Article - Oyster Harbour at Holden Beach

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March 2005
NC
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Oyster
Harbour
Plantation
at Holden Beach
Special to NCboatinglifestyle
BY MONICA YOUNG
C
athy Ellico plans to trade one coast
for another when she retires.
Currently living in Laguna Niguel,
California, a trip to see her sister in Raleigh
and see the new lot she had just purchased in
Oyster Harbour Plantation spurred Cathy to
purchase two waterfront lots of her own. She
plans to hold one for an investment and build
on the other, even though retirement is over a
decade away.
She was attracted by the area’s natural beauty, so much so that she shared her excitement
with a colleague in California who also became
an Oyster Harbour land owner.
Martha Lee of Martha Lee Realty in Holden
Beach attributes the three-year-old community’s
success to the way that Waterfront Properties
developed the 700 homesite property. It sits in
the heart of a live oak forest with huge trees
that are centuries old and have been preserved.
Roads were constructed to twist and turn
through dogwoods, holly trees and the gracious
live oaks dripping with Spanish moss. The community is framed by the borders of the Little
Shallotte River and the Intracoastal Waterway.
“Prepare to fall in love when you see it,”
says Martha Lee. “It’s a gorgeous piece of
waterfront land with the herons, the ibis, the
egrets, oyster catchers and nesting ospreys
using it as a bird sanctuary. There are deer and
other animals who reside in Oyster Harbour.”
While the gated community is large enough
to have the virtues and amenities of larger complexes, the design detail and development keep
it feeling smaller and intimate. Oyster Harbour
Plantation has its own pier, private gazebo and
boat launching area. Another appreciated feature is a boat storage area for residents to keep
their boats and trailers in a gated, secure location.
In the clubhouse area, there is a pool as well
as tennis courts. The clubhouse is well-appointed and a popular gathering spot for neighbors
to enjoy the sense of community that Oyster
Harbour fosters.
Cary resident Cliff Oryszak built their vacation home at Oyster Harbour Plantation to have a
place to gather their children and grandchildren.
“I like the idea of a place where we can get
out and go boating. It’s a very tight community
and not overbuilt. It’s a place where you can
get to know your neighbors,” says Cliff.
The location of Oyster Harbour Plantation is
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The clubhouse at Oyster Harbour
Plantation serves as a popular
gathering spot for neighbors.
Some of the community amenities
include tennis courts.
Holden Beach sits directly across from the Oyster
Harbour waterfront park on the Intracoastal
Waterway. The waterfront park includes a gazebo,
pier, boating launch area and day docks.
Residents of all ages enjoy the serene
Oyster Harbour pool.
one of its greatest attributes. Directly across
from Holden Beach and ten minutes away from
the Shallotte Inlet, you can hit the big water
and be catching king mackerel in little time.
Wilmington is 40 minutes to the north while
Myrtle Beach, the mecca for all things bright,
glittery and neon on the beach, is 40 minutes to
the south. A new mall is only seven miles away
as is a new state-of-the-art medical facility.
For golfers, there are 30 golf courses within
30 minutes of the community. For those looking for more variety, there are hundreds of
spots between Wilmington and Myrtle Beach.
Oyster Harbour Plantation is situated for an
easy drive to any of them.
“It’s the last frontier. That’s why Brunswick
County is so hot right now,” says Martha, a realtor by trade, a boater by nature. “This is a great
place if you enjoy dinner by boat or skiing,
crabbing or digging for clams. I love to take
people who are interested in our area in my boat
(a 19-foot McKee Craft) and show them how
beautiful this area is from the water.”
Oyster Harbour Plantation is offered at
incredible price points. The large lots range
from the mid $70,000s for interior homesites to
marsh lots starting at $150,000. Riverfront and
waterfront lots begin at $250,000. Many of the
homesites are over an acre; and amazingly,
some homesite elevations are 25-feet above sea
level. Those familiar with Brunswick County
real estate realize that these price points are
rare for true waterfront communities.
“If you can envision a place that has been
unaffected by time’s passage, add waterfront
beauty and the most beautiful sunsets in the
world, this is Oyster Harbour Plantation. This is
what dreams are made of. We’re in the business
of selling dreams come true,” says Martha Lee.
