Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.
Recent evidence has been found that helps to clarify the route of DeSoto's march through Florida. Ashley White, the archaeologist who found that evidence says, "Now, we know for sure he came up through the Black Sink Prairie to Orange Lake and looped around through Micanopy."
Here is a link you can use to learn more about this recent discovery.
http://www.ocala.com/article/20120707/ARTICLES/120709790&tc=ix?p=1&tc=pg
And here is another link with more information on DeSoto's travels in Florida.
http://www.ocala.com/article/20120709/MULTIMEDIA/120709871
Somebody mentioned to me that this blog isn't just about the Treasure Coast. I do include lots of information from other areas, but almost all of that information is applicable to hunting the Treasure Coast. The basic principles are general in nature. Every beach is different, but the underlying principles are the same no matter where you go.
It is good to know the beaches that you detect very well. Like I said, every beach is different. There might be spots that tend to collect goodies. You should get to know those spots. Some spots will produce repeatedly year after year, sometimes seasonally, and sometimes under specific conditions that you should learn to recognize.
Despite all of that, detecting isn't rocket science. The biggest determinant of success is the amount of time you spend at it. After that, is where you happen to live. You'll find a whole lot more if you hunt beaches that are visited by thousands of active wealthy people every day than if you live in some less populace area where a rope belt is considered high class jewelry. In fact, where you live and hunt can be a bigger determinant of success than how much time you spend hunting. Some beaches are tens or even hundreds of times more productive than other beaches. That goes for both modern jewelry and shipwreck finds. There has to be stuff there before you can find it, and then you have to spend the time to find it. Of course you will learn to make better use of your time as you spend more time and gain more experience, but the two biggest factors are location and time on task.
The stock price of Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. recently got very close to $4.00 a share, which would be a 3-year high. That is pretty good, but a few years earlier it was up to $7.00 a share. I would still be thinking about taking .profits. It could be a long time before it ever gets back up to $7.
Here is a good article (though mostly negative) on the financial prospects for OMEX.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/698191-treasure-in-the-sea-how-to-invest
People often fail to consider the costs of treasure hunting. Even for the hobby detectorist there is the cost of the detector, gas, parking expenses, and quite a few little things that all add up. Just think of all the expenses involved in a major operation like Odyssey Marine, and then you have to consider the amount of money that goes to the officers of the company and other major stock holders.
Beach detecting conditions remain unchanged. The wind is still from the southeast. That means lighter materials will be common on the beach fronts. I have received a couple reports of Native American pottery finds lately. That fits with what I would expect given the conditions.
The seas will start to gradually build very soon, reaching three or four feet by this weekend.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
