Captains Ed Johnson and Herb Rennard have both been with Palmetto Bluff for about five years, coincidentally starting in the same week. Although they didn’t know each other prior to their employment at the Bluff, they knew they would be fast friends when, after their first day of work, they walked to their pick-up trucks and noticed that they not only both had a green Coleman cooler in the bed (without the hinges on it), but both coolers were packed with Bud Lights ready to be cracked open. And thus began their friendship.
It was a sunny day in May when I sat down with Ed, a Hilton Head native and retired fireman of 30 years, and Herb, a Charlestonian and former commercial fisherman, to chat about their adventures as boat captains at Palmetto Bluff. We met at the Bluff’s Wilson Landing, and when I asked where they wanted to do the interview, they simultaneously replied, “On the Grace.” Grace is Palmetto Bluff’s 103-year-old antique motor yacht, and also Herb and Ed’s pride and joy as her captains.
As they walked onto the community dock that Grace calls home, Herb said, “Welcome to our office.” We checked out her impressive top deck first before settling into the air-conditioned cabin for the interview. It wasn’t long before the jokes were flowing and I realized that these two fellows were definitely in their element, both on the water and in each other’s company. And midst their stories and banter, it was also evident that each captain conducted his own due diligence with their vast knowledge of the land and sea as well.
ED’S RESPONSES:
HERB’S RESPONSES:
Photography by Rob Kaufman%GALLERY%
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