This 800-acre community at the south end of Hilton Head Island combines residential living with resort vacationing.  Though over half of Shipyard Plantation is multi-family housing, it is an ideal location for rental property as well.  A small portion of shoreline touches the Atlantic, which is where the Crowne Plaza Oceanfront resort is located near the community’s beach club.  Shipyard is one of the island’s smaller neighborhoods containing less than 2,000 residential properties, but the beauty of the pines, oaks, and tropical foliage spreading across the acreage compels residents and vacationers alike to enjoy the peaceful scenery.

   Activities available include sunning on Shipyard’s small Atlantic beach, 12 miles of biking and jogging trails, fishing in the freshwater lagoon system that holds massive large mouth bass and several reptile species, golf, and tennis—not to mention the newly renovated Shipyard Beach Club.  The club is private, with reserved parking for the resort’s guests and residents. 

   Shipyard Plantation’s golf club is home to three public-access 9-hole courses, all with a recent switch to Bermuda grass.  Two of them—the Clipper and the Galleon courses—have been occasional hosts to the Senior PGA Tour.

   Known as one of the best racquet clubs in the country, the Van der Meer Racquet Club boasts 14 clay and six hard-floored courts for a total of 20 championship courts.  One is in a stadium and three others are indoors.  Dennis Van der Meer, the club’s namesake, bought and renovated the property almost 20 years after Billie Jean King worked as Shipyard’s touring pro.  Rick Meek began teaching here soon after leaving the ATP tour in the early 1980s and now manages the club’s operation.  Various clinics are offered during the week and throughout the weekend, up to 20 hours in length, and occasionally can be run by Dennis Van der Meer himself.