jcmcdowell
Well Known Member
VAF Coastal Hideaway...from JC McDowell
As many know, I own a property on a barrier island on the coast of Georgia just north of St. Simons near Darien, Georgia called Hird Island. The cabin is accessible by boat or by plane and has direct access to the Intercoastal Waterway and the Ocean via the Darien River. My wife and I recently had our first child and we came to the realization that the practicality of her running a 19' Carolina Skiff over open water with an infant alone to get groceries and mail while I commuted to work in Atlanta with my RV7 was less than ideal. We re-arranged our dance cards and found a lovely home on St. Simons Island just north of Hird Island within a 10 minute hop north (about 30 miles by car).
I am reluctant to market the property for sale for many reasons and came up with an idea that may provide RV'ers within fuel range of the Georgia Coast access to a private getaway for a fantastic value.
Hird Island is a barrier island protected from the ocean by the marsh to the east. Our cabin faces the ocean and sits along Hird Creek with a 2 boat deepwater dock and elevated observation deck. I fish off the dock all the time and have great success with frozen or live shrimp (available at the marina near by) and my wife catches blue crab by the dozen off our dock.
We have a 2002 19' Carolina Skiff with a 90hp honda engine and bimini that we use to get back and forth. It's a great fishing boat and we can use it to go to Sapelo Islands beach for a beach day. We have a color GPS and depth sounder on the boat with the routes to avoid the local sandbars.
The house is sided in cypress and has a master with a full bath and a potential 2nd bedroom off the kitchen (I use it currently as a mini workshop- can never be too far away from tools . The house has wide plank pine floors with square cut nails and bat and board pecky cypress interior siding. The cabinets are custom pine cabinets. There is a propane stove, and electric refrigerator in the kitchen. In the living room there is a small wood stove that is excellent in the winter and a combo electric heater/AC unit that will keep the house chilled in the hottest of Georgia summers. The house is fully furnished from the swinging porch swings, bedroom furniture, washer dryer, to the stereo system in the living room.
The grass strip is 2300' long with a sandy base. The strip is surrounded by tall pines on three sides and is easily 100' wide with the approach open over water to the north. The community is working on getting the strip on sectionals as a private strip. There are tie down spots at the south end of the runway.
Here's a link to a slideshow:
http://adobe.kodakgallery.com/Share...post_signin=Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Ux=0
I'd like to see the interest in a limited number of VAF members (25) joining a club to use the island retreat. I'm thinking of online scheduling with credit card payments made monthly per calendar year renewable each year. The house would be turnkey including the furnished house, propane included, electrical included, house cleaning per visit, skiff delivered topped off and maintained per visit. Fishing poles waiting or simply a great place for a quiet weekend retreat. Each member schedules time first come first serve for an average of 14 days per member not including community events, cookouts, or fly-ins. There are other activities available a short hop by plane to St. Simons, Jekyll, Hilton Head, up and down the coast.
All this on a private island with a view of the Sapelo lighthouse to the north and little St. Simon island to the south for $125 per month per member.
With as few as 10 people interested I'll get rolling on an open house fly-in and cookout within the next 2 months for people to visit.
Regards,
JC McDowell
ps- I'd like to see something like this available in snow skiing country
As many know, I own a property on a barrier island on the coast of Georgia just north of St. Simons near Darien, Georgia called Hird Island. The cabin is accessible by boat or by plane and has direct access to the Intercoastal Waterway and the Ocean via the Darien River. My wife and I recently had our first child and we came to the realization that the practicality of her running a 19' Carolina Skiff over open water with an infant alone to get groceries and mail while I commuted to work in Atlanta with my RV7 was less than ideal. We re-arranged our dance cards and found a lovely home on St. Simons Island just north of Hird Island within a 10 minute hop north (about 30 miles by car).
I am reluctant to market the property for sale for many reasons and came up with an idea that may provide RV'ers within fuel range of the Georgia Coast access to a private getaway for a fantastic value.
Hird Island is a barrier island protected from the ocean by the marsh to the east. Our cabin faces the ocean and sits along Hird Creek with a 2 boat deepwater dock and elevated observation deck. I fish off the dock all the time and have great success with frozen or live shrimp (available at the marina near by) and my wife catches blue crab by the dozen off our dock.
We have a 2002 19' Carolina Skiff with a 90hp honda engine and bimini that we use to get back and forth. It's a great fishing boat and we can use it to go to Sapelo Islands beach for a beach day. We have a color GPS and depth sounder on the boat with the routes to avoid the local sandbars.
The house is sided in cypress and has a master with a full bath and a potential 2nd bedroom off the kitchen (I use it currently as a mini workshop- can never be too far away from tools . The house has wide plank pine floors with square cut nails and bat and board pecky cypress interior siding. The cabinets are custom pine cabinets. There is a propane stove, and electric refrigerator in the kitchen. In the living room there is a small wood stove that is excellent in the winter and a combo electric heater/AC unit that will keep the house chilled in the hottest of Georgia summers. The house is fully furnished from the swinging porch swings, bedroom furniture, washer dryer, to the stereo system in the living room.
The grass strip is 2300' long with a sandy base. The strip is surrounded by tall pines on three sides and is easily 100' wide with the approach open over water to the north. The community is working on getting the strip on sectionals as a private strip. There are tie down spots at the south end of the runway.
Here's a link to a slideshow:
http://adobe.kodakgallery.com/Share...post_signin=Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Ux=0
I'd like to see the interest in a limited number of VAF members (25) joining a club to use the island retreat. I'm thinking of online scheduling with credit card payments made monthly per calendar year renewable each year. The house would be turnkey including the furnished house, propane included, electrical included, house cleaning per visit, skiff delivered topped off and maintained per visit. Fishing poles waiting or simply a great place for a quiet weekend retreat. Each member schedules time first come first serve for an average of 14 days per member not including community events, cookouts, or fly-ins. There are other activities available a short hop by plane to St. Simons, Jekyll, Hilton Head, up and down the coast.
All this on a private island with a view of the Sapelo lighthouse to the north and little St. Simon island to the south for $125 per month per member.
With as few as 10 people interested I'll get rolling on an open house fly-in and cookout within the next 2 months for people to visit.
Regards,
JC McDowell
ps- I'd like to see something like this available in snow skiing country