Martha Lee Realty
2869 Holden Beach Road
Holden Beach, NC 28462
910.846.2402 • 866.696.6232
www.oysterharbourholdenbeach.com
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Joe Hutchens:
Hooked on Holden Beach
BY MONICA YOUNG
PHOTOGRAPHY BY SCOTT TAYLOR
Joe Hutchens and Martha Lee Realty colleague George
Whitley check out Oyster Harbour Plantation by boat.
This new career allows Joe to fund his
that leads to the Intracoastal Waterway
oe Hutchens grew up in High
favorite hobby, offshore fishing. He has
(ICW). Fittingly, Joe’s street is named
Point and entered the family
fished for over 20 years and traveled
Marlin Drive.
business once he was an adult.
“I’m an avid boater. My son and I do a
His grandfather started Food World in the extensively to pursue it. He has a 25-foot
Contender that he bought in Georgetown, lot of SKA (Southern Kingfish
1930s during the middle of the
South Carolina last year. The Contender
Association) fishing tournaments. I
Depression. In 1985, Harris Teeter purstays docked behind his house on a canal taught him in kindergarten how to drive a
chased Food World; and Joe worked for
boat. He’s probably a better
them until itching to have a
driver at 16 than I am now,”
house, a job and a boat on
Joe Hutchens, George Whitley and Martha Lee share the same
says Joe.
the coast.
profession and profess the same love for the water.
His son Chris is a sixTwo years ago he joined
foot-one, 16-year old high
Martha Lee Realty in
school student in Matthews.
Holden Beach and continHe lives on Lake Wylie with
ued his varied investment
his mother during the year
interests on the side. He
and spends most fall and
purchases large lots on and
around the beach, finds a
spring weekends with his
builder and builds spec
father in Holden Beach. He
houses on each. He lived in
devotes winters to playing
Isle of Palms, South
forward on his basketball
Carolina for eight years
team, but summers are
before moving up to Holden
reserved for living at
Beach.
Holden Beach and fishing
J
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with his father. Chris’s sister attends Meredith College in
Raleigh.
“We used to live in Charleston so we started going out when
I was really young, around three or four,” says Chris, who is
already adept at trailering a boat and driving with it behind a
vehicle.
Some of the boats that the Hutchens have owned have included Boston Whalers in 15, 17 and 22-foot versions. They have
had a McKee Craft 18-foot center console. This is Joe’s second
Contender; his first was a 23-foot model.
“I have twin 200 Yamahas on this Contender. It’s a great boat
in heavy seas. We were out on New Year’s 75 miles off of
One of Joe's bedrooms marries warm colors and
Wilmington. We headed out of the inlet with the sunrise,” says
relaxed but elegant furnishings.
Joe.
He and Chris have quite a few
tales about their fishing adventures. They average between 15-20
tournaments a year, but last year
only participated in 10.
“It’s getting more difficult to get
him out of school,” says Joe. Chris
is a junior in high school.
“When we’re out there fishing
together, it’s nice to get away from
everything. It’s a way to be doing
something we really enjoy doing
together. Dad’s a realtor and is
busy working, and I’m hanging
out with friends or working so
when we go out fishing, it’s just
him and me,” says Chris.
The largest fish that Chris ever
caught was a 300-pound bluefin
tuna off of the Morehead City
area. He was only 12-years-old,
and he and his dad were fishing
for fun that day.
“The tuna come running down
from the northeast during the winter months, and it’s a lot of fun to
fish for them. I caught three or
four about the same size that we
released. We kept the big one,”
recalls Chris. “It was fun because
Joe's Holden Beach house sits on a canal from easy ICW access.
it took so long to get it in.”
He estimates that it took about
an hour with 50-80 pounds of drag on the fish before they even
saw what they had on the line.
“It was taking line off of the reel like it was nothing. I was in
full harness hooked up to the rod and leaning back. If the line
had broken, I would have gone flying backwards. You really
have to use your leg muscles,” says Chris.
