if data collected by CRD shows shrimp are abundant. The annual closure is meant to give shrimp pop ulations the ability to re main healthy and allow for the smaller shrimp to grow to more marketable sizes, said Carolyn Belcher, chief of the Marine Fisheries Section at CRD. “Generally speaking, CRD will recommend al lowing the season to close as scheduled when the shrimp become smaller and the weather gets cold er,” Belcher said. “Given the poor catches recently observed, CRD staff de cided it would not be in the ecosystem’s best inter est to extend the season.” Every month year- round, a team of marine biologists and researchers from CRD collect data about shrimp popula tions from 36 sites along Georgia’s 100-mile coast. Aboard the research ves sel Anna, a 60-foot shrimp trawler operated by DNR, biologists net shrimp and record the amount of shrimp caught per trawl and the overall weight of the catch. One of the important indicators to biologists is the number of individual shrimp it takes to make a pound, referred to as “count size.” When shrimp are smaller, it takes more individuals to make a full pound. One of the benchmarks biologists use when considering clos ing Georgia’s waters is 50 shrimp or more making a pound. Data collected by CRD biologists in Decem ber found it took about 58 shrimp to make one pound, roughly 53 percent higher than the long-term average from data collect ed since 1976. Georgia’s commercial shrimpers in 2017 collect ed more than 1.8 million pounds of shrimp valued at about $7.6 million. The shrimping season for 2018 opened June 18. CRD is the division of DNR entrusted to manage Georgia’s coastal marsh es, beaches, waters and fisheries for the benefit of present and future genera tions. The division strives to be an agency of knowl edgeable and compas sionate professionals who are trusted, respected and empowered to help the public be good stewards of Georgia’s natural assets and socio-cultural heri tage. It is headquartered in Brunswick. Shad season opens January 1, ends March 31, 2019 SPECIAL TO THE COURIER editor@coastalcourier.com 912-876-0156, ext. 1023 Commercial fishermen can take to the water be ginning at 12 a.m. on Tues day, Jan. 1, 2019, to take advantage of the opening day of shad season, ac cording to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Re sources Division (WRD). Shad season is scheduled to run through midnight on March 31, 2019. The 2019 shad season includes the following specific regulations for rivers: • The Altamaha River downstream from the Seaboard Coastline Railroad Bridge is open for commercial shad fish ing Monday - Friday. Wa ters of the Altamaha River system upstream of the Seaboard Coastline Rail road Bridge and below the U.S. Highway 1 Bridge are open Tuesday - Saturday, including the Ohoopee River downstream of the U.S. Highway 1 Bridge. All waters of the Altama ha river system above the U.S. Highway 1 Bridge, in cluding the Ocmulgee and Oconee rivers, are closed to commercial fishing. • The Savannah River is open for commer ¬ cial shad fishing down- stream from the I-95 Bridge Tuesday - Friday. Waters upstream of the I-95 Bridge and below the U.S. Highway 301 Bridge are open Wednesday - Sat urday. All waters of the Savannah River above the U.S. Highway 301 Bridge are closed to commercial fishing. Only drift nets may be used downstream of a line between the mouth of Knoxboro Creek and McCoys Cut at Dead man’s Point. • The Ogeechee, Sa tilla and the St. Marys riv ers are not open to com mercial shad fishing. Following are some guidelines to ensure nets used for commercial shad fishing are legal: • The minimum mesh size for legal set or drift shad nets is 4 H inch es stretched. • Set nets must be placed at least 600 feet apart and should be limit ed to 100 feet in length. • Set nets must clearly display the own ers name and commercial fishing license number. Call today to find out more information on our quality life insurance plans. Herbert L. Boyd, Agent (912) 408-2693 Boyd’s Insurance Services 1574 B East Oglethorpe Hwy, Hinesville Auto I Home I Mobile Home I Renters I Business "Let us love you leet" Welcome to our practice! We accept Medicare, Medicaid, Tricare, and most insurances Walk-ins Welcome Henry A. Taylor, II, D.P.M. Diplomate, American Board of Podiatric Surgery 127 MacArthur Drive • Hinesville, GA 31313 Allwaysfeet@hotmail.com • Fax: (912) 876-4069 (912) 876-TOES (8637) • Drift nets shall not be fished closer than 300 feet apart and are limited to a maximum of 1,000 feet in length in saltwater. • Set nets and drift nets must be situated so as to allow one-half the stream width to be open and free for the passage of fish. • All set nets must have one end secured to the stream bank and must be buoyed at the outer (seaward) end so they will be clearly visible to other boaters. • Sturgeon, game fish other than American shad or hickory shad, and all species of catfish taken in set or drift nets must be released unharmed into the waters where they were captured. Commercial shad fish ermen must have a valid Georgia commercial fish ing license and, effective 4/1/2018, are required to have purchased a commer cial fishing endorsement for shad. Applications for commercial licenses and endorsements are avail able at http://georgiaw- ildlife.com/licenses-per- mits-passes or at http:// coastalgadnr.org/Com- mercialFishing. Commer cial licenses and endorse ments may be obtained at the CRD office in Bruns wick. Vessels must be regis tered for use on Georgia waters. Vessel registration information is available at http://georgiawildlife.com/ boating/registration. Boats used below the saltwater demarcation line for com mercial fishing need ad ditional registration. Visit http://coastalgadnr.org/ CommercialFishing for in formation. Georgia’s commercial fishing regulations require that fishermen must report the harvest of all American shad, regardless if they are sold or kept for personal consumption, to the CRD via Trip Tickets. Fisher men can obtain Trip Tick ets by contacting CRD’s Ju lie Califf at 912-264-7218.
