Palmetto Rowing Club Today

Group of seven older adult rowers from Palmetto Rowing Club standing on a wooden dock by Broad Creek on Hilton Head Island on a sunny day with partly cloudy sky.
Group of seven older adult rowers from Palmetto Rowing Club standing on a wooden dock by Broad Creek on Hilton Head Island on a sunny day with partly cloudy sky.

Founded in 1987, Palmetto Rowing Club has more than 40 members — over 90% of whom had never rowed before joining.

At a Glance

  • 40+ active members, ages 18 to 80

  • 90% learned to row right here on Hilton Head

  • We use a fleet of single shells (boats) for every age and skill level

  • We row Broad Creek alongside dolphins, bald eagles, manatees, pelicans, ibises, spoonbills, and blue herons

  • We come from diverse backgrounds and careers — retired and still working

  • We gather socially twice a year: a fall picnic at the Hilton Head Island Fishing Cooperative, and a holiday celebration each December

A dolphin swimming in the water with part of its body visible above the surface.
Person rowing on calm water with green marsh grass in the background and clear blue sky.
A person wearing a white shirt and a cap rowing a narrow racing shell on a calm lake.
A Palmetto Rowing Club rower on Broad Creek, Hilton Head Island, during sunset, with a colorful sky and distant trees.
Three women standing outdoors on a wooden deck, wearing brightly colored shirts with 'Palmetto Rowing Club' logos on the back, facing away.
A boy rowing a single scull for Palmetto Rowing Club on Broad Creek, Hilton Head Island, with other rowers in the background and boats docked by the shoreline.

ABOUT the sport: Rowing

Ever wondered what it’s like to row one of those long, slender boats — moving quietly across the water, alone with the natural beauty of a tidal creek? Palmetto Rowing Club offers rowing for every level, from complete beginner to competitor.

Rowing is one of the best full-body workouts there is — it engages nearly every muscle group with almost no impact on the joints. And despite the myth that rowing demands great upper-body strength, what actually matters most is core strength: power moves from the legs, through the torso, to the arms and oars.

Rowing is for everyone — not just collegiate and Olympic athletes. It’s a non-impact activity enjoyed year-round by people of all ages, from teens to octogenarians, and Hilton Head Island is an ideal place to do it. You’ll burn calories faster than running, swimming, or cycling — and even at a relaxed pace, there’s nothing like gliding silently across the water while watching birds, dolphins, or a sunrise.

A Palmetto Rowing Club member carrying a boat on his shoulders along the dock at the Broad Creek marina on Hilton Head Island, with boats and a building in the background on a sunny day.
A Palmetto Rowing Club member carrying a boat on his shoulders along the dock at the Broad Creek marina on Hilton Head Island, with boats and a building in the background on a sunny day.

About Our boathouse

It sits beneath the Old Oyster Factory restaurant on beautiful Broad Creek.

Alongside boat and oar storage, we keep two Concept2 ergs on a small platform. Our dock is shared with Island Explorer, a local boat tour company. The “shoreline” is old oyster shells, and with Hilton Head’s roughly eight-foot tides, the boathouse can occasionally take on water at the highest tides.

The Club owns a fleet of sculls, from trainers to race-quality boats, that members may use at no extra charge. We’d love to have you join us down by the Broad Creek at 101 Marshland Road, Hilton Head Island, SC 29926.

A person sitting in a small boat rowing on a calm river with tall green grass along the bank and a clear blue sky.
A person sitting in a small boat rowing on a calm river with tall green grass along the bank and a clear blue sky.

About our history

Bill Killhour, born in 1925, founded the Palmetto Rowing Club. He discovered rowing in Philadelphia in 1975 — then the rowing capital of the U.S. — and by 1985 was competing in his first FISA World Masters Championship. He went on to win 39 gold medals through 1994, four of them after a total hip replacement.

Bill and his wife Josie moved to Hilton Head in 1986 and started Palmetto Rowing Club the following year. In 1989, alongside Walt Graver, he helped develop what was then South Carolina’s only high school rowing program — Hilton Head High School crew became a varsity sport in 1997. He also developed the Head of the Broad regatta, a staggered three-mile race from Broad Creek Marina to the Old Oyster Factory, and put Hilton Head on the map as a warm-weather spring break training spot for ice-bound Eastern collegiate crews.

Bill was a devoted coach and the driving force behind PRC’s growth, as well as an active member of the Hilton Head community. He passed away on December 4, 2004, after a long fight with cancer.

Questions? Get in touch.