Both Joe and Chris recount that their most dramatic fishing
was done in an SKA tournament outside of Biloxi, Mississippi
in 2000. On the first day, Joe snagged a 40-pound king mackerel which put them in 10th place. The tournaments use a combined weight so to win, a tournament participant has to catch a
decent-sized fish on the first day and then another on the secThe great room faces the dock and Joe's Contender.
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Martha Lee
Realty
W
Friends and family gather
to enjoy Joe's boating life.
ond.
ment. They
Taking her out for a spin.
Joe and Chris
made it with
arrived on the
only minutes to
second day
spare before the
ready to repeat
weigh-in and
or improve
only one engine
their performbecause they
ance from the
were so low on
previous day.
fuel. In fact,
The day began
they had to
with nice
move weight to
weather so Joe
the bow to
and Chris
make it. Their
decided to head toward the West Delta
efforts placed them in third place for the
area, about 100 miles one way from the
tournament, and they won $10,000.
tournament start. The area is known to be
“We probably didn’t make anything
rich with king mackerel.
because of the hotel, gas and food. We
“It was a 110 mile run crossing the
burned 240 gallons of gas,” says Chris,
Delta,” says Joe.
who says that the experience was one of
A cold front turned the elements to
the most fun that they have had.
rage against the father-son pair. Waves
With fishing a real pleasure for Joe
reached eight to 10 feet. By the time the
Hutchens, the flexible schedule of real
duo arrived where they wanted to fish,
estate suits him. Brunswick County is
they only had 30 minutes. They trolled
currently leading in real estate sales for
around, and Joe hooked one.
North Carolina. Joe says that it is a great
“My dad was up front fighting the fish. place to be a realtor. The unspoiled
Waves kept knocking him down. He usuwaterfront that sits between Wilmington
ally lets me fight it, but this time he did,”
and Myrtle Beach is capturing national
says Chris.
attention.
The fish weighted about 35 pounds,
For Joe Hutchens, it’s a great place to
and they hustled to return to the tournalive, fish and work – in that order.
10 :: NCboatinglifestyle
hen Martha Lee, owner of Martha
Lee Realty, wants to show clients
properties by boat, it might be with an ulterior motive. She might just want a chance to
hop in her 2004 McKee Craft and feel the
wind in her face while hitting the waters
around the Brunswick County area.
“I think I have saltwater instead of blood
in my veins,” she says.
Martha Lee grew up clamming, crabbing
and boating in the Wrightsville Beach area.
Passionate about all things coastal, it was a
natural move for her to become a realtor 32
years ago. When a company asked her to
become their broker-in-charge four years
ago, friends and family encouraged her to
venture out on her own.
The leap of faith into owning a business
might have been a natural progression of a
successful career, but it was still a little
daunting. Her first office was out of her
home and out of her SUV. She graduated to
an office of 1,100 square feet and then to
2,200 square feet and then to 3,300 square
feet. In case you see a pattern, yes, they are
expanding again.
Fifteen agents now comprise the team at
Martha Lee Realty; and they very much are
a team, the owner is quick to note. Her
name may be on the masthead, but everyone
at Martha Lee Realty works together to
drive the results that they have enjoyed this
past year.
In 2004 Martha Lee Realty had $98 million in sales volume.
“The lovely thing is that everyone who
works there is a saltwater baby. There is a
type of reverence for our area,” says Martha.
Although the real estate company specializes in waterfront or waterview properties,
they are not limited to one area of
Brunswick County. They also handle inland
real estate sales.
“It’s very gratifying to help people making a decision to follow their dreams of
owning coastal property. We’re selling a
lifestyle. We’re selling dreams, not real
estate,” says Martha in what has become her
professional mantra.
Martha says that anyone can take a parcel
of land and turn it into a golf community.
“You can’t manufacture coastal property,
only God can do that. We have people coming down from the north amazed at our
prices. You just can’t buy vacant homesites
up on the northeast coast like you can here,”
says Martha. “I’m glad I’m in Brunswick
County. I love what I do.”
Martha Lee Realty Company
2869 Holden Beach Rd.
Holden Beach, NC 28462
910.846.2402
www.oysterharbourholdenbeach.com
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