HILTON HEAD ISLAND — As a spring tide on Broad Creek ebbed in the early afternoon of Sept. 10, the hull of what had once been a modest sailboat revealed itself just past the ramp at Cross Island Boat Landing.

A missing hatch cover hinted at what might have sent the boat to the bottom on some indeterminable date. Covered in barnacles and a thick mat of colorful sea whip, it seemed to have been in the water for quite some time — but its stint obstructing the waterway was drawing to a close.

Waiting for low tide, a team made up of staff from the Town of Hilton Head , Beaufort County and the S.C. Department of Natural Resources planned to make it the 11th vessel to be removed from Hilton Head waterways in recent days.

“This is an effort that will be undertaken to protect our waterways

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