Gregg Allman trades his outlaw past for the quiet life—and discovers harmony along the way.

“Hang on to your ears,” he mumbles. The engine of the custom Arlen Ness motorcycle roars to life, rumbling and revving to fill the cavernous garage like a mechanized crescendo. From the seat of the bike, Gregg Allman looks up and grins

Allman bought his first motorcycle in 1965, at the age of 17. “It just fulfilled something inside of me that was not there,” Allman says softly. “It’s almost medicinal.” With a little chuckle, he describes the feeling: “You got this huge engine between your legs—it all starts [laughs] between your legs. I’m really not trying to be cute here!” he exclaims apologetically. “But you got all this power down there, and it’s surging and you’re moving along, ’bout 55, watching God’s green earth go by; it just blows all your cares away.”
His eyes drift up and his voice gets quieter. “It’s an excellent cure for loneliness, heartbreak, boredom, sadness, lethargy,” he says. “You get on a motorcycle, and it’ll take all that away.

Living on the coast means enjoying easy access to all of the area’s beautiful barrier islands. South’s resident traveler uncovers the secrets behind another one of Georgia’s gems.

Sometimes I pull a Rhett Butler and wander off into the world in search of what is left of charm and grace in life, and although oftentimes I find an adventure, it’s rare that I run across these particular attributes. Recently, however, I headed out in search of a little seaside delight and discovered this Holy Grail of elegance, in a city not so far south of Savannah.

Tucked deep in the conglomeration of historic districts and intricate systems of one-way streets and squares, is what some people refer to as “the art and soul” of Savannah. All located in and around the four blocks of City Market, there are over 35 working artists’ studios where patrons can browse unique exhibitions, observe works-in-progress and often meet a local artist. The walls of the galleries adorn works from both prominent masters of art as well as undiscovered artists, so there’s always something interesting hanging on the walls. Home to the South’s oldest art museum, the Telfair Academy, and the internationally recognized Savannah College of Art and Design, South presents a guide to some of our hometown favorites.

To find out more, pick up the latest issue of South magazine.

There’s more to Vincent Golshani’s art business than what meets the average admirer’s eye

Entrepreneur, art collector, and painter, Vincent Golshani has a small, but significantly valuable, secret: it’s a little, wooden mask that sits just over a foot tall, with long ears attached to the top of it and faded red, blue and white paint. It’s an ancient Mayan ritual mask dating back to the second century. “It is one of the rarest masks in existence,” Golshani says. “And it’s in very good condition—museum quality.” But it’s not a piece many people will see in person as it sits in his cache of treasures all resting under tight security beneath Savannah’s downtown streets.

Can’t afford a yacht? Build your own.

If you thought racing yachts was strictly the province of Fortune 500 CEOs, the salty dogs at the Sun City Model Yacht Club would beg to differ.

Yes, model yachts—miniature versions of the real thing.

The Sun City Model Yacht Club started nearly 13 years ago in the Sun City community, an upscale 55-and-over retirement community in nearby Bluffton. The group sails two types of boats: an East Coast 12 Meter (5 feet long by 6 feet high, weighing 26 pounds) and a Soling One Meter (1 foot long by 4 feet high, weighing 10 pounds).

The club has 32 members and sails four days a week on Lake Somerset, competing in spring, summer and fall series. In addition, the club hosts two regattas.

But the Sun City sailors aren’t alone. The American Model Yachting Association boasts thousands of members around the country and even has its own AMYA Hall of Fame.

The boats themselves are radio-controlled and cost anywhere from $1300 for a build-it-yourself model to $2500 for a professionally built one. One hand controls the rudder while the other controls the sails. “You’ve got to marry the two perfectly or you’re not going to get the optimum speed,” advises Fran DiTommaso, who retired to Sun City from upstate New York. “It’s all in the thumbs,” he says emphatically.

Most of the club’s members are Sun City residents, with a few active members sailing well into their eighties. “It’s the kind of activity where you can do it for many, many years during retirement,” DiTommaso says.

Like many of the club’s members, DiTommaso used to sail the real thing, though he concedes he prefers sailing models. “No, I gave up big boats,” he says with a laugh. “It was just too much trouble keeping a boat, keeping it maintained, finding crew and then [sailing on] bad days,” says the club’s EC-12 champion for four years running. “With models, it’s pretty easy. If you look out the window and see it raining, you just don’t go.”

