Refrigerated Trailer for Rent in Hilton Head, SC

The boots of Cal Hucks kick up dust as he walks through the powdery soil on a patch of farmland five football fields long awaiting 300,000 watermelon seedlings to be planted in the coming hours and days.

He’s the young 25-year-old Growing and Operations Manager at Coosaw Farms. The more-than 40 year-old company is a major player in the production of South Carolina watermelon. Alongside other fields in Florida and Georgia, Beaufort County is one of the nations top producers of this crop that is synonymous with fireworks, barbecues and Independence Day.

To deliver platters full of the sweet fruit for everyone’s picnics, Hucks and his colleagues at Coosaw need to get seedlings in the ground in February and March, months before anyone is buying red, white and blue paper plates and plastic forks for outdoor family gatherings.

This is the planting season and after countless hours of preparation it is time for the growing team to get hands and boots dirty and let the soil and weather deliver a big crop that will be enjoyed from Savannah to Myrtle Beach and as far away as New York and Miami.

Old school buses that that spent a lifetime ferrying young students to classes each day have been retrofitted for use as agricultural trailers to gently move the delicate seedlings to the field’s edge. This ingenious repurposing of old technology paired with much newer and more powerful planting tractors are slowly moving up and down the rows at 1 mph, each one carrying experienced farm hands from Mexico and high-tech equipment. Man and machine work seamlessly, leaving a trail of spindly plants that the sea island’s powerful sun and suitable soils will eventually transform into bold-tasting 20-pound melons.

“The tractors are slow,” notes Hucks, “but this process is a well-oiled machine.”

Like clockwork, another watermelon season has begun on South Carolina’s St. Helena Island.

By the end of Thursday, Huck’s crew of 18 manning three planting tractors had inserted 290,000 watermelon plants in two fields totaling 116 acres off of Lands End Road. In 90 days, if all goes as planned, these fields will produce just under 7 million pounds of watermelons over 5 weeks. Those melons will wind up in bins at Walmart, Publix, Harris Teeter and Food Lion stores from New York to Miami, just in time for Memorial Day and July 4th celebrations or excursions to the beach when the market for cool slices of watermelon is hottest.

The South Carolina watermelon season typically begins with planting in March and April and lasts until June in some areas, with around 3,100 acres planted annually, according to Clemson University.

And with roughly 500 acres planted with watermelons, Coosaw Farms is one of the state’s biggest growers with its 116 acres on St. Helena a key contributor to the output. The coastal island’s higher temperatures and sandy soils, which drain well — a key factor in reducing disease — allows Coosaw to extend its watermelon growing season when top growers in Florida and Georgia also are producing.

With the temperature reaching 70 degrees, conditions were perfect Tuesday for planting. Watermelons, Hucks notes, won’t ripen as fast in cooler temperatures.

Many of Huck’s team who care for the plants’ growth have returned to the area to work for Coosaw Farms for more than 15 years, under a program that grants 10-month federal and state agricultural visas.

“These guys are good,” and he shared that he underwent a crash course in Spanish when he joined Coosaw Farms so he could converse with the experienced crew members, whom he now considers friends.

The scene was a testament to the technology, ingenuity, experience and hard work needed to successfully cultivate a crop of watermelons on a large scale.

With scarves and hoodies covering their heads and faces from the sun, farm workers unloaded stacks of Styrofoam crates holding seedlings from one of the old buses onto a tractor.

Tractors guided by GPS technology pull a special planting wheel with spikes that, as it turns, punches holes in the soil at intervals. “Settle water” mixed with fertilizer is hydraulically pumped and deposited in each hole.

Four workers seated side-by-side in chairs that extend from the back of the tractor then insert the watermelon plants into those holes be hand, squeezing the muddy soil around the roots to ensure they are properly “set.”

There’s no need to stop to refill the water and fertilizer tank on the tractor. One of the school buses carrying a 1,500-gallon container of the mixture pulls alongside and a hose is attached. The tractor and the planting never stops during the transfer of settle water.

“It’s like a plane refueling in mid-air,” Hucks says.

In the beginning of the growing process, the plants will produce a white-yellowish flower. Then peanut-sized watermelons will appear. At the time of the harvest in late May or early June, each acre will produce 80,000 pounds of 12- to 22-pound melons.

“It will be a solid green mat of watermelons,” Hucks says.

