Hilton Head tourist fined $1K for sand sculptures left overnight. Beach rules to know
Doug and Jane Heatherington expected warm weather and bystanders admiring Doug’s sand sculptures on Hilton Head Island in April during their annual vacation.
Instead, they got a $1,087 fine and a court date.
The Heatheringtons, who have vacationed at the Marriott’s Monarch in Sea Pines for over 30 years, travel from Oklahoma each May to visit their favorite beach spot. This year, Doug Heatherington, who is known for his large and detailed sand sculptures, was commissioned to create a sign out of sand to welcome guests to the hotel.
He was working on the sign April 28 when Hilton Head code enforcement officers told him he was building too close to the dunes and would have to tear down his creation. If not, someone would tear them down for him.
He figured that would be the end of it and did not destroy the sculptures.
On April 30, he was ticketed by the Town’s Code Enforcement officers and a Beaufort County Sheriff’s deputy for violating town ordinances meant to keep the beach free of obstructions for nesting sea turtles. He was fined $1,087.50 and has a mid-May court date.
In 2015, Heatherington made headlines after his sand sculptures, one of Garfield and another of a Greek god, were torn down by Shore Beach Service lifeguards because they presented a safety hazard to sea turtles and beachgoers.
The beach rules, Jane Heatherington said, are “not doing much for tourism.”
The couple said they shouldn’t be ticketed outside of sea turtle nesting season, which started May 1, and Doug Heatherington added he doesn’t dig holes to build his sand creations.
“I don’t want to hurt people on the beach, and I don’t want to hurt turtles,” he said. “I was told the ordinance says the sand art has to be torn down at sunset for the turtles, yet it wasn’t turtle season.”
Hilton Head beach rules
Doug Heatherington’s sand masterpieces represent a tough predicament on Hilton Head: They’re beautiful and bring joy to beachgoers, but they disrupt the beach and are potentially harmful to wildlife that count on a flat beach to nest.
In November 2019, Hilton Head leaders adopted new beach rules to help keep the beach clear of trash and more hospitable for nesting sea turtles.
The ordinance prohibits leaving personal property like chairs and tents on the beach overnight and also requires beachgoers to fill in holes and knock down sandcastles 30 minutes before sunset.
It goes further to require that the beach be “restor(ed) to its natural condition” before people leave for the day.
The point of the ordinance is to clear the beach of obstacles to nesting loggerhead and green sea turtles, which leave clutches of eggs on the beach between May 1 and Oct. 31. In July, eggs hatch, and the baby sea turtles make their way to the ocean.
“When [nesting turtles] walk up the beach and they run into things like chairs, sandcastles or holes, they’re frightened, and they turn around and walk back to the water,” the island’s Sea Turtle Patrol leader and marine biologist Amber Kuehn said. “We call those false crawls, and on Hilton Head over 50% of our crawls are false crawls.”
But the ordinance banning personal property, holes and sandcastles left overnight doesn’t just apply during nesting season. It’s a year-round rule.
The requirement for beachgoers to restore the sand to its natural state differs from the seasonal beach lighting rules, which say that light on homes and businesses be shaded or pointed downward during sea turtle season.
Annual tradition
Heatherington started creating sand art after his wife took him to Hilton Head as a surprise for their honeymoon in 1986. He started building sandcastles and gradually developed his skills.
He has built custom sand sculptures for weddings, for children who come up to him on the beach, and for marriage proposals. He’s even created sculptures to be used in advertisements for the Marriott’s Monarch at Sea Pines. He doesn’t take compensation for any of his creations; he says he does it because he likes it.
“I enjoy the art, and I enjoy the people’s reaction to the art,” he said. “I just love talking to the people.”
Heatherington said he has complied with the ordinance and has knocked down his creations every day before sunset since being ticketed.
Said the sculptor: “I just like my sand art and wish they’d leave me alone.”
This story was originally published May 10, 2021 at 9:44 AM.
