Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.
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| Scoop Swallowing Shovel |
Where do you want to look for cobs? On a beach where they have been found, or where they've never been found? On a beach where they were recently found, or on a beach where they haven't been found for a very long time?
The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. Everybody in psychology knows and says that, and the other sciences observe the basically the same thing in a slightly different way. In science, why observe anything unless you think there is something repeatable about it, or that it gives a clue to something that will happen in the future.
If you find a cob on a beach, there is a very good possibility that more will be found on the same beach. Maybe not quickly, maybe not the same day, and maybe not by the same person. But if I had a choice of going to a beach where a cob has been recently found versus a beach where none has been found for a good while, most of the time I would choose the beach where a cob has recently been found.
Now I know that people want me to tell them where a cob will appear before it happens, but frankly I can't do that with a high degree of accuracy and you'd be better off taking the information I give, combine it with your own observations and make some good decisions of your own. I do offer information to help you make good decisions, but I can't do it all for you. And if anyone else is telling you where things are popping up before it really happens, ask them where to go, you don't have to rely upon me.
When I first started this blog I was criticized by a number of the old timers who said I shouldn't tell as much as I do because everyone should have to pay their dues just like they did. I agree with that to some extent, but I also know that people will only benefit so much from what they are told, then they have to go out and prove it and see it for themselves anyhow.
If I could say just go to X and dig there at time Y and you'll find a treasure, and you did that, that would no longer be treasure hunting. The hunting would no longer be a part of it.
I'm tempted to get into all of the details of when a beach will gnerally continue to produce after it has been proven to produce and how long, when not, and all the exceptions, but on second thought, that probably wouldn't be a good idea because it would get confusing. I don't think I could make it all clear without spending tons of time. And the fact is that I'm just establishing the background for a key point that I want to make.
Here it is. When a beach produces old shipwreck coins, generally (but not always) it will produce for a good while - sometimes days and sometimes even weeks. Of course after a while finds diminish. But the chance is better if coins have been recently found on that beach than on a beach where they haven't been found.
When there has been a hurricane or anything that creates good beach detecting conditions, cobs will often be picked up on the same beach for days, or even weeks later.
I've been told many times by detectorists that they found a treasure coin or cob weeks after they thought it was all gone and the good hunting was all over on that particular beach.
A lot of people give up on a beach way too early. I understand that. It isn't easy, and it takes a lot of time to find a cob under very good circumstances, so when you haven't been real lucky, and it is getting long, there is a temptation to give up. You can easily start thinking it is too late for that beach.
I was told by the person that found one of the best Treasure Coast beach finds after the hurricanes of 2004, that it was days later and they thought it was all gone and it was too late when they made their big find.
If I find a beach that is producing, I'll often revisit it day after day. Other good detectorists do that as well. They'll even visit spots that other people think have been cleaned out.
Don't give up on a good spot too soon. Even if you did a good job of cleaning it out the first day, you will often find it refreshed another day.
On an unrelated topic, have you ever wondered why old people are cranky? Maybe it is because they've lost their parents, maybe the spouse they loved and lived with for almost their entire life and now are trying to learn how to live alone, maybe they even lost some children. They might have lost some of their hearing and eye sight, strength and endurance, good health, and the job they did, and maybe even much of their memory and independence. Maybe some of that is why. So maybe you should give them a break.
Above is a picture of a large scoop. A picture of this scoop appeared in a 2009 post in this blog along with another standard size scoop. I referred to this one as T-Rex and the other as Mini-Mouse.
I think you can see why I called this one T-Rex. The teeth are 1.25 inches long, each. In the photo it is swallowing a standard shovel to give you size comparison.
The large scoop is for working muddy bottoms. The teeth in front help scoop up loads of material as the scoop is dragged across the bottom. It is obviously a special purpose scoop. There are also extension handles for it that will extend the handle easily up to 30 feet.
This scoop isn't for the faint of heart, and will quickly wear out any but the most fit and energetic treasure hunter.
I'm told that recently Captain Papo and the crew of the Dare headed north to the site of the Lost Merchant. They will use Dolores, the underwater remotely operated vehicle, to help locate and identify the wreck.
There is only one day remaining to respond to the blog poll. We're getting a good number of responses and this poll will give some good information.
On the Treasure Coast Wednesday we're expecting 2 - 3 foot surf again. That will decrease to down around 1 - 2 feet during the weekend.
The low tides are still nice and low but are getting little less extreme. They will be more moderate as we move away from the period of the Super Moon.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