The mission of Coosaw Farms, which was founded by Bradley O’Neal in 1983 and named after Coosawatchie River, includes aggressively using technology to make farm operations more efficient. O’Neal’s son, Brad, carries on that cutting-edge tradition today.

GPS is used to help the fields shed water more quickly, for example. Field drainage plans are created on the computer and, with the push of a button, sent to the tractors that grade the fields.

Soil probes check the moisture and salinity and nutrient levels in the “root zone.”

The 25-year-old Hucks, who lives in Beaufort, is a perfect fit with the company’s philosophy.

“I grew up with technology,” he says. “It’s easy for me to adapt.”

The Columbia-area native and Clemson graduate, who studied agriculture, interned at Coosaw Farms and drove straight to the farm the day he graduated. While his first days on the job were “like drinking out of a fire hose,” he’s since found farming to be as fulfilling as it is difficult and a lifestyle as opposed to a job.

Hucks already has concluded he will retire from Coosaw Farms because he considers it a place where he can grow as a person and in his career. While South Carolina can boast many unique smaller farms, Hucks adds, not too many are growing crops on larger scale while remaining a family operation like Coosaw.

“We go to church with the people around here,” Hucks says. “We’re everyday people. Just because you produce a lot doesn’t make you big ag.”

Like an old hand, he checks the weather forecast as often as most people check their social media accounts.

With the number of people working in agriculture dwindling over time, Hucks views the lack of public understanding of how and where food is grown as one of farming’s biggest challenges. That’s why he considers being an ambassador as much a part his job as planting and harvesting.

“What we do is very unique,” he says.

Despite the emphasis on technology, a premium is still placed on good old fashioned horse sense and a prime example is the retrofitted school buses, which still have something to give after decades of carrying kids.

With their roofs and sides removed, the born-again buses, looking like something out of a Mad Max movie, have found a new purpose as flatbeds in the farm sector transporting massive amounts of water and watermelons.

“The engines are great,” says Hucks, who views the buses as trailers that can drive themselves.

Coosaw Farms buys the buses at auctions for $5,000 which Hucks says is a steal compared to spending $250,000 on a new tractor.

Hucks stops and scans the expanse of the brown fields, which are intermittently striped with rows of green ryegrass to protect the young crop from the wind. Bees eventually will be placed in the fields to pollinate the plants, which include one row of pollinated plants for every three rows of seedless varieties that are planted.

While he’s no watermelon whisperer, says Hucks, being in tune with the needs of the plants and their environment comes with experience.

“I’m learning,” Hucks says. “The more you’re in the field, they tell you what they need.”

Once the harvest begins, trucks carrying 40,000 pounds of watermelons will transport them to a packing house in Fairfax to be cleaned and sorted by an optical sorting machine that takes pictures of each melon and calculates the volume.

Most will end up in East Coast grocery store chains but some will be shipped as far away as California and Canada.

“They’re delicious,” Hucks says with a grin. “They’re as sweet as can be.”

Just as satisfying, he says, is receiving an email or sometimes a hand-written letter from a satisfied customer, maybe from Alabama, who purchased one of the South Carolina-grown watermelons and thought it was the best they ever tasted. Those notes, Hucks says, make the miserably hot days in the fields in July worthwhile.

Follow more of our reporting on Uniquely Hilton Head

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The Island Packet

843-256-3420

Karl Puckett covers the city of Beaufort, town of Port Royal and other communities north of the Broad River for The Beaufort Gazette and Island Packet. The Minnesota native also has worked at newspapers in his home state, Alaska, Wisconsin and Montana.

Ready to kick-start college or maybe make your degree a little cheaper?

This year, the Beaufort County School District and Technical College of the Lowcountry are opening applications for their 2025-2026 free dual enrollment program for high school students.

This program, called BCSD Tides, is the first semester this opportunity is open to students, allowing qualified rising ninth-grade students to enroll in a full-time dual enrollment cohort.

This program has been in the works for a while now, with BCSD and TCL working together to fit this program to the students’ needs.

Now, Beaufort County students can kick-start their higher education and have the chance to leave high school with two associate’s degrees and up to three technical certificates.

“The BCSD Tides dual enrollment model is the result of both learning institutions’ commitment to elevating student learning experiences through technology and teaching,” said Dr. Mary Stratos, chief instructional services officer for the district.

Like traditional dual enrollment courses, students will earn both high school and college credit for completing classes taught by TCL instructors.

