His home is sinking in the pluff mud off Hilton Head. Why NC boater is still smiling
When water started seeping into his 34-foot trawler, Eric Bollinger knew he was out of luck.
The 57-year-old North Carolina man had been living aboard his boat, “the Tiki Hut,” for two years. Everything he owned in the world — his electronics, his clothes, his electric fireplace and his favorite recliner — was aboard the boat.
Hilton Head Island’s tides changed all that.
On Saturday, the trawler was anchored on the other side of Calibogue Sound when the tide receded. His boat “hard grounded” and tipped 60 degrees to the side.
When the tide came back in, water slowly overtook the vessel. The Tiki Hut was swamped.
Nearby, Point Comfort resident Logan Cambron could see the trawler from his neighborhood. He said he plucked Bollinger from the boat and got to work. He put out a call on Facebook for his friends’ best “redneck ingenuity” to save the trawler.
Meanwhile, Bollinger had a bed on land for the first time since 2017.
He’ll admit that he wasn’t living it up in retirement aboard his luxurious yacht. Bolligner lived at sea because he said he couldn’t afford to live on land. He poured every dollar he had into the Tiki Hut and was heading south for the winter so he could live without heat or air conditioning.
“I’m probably the poorest person you’ve ever met, but I’m a tough old bird,” Bollinger said.
He worked his way down the coast, anchoring for two or three nights at a time in a place to avoid dockage fees.
“I tend to follow the tide, and I travel because I need to find a new anchorage,” he said.
Now, his ability to travel is a big question mark.
Save the Tiki Hut (part two)
Cambron and friends have collected floating bumpers to try to right the trawler, to no avail. Employees from Ahlers Marine Hilton Head and the Shelter Cove Marina came out Sunday to brainstorm and offer help.
The group spends the hours between tide cycles trying to think of ways to save “The Tiki Hut.”
“Every single tide brings hope, and we get out there and try something new, then (the tide) goes out and it’s back to despair,” Cambron said.
The boat needs to be tugged to the Cross Island boat ramp so Bollinger can assess the damage, but knee-deep pluff mud sucks the trawler downward each hour.
As the unlikely pair works to save the boat, Bollinger said he’s found a pocket of people on Hilton Head who “are like people used to be.”
“When I was young in North Carolina, people were gracious and helped one another without question,” he said. “I tell people I’m a treasure hunter, but what I’m searching for are compassionate people.”
Although he doesn’t know what the future holds, Bollinger wiped away tears as he recounted all the Hilton Head folks who have come together to help a stranger.
“Friends. Those are the true treasures in life,” he said. “Silver or gold — that stuff comes and goes — but people like Logan make me still have hope for America.”
This story was originally published October 20, 2020 at 1:09 PM.