Interested in model yachting? Visit www.modelyacht.org for tips on how to get started.

See it Live

Wanna see the sailors in action? The Sun City Model Yacht Club hosts its signature event, the Sun City Regatta, on September 19–20. For more information, e-mail frandito@sc.rr.com

Located on the site of a former antebellum rice plantation, this majestic waterfront location once captivated the imagination of the automobile magnate Henry Ford, who built a historic winter retreat on this lush property in the 1930s. The Main House, which currently serves as a clubhouse and guest house for member at The Ford Plantation, originally served as Henry and Clara Ford’s winter retreat overlooking the Ogeechee River. South’s fashion team headed to the historic oasis to bring you the latest plantation style.

To view gallery of fashion story and where to buy click here

South discovers the hidden delights of the historic, happening and heavenly Holy City: Charleston

In Charleston, every building has secrets. The long staircases groan beneath their pressure. The thick carpets lay length to length against them, absorbing footfalls and cushioning echoes. The oak doors fall solidly shut, fastening them tight.

I sensed it as soon as I came into the city. I drove slowly; I saw the buildings pressed against an autumn sky the color of frosted glass. Their shapes represented more than a collection of secrets; they illustrated the character of the city itself: the vast array of succulent foods, the thriving nightlife and music scene, the throaty tones of a saxophone, somewhere, drifting, the gentle courtesy of the locals and their lulling accents, discernible from Savannahians’ only to the close listener.

I listened closely.

In the lobbies of hotels, at elbow-polished bars, in the corners of dimly lit restaurants—I listened. What I heard were the harmonies characteristic of the South: laughter that carries, the ringing of crystal, forks cleaning plates, doors swinging open and the footsteps of children. I heard the quiet unidentifiable sounds unique to historic homes. I heard the pleasant din of many conversations inhabiting a single space. I heard voices lowered to whisper.
In Charleston, every building has a secret. It just needs to be discovered.

Three generations, one studio: why Savannah families keep coming back to this haven of health and heritage.

Forty years ago, a Radio City Music Hall Rockette started the Gretchen Greene School of Dance. Today, her daughter, Trina Dodd Stafford, carries on her mother’s theatrical legacy. South spoke with Stafford about continuing the tradition and keeping future ballerinas on their toes.

South magazine: How did your family end up in this industry?

Trina Dodd Stafford: Well, both my grandparents were in show business; they were musicians in local jazz bands. My mother, [Gretchen Greene], basically grew up in a dance studio where her mother was the class pianist. (You know, back then they used live pianists in dance classes.) I think that was a huge influence on her. As soon as she was old enough, she dyed her hair blonde, hopped on the first plane to New York and was a Rockette within a month. It was 1968 when she decided to move back to Georgia and open the Gretchen Greene School of Dance, where she still teaches classes today.

What happens when a Southern sporting tradition, a cast of characters and a whole lot of firearms mix together? Friendship, competition—and yes, a few cock-and-bull stories.

Shooting shotguns is really fun. Whatever your politics, there is no way around that simple fact. To brace the stock in the nook of your shoulder, to look down the sight, trace a target, squeeze the trigger and watch the flying orange clay disc disintegrate as the gun explodes back into your body is a rush without compare.

“It’s like potato chips,” explains retired Air Force chief master sergeant John Culpepper, one of the older pro shooters at the Forest City Gun Club. “You can’t eat just one.”

15 ways to reach health Nirvana—without leaving Savannah.
Perfection, a state of existence void of all error, flaw or deficiency: No matter how you slice it, it’s a lofty goal. Regardless of whether it’s physical, spiritual or intellectual Nirvana, it’s an intimidating concept potent enough to send normally sane people into bouts of sleeplessness and lunacy as they attempt to measure up to the idea.

But that’s not to say we all shouldn’t strive to inch just a little bit closer to that supreme idea of being the very best version of ourselves. Luckily, Savannah boasts hundreds of ways to enhance both the yin and the yang, the spiritual and the physical, the active and the contemplative. The possibilities for a mind or body boost are virtually endless. With that, South presents its first ever guide to becoming the best you—in the best city in the South.