Accepted students will complete the program as a cohort beginning in ninth grade and can continue through high school graduation.

According to program administrators, there will be 50 students per cohort year, divided up into groups of 25 students at each TCL location.

Students can choose one of two associate degree pathways as a ‘major’ for their ninth and 10th grade years and then can declare an associate degree minor that comes with a technical program emphasis for their junior and senior years.

Dual enrollment classes are free to Beaufort County district students. In addition, the Beaufort County School District has a Memorandum of Agreement that incurs all costs, including textbooks and meals.

Students attending the following high schools are eligible for this cohort:

Rising ninth-grade students who are interested in BCSD Tides and are currently enrolled in private, charter or homeschool organizations are also encouraged to apply.

Eligibility is based on the following criteria:

This free dual enrollment program is intended to provide more than just college credit, it provides students with critical soft skills, time management and other necessary skills to excel in higher education and the workforce.

“The BCSD Tides program reflects a deepened partnership between BCSD and TCL in providing district students with more innovative and unique opportunities to excel while in high school as well as advance their academic and professional futures,” said BCSD Superintendent Dr. Frank Rodriguez.

This program is unique in its design, as BCSD Tides students can complete the program with two associate degrees and a technical certificate from TCL.

This dual enrollment program offers a variety of majors and minors that students can apply and benefit from in their future studies. These programs include:

Majors (Associate Degrees):

Minors (Certificate Degrees):

The option to declare a minor with a technical certificate is an added option for upper-grade high school students who want to continue specializing their education and earn class credit.

Certificate degrees are useful because they are focused on their objective and are related to a specific job or career niche, setting students apart in college applications or the workforce.

“What I enjoy most about teaching in the BCSD Tides program is how the students challenge me as an instructor,” said Daniel Herrin, an English instructor at the TCL. “They are bright and curious, always looking beyond the standard boundaries and approaches, which constantly challenges me to re-think how I teach.”

Students interested in this program who do not attend a Beaufort County high school are still encouraged to apply. This includes private, charter and homeschool students.

The MOA for this program permits students within a 50-mile radius to be eligible.

Some private and charter schools may already have a dual enrollment agreement set in place, so check with your school to see if that applies.

For homeschool students, you must register as a student through the Beaufort County School District. Visit the BCSD registration page to contact the correct school.

If a student is above the ninth-grade level and is interested in this program, they can still apply but may not reap the same benefits, such as earning an associate’s degree in time for high school graduation. Their acceptance depends on available cohort space.

The BCSD and TCL are looking to keep “pure cohorts” to preserve the uniqueness of the program and allow participants to experience all these classes have to offer.

Eligible students can apply to BCSD Tides starting March 1 through April 11, 2025.

To apply, visit https://www.beaufortschools.net/families/school-choiceprograms.

Program advisors state that applicants should be notified by mid-May of their acceptance. They also state that there will be an appeals process at the end of May for those who wish to do so.

Classes are divided between TCL’s New River Campus and Beaufort Mather Campus.

Bluffton, Hilton Head Island and May River High Schools will be located at the New River Campus in Bluffton.

Whale Branch Early College, Beaufort and Battery Creek High Schools will be located at the Beaufort Mather Campus in Beaufort.

Both BCSD and TCL program representatives state that before all else, students involved in this dual enrollment program are students of their zoned high schools first.

Meaning that continued participation in sports, clubs and other extracurriculars through their zoned high school is encouraged.

For more information on the program and how to apply, BCSD and TCL are hosting the following sessions:

Virtual Information Session: Wednesday, March 5

Northern Beaufort County: Monday, March 17

Southern Beaufort County: Wednesday, March 19

If you are interested in a tour, you can visit the TCL’s New River Campus in Bluffton. You can schedule a tour by clicking here or visiting https://www.tcl.edu/bcsd-tides-program.

If you’re wondering if dual enrollment is the right path for you, your school counselor can help.

Battery Creek High School: Kirsten Nash

Contact: Kirsten.Nash@beaufort.k12.sc.us or (843) 322-5658

Beaufort High School: David Favata

Contact: David.Favata@beaufort.k12.sc.us or (843) 322-2025

Bluffton High School: Katie Cox

Contact: Olivia.Cox@beaufort.k12.sc.us or (843) 706-8947

Hilton Head Island High School: Julie Markle

Contact: Julie.markle@beaufort.k12.sc.us or (843) 689-4918

May River High School: Keisha Glover

Contact: Keisha.Glover@beaufort.k12.sc.us or (843 )836-4870

Whale Branch Early College High School: Giovanni Glover

Contact: gglover@tcl.edu or (843) 466-2771

The Island Packet

(843) 626-0211

Anna Claire Miller is the Service Journalism Reporter for The Island Packet. Originally from Georgia, she has experience in magazine writing, non-profit communications and city government. Anna Claire has a bachelor’s degree in journalism, legal studies and English from High Point University.

