CHARLESTON — Beach visitors often hope to find nice surprises, such as pretty shells, but there's no telling what the tides might bring to the shores of South Carolina.

Sometimes people find shells of the military kind, requiring a call to the bomb squad. Some unusual finds have been more like the opening minutes of "Jaws" than a nice day at the beach.

“There’s no telling what you’ll find on the beach,” said Andy Benke, who spent more than 60 years on Sullivan’s Island and was the town administrator until his recent retirement. “I kept waiting for the chest of gold some pirate left behind.”

What will be on the beach tomorrow? One never really knows, but here are some of the things that have been found.

Boats and a mystery object

Boats, sometimes quite large ones, have ended up on the

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