The Little Blue Boat was towed, but is this truly the end?

By Tim Wood CONTRIBUTOR

To some, it was a ratty old boat. It was a potential environmental pollutant. It was an eyesore that needed to go.

And for that group, the removal of a small blue and white dingy from the mud flats, oyster beds and grasses of Mackay Creek on Jan. 21 was a belated gift from St. Nick.

What’s Happening in Bluffton Facebook group member Aaron Smithmeier posted a photo of the boat being towed away around 7:45 a.m. Jan. 21. This effort came after repeated efforts to dislodge the boat from its wedged-in position in the mud flats by the boat’s former owner, long-time island charter captain Jon Everetts.

He was hoping for a “super tide” on Christmas Eve to get some help from Mother Nature, as he was unable to procure the proper size boat tow from local captains. As we’ve said before, this skiff has been the “don’t-ask, don’t tell” open secret among area seafarers for years.

There is a lore that built up around the boat. Some say it’s really been hanging around the bridge waters for close to five years. We know that Everetts bought the boat about two and a half years ago. He moored the boat near the bridge to avoid dockage fees, hoping to one day restore the boat.

But rumor has it that the combined price tag of the purchase and the estimated cost of restoration was not sitting well with the true captain of the Everetts household.

So the boat meandered the waterways between Buckingham Landing and Mackays Creek for the past 24 months. It moved from one side to the other of the bridge segment closest to the Bluffton mainland before beaching itself in the Lowcountry grasses for an extended sunning session.

In that time, a smattering of social media posts admiring the boat turned into a buzz that grew into a full-on admiration society far outnumbering the prickly pears perturbed by what they saw as the lower-class aesthetic of the boat bringing down their property values.

These are likely the same folks who complained about the rock pile organic art installation at the Bluffton town dock.

As one online commenter said, “To these snobs, we point an eternal raspberry tongue your way.”

The folks sad to hear the Jan. 21 news see the boat as far more than a sailing vessel. It is a sign of resilience, hope and joy each time they cross the bridge.

“Bluey” has survived multiple severe storms, been knocked on its side, been see LITTLE BLUE on page 8A