Jay Wiendl, a long-time leader in the hospitality industry on Hilton Head Island, a mentor to many, a husband and a father, died last weekend. He was 50 years old.

He was the general manager of the Tiki Hut and Beach House Hilton Head, an iconic bar and hotel near Coligny Beach Park. He also served as chairman of the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce Executive Committee and sat on the Board of Directors for the Technical College of the Lowcountry.

Jay was previously the general manager of the Sonseta Resort on the island, where he was named hotel manager of the year in 2018. He was managing director of The DeSoto hotel in Savannah for several years before returning to Hilton Head.

Away from his desk, he coached for the Hilton Head Baseball Association for many years.

“Jay was a leader in every sense,” said a statement released by Bill Miles, the president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce, “[He was] steadfast in his commitment to this community, dedicated to his team, and friend to so many. He didn’t just lead; he mentored, always encouraging others to step up, take initiative, and become the best versions of themselves. His impact reached far beyond the boardroom, shaping the careers and lives of those fortunate enough to work alongside him.”

Ray Deal, an island resident, member of the chamber’s board, and Jay’s neighbor, first met Jay in 2012 when he was walking his dog. “As the saying goes, you never get a second chance to make a first impression,” Deal wrote. “His first impression was remarkable. An instant connection was made. After only knowing him for a couple months, I made a bold prediction that eventually he would be the Chairman of our board. That happened. Twice.”

Deal remembers spending countless hours with Jay, both professionally and personally, from watching college football, enjoying a good glass of bourbon or spending time on the water.

Jay most of all adored his family, and was incredibly proud of his son Connor, who Deal described as “an amazing young man.”

“Jay Wiendl was not only a business colleague and neighbor, but is the friend that everyone wanted to have. The friend that everyone aspires to be. Honest. Smart. Funny. Dependable. Loyal. I not only lost a dear friend but so did the entire community. His absence will be forever felt. I love and miss my friend,” wrote Deal.

This story was originally published February 28, 2025 at 1:00 PM.

The Island Packet

843-443-2417

Chloe Appleby is a general assignment reporter for The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette. A North Carolina native, she has spent time reporting on higher education in the Southeast. She has a bachelor’s degree in English from Davidson College and a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University.

The 2025 NCAA Women’s Golf Tournament, the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate, is back for its 13th annual edition this year.

This year’s tournament, taking place March 3-5, 2025, will be hosted at Long Cove Club in partnership with musician Darius Rucker and the University of South Carolina on Hilton Head Island.

The tournament made its Golf Channel debut in 2022 as the first-ever live televised all-women’s regular season collegiate golf event in the United States.

Long Cove Club, in collaboration with Darius Rucker and the University of South Carolina, will welcome top teams from across the country to compete for the championship title for this 54-hole stroke play competition, with individual and team honors.

The 2024 winner of the tournament was Arizona State University.

Among the teams joining South Carolina in the 2025 competition are:

Spectators can watch the tournament free of charge, with no tickets required.

If you do plan to attend in person, the Club is directing spectators to park at Central Church on 975 William Hilton Parkway. This is located right across from the tournament entrance, and Long Cove Club is offering a complimentary shuttle service for entry since walking across Highway 278 is prohibited.

If you decide to attend by bike, spectators riding bicycles are permitted to enter directly into Long Cove Club and park at the bicycle racks on the left side of the Clubhouse.

Golf carts are not permitted for spectator use, but there is a path around the entire tournament area, so make sure to wear comfortable shoes.

If you can’t make it in person, you can still watch the matchups between the nation’s top golf teams live. The event will be televised on Golf Channel all three days of the competition from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Monday, March 3

Tuesday, March 4

Wednesday, March 5

Other than the competition, the tournament will include access to the Long Cove Club along with snacks and refreshments along the green.

According to the Long Cove webpage, a snack bar will be available near the 1st Tee and 9th Green.

