Fort Sumter was the target that ignited the Civil War when Confederates opened fire on it on April 12, 1861. Today, it is one of the biggest tourist draws in Charleston (despite the $23 or $24 charge to go out to it. It attracts more than 800,000 people to it and its companion sites at Fort Moultrie and Castle Pinckney National Historic Site.
"The current use of the beach (Pine Island) includes people consuming alcohol and 'partying' rather than coming to the fort for a historical visit," said Park Superintendent J. Tracy Stakely in a letter announcing the closure.
My wife and I were once boaters and can attest to boaters doing stuff like this.
This move outraged local captain Chris Rabens, of Charlestown Charters, who watched rangers stop his customers after he dropped them off for years at the beach to see the fort.
"They're giving Spiritline Cruises (which runs Fort Sumter Tours) a monopoly. It hurts my business. I thinks its an injustice. I think its unfair," Rabens said.
Imagine Boaters Partying? --Old B-Runner
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