In the winter season of 1997 three high school pals, Shane Ziegler, Jose Hernandez, and Maximum Sparwasser, were roasting oysters over a cedar fire on Capers Island when the three of them created the concept of forming Barrier Island Eco Tours. The 23 year olds had actually spent much of their youth boating the tidal creeks of the Charleston area fishing, shrimping, crabbing, and exploring the undeveloped barrier islands. They felt that visitors to Charleston were losing out on the best part of the lowcountry, its undeveloped barrier islands and back creek salt marshes. They wanted to expose individuals to Capers Island and its surrounding salt marsh environment, but in an useful means so visitors entrusted a higher regard and gratitude of this remarkably unspoiled place.
In the summer of 1997, after receiving consent from the SCDNR to take visitors to Capers Island, Hernandez and Ziegler started business opportunity taking academic nature trips to Capers on a 6 traveler boat. In 1998 they bought the Callinectes, a Coast Guard Certified 40 traveler tour boat. 2 years later on they added a 23 ft. fishing boat for inshore fishing charters. 2 years after that, a 16 traveler skiff outfitted for smaller sized tailored eco-tours, kayaking, and fishing trips was added to the fleet. In 2006, Ziegler bought out Hernandez's share of business and added a 22 traveler pontoon which he leases from his head naturalist, Robert Hopkins.