Puggy Blackmon, former head coach of the South Carolina men’s golf team and current associate head coach for the women’s team, came up with the idea of combining a collegiate golf tournament with a popular rock band.

Blackmon pitched the concept to Darius Rucker during a round at Bulls Bay Golf Club in Charleston, where the musician was playing with members of the Gamecocks’ women’s team. Rucker first became famous as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the South Carolina music group, Hootie & the Blowfish.

After securing Long Cove Club as the venue, the tournament debuted in 2012. Since then, the event has grown into one of the premier women’s collegiate golf events, blending top-level competition with intimate musical performances by Rucker himself.

Long Cove Club was established in 1981 and is known for its stunning Pete Dye-designed golf course and state-of-the-art amenities, including tennis, pickleball and a marina on Broad Creek.

The club is ranked among the top residential courses in the U.S., making it an ideal venue for this prestigious event.

Long Cove Club is currently ranked No. 20 in Golfweek’s Top 200 Residential Courses in the U.S. To learn more about the golf course, take a look at their course overview webpage.

Long Cove Club is a Distinguished Residential Club from Boardroom Magazine and continually receives accolades for its top amenities and natural beauty. For additional information, visit www.longcoveclub.com.

If you have questions about the tournament, visit the tournament website at www.LongCoveDRI.com or contact the DRI representative at ccohen@longcoveclub.com or (843) 686-1076.

Long Cove Club is located at 399 Long Cove Drive, Hilton Head Island.

If you’re planning a beach vacation soon, make sure not to forget about the different kinds of ocean life you may encounter on your visit.

For Hilton Head beachgoers, jellyfish are one of the first ocean creatures seen swimming around, with them often popping up in the waters between March and April.

According to Mike Wagner, spokesperson for the Shore Beach Services of Hilton Head, “mushroom jellyfish are the first kinds we see, and they typically arrive in March, but they don’t sting.”

These are also the most common kinds of jellyfish you will see washed up on the shore.

Mushroom jellyfish live up to their name. They are typically smaller and rounded in shape. Their coloring varies from browns to yellows and even white; some even have spots on their tops.

According to Wagner, the main jellyfish season falls within a varying six to eight-week period in June and July.

Jellyfish love the warm water just as much as beachgoers do, meaning the peak beach season is prime time for jellyfish to vacation too.

The most common types of jellyfish that Shore Beach Services sees are sea nettles and sea box jellyfish.

“While they do sting, these jellyfish are easier to spot because they are usually bright blue or white,” said Wagner.

Moon jellyfish are also common in the Hilton Head waters.

Sea nettle jellyfish are white or blue in color in Hilton Head area waters, but their coloring can vary depending on where you go. They usually have a rounded top and are easily identifiable by their longer tentacles.

Sea box, or sea wasp jellyfish, are identifiable by their box-shaped tops. They are also blue, white and even transparent in color. They also have longer tentacles, but the shape of their tops is the best form of identification.

Moon jellyfish are small and rounded, with short, small tentacles that are hard to spot. They are translucent in color and can be harder to see.

If there is high activity or a large volume of jellyfish, Shore Beach Services flies a purple flag on the flagpoles and on the red Beach Patrol trucks.

Wagner also noted that just because there is a high volume of jellyfish in one area, it doesn’t mean that jellyfish are at every beach.

If you do have the unfortunate experience of getting stung, here is what lifeguards from Shore Beach Service recommend:

Lifeguards with the Hilton Head Shore Beach Services do not recommend using fresh water to ease the sting, as the fresh, cold water can actually make the sting worse.

During the peak summer season, lifeguards from Hilton Head Shore Beach Services patrol all areas if the beach and have more than sixty lifeguard personnel at various locations. You can view the map of all lifeguard locations here.

Lifeguards are available to assist in first aid, ocean rescue, missing persons, beach-specific questions or any other questions you may have about the island. Each lifeguard is equipped with two-way radios for communication to all points on the beach. These radios also have a direct line to the 911 dispatch office.

To learn more about Shore Beach Services and how to stay safe on the beach, you can visit their website.

This story was originally published March 7, 2025 at 6:00 AM.

The Island Packet

(843) 626-0211

Anna Claire Miller is the Service Journalism Reporter for The Island Packet. Originally from Georgia, she has experience in magazine writing, non-profit communications and city government. Anna Claire has a bachelor’s degree in journalism, legal studies and English from High Point University.