Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.
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| One New Weather Area to Watch. |
Not much to watch in the Atlantic, just this one low pressure area in the Gulf, which doesn't look like it will do us any good.
In a recent email to investors to the Mel Fisher organization, Kim Fisher, talking about the wreck of the Lost Merchant, said the following, I was disappointed because I truly believed I was going to be able to tell you that we found her. It reminded me of what my dad used to say, “If it was easy everybody would be doing it.”
That is an important statement. Most people take the "easier" way.
Not too long ago I was talking about the factors involved in metal detecting success and I talked about a factor that I called Extreme Effort. I was talking about the ability and willingness to go a little farther than others - the ability and willingness to walk miles to a site or hunt in rough water or extreme weather or conditions. The ability and willingness to do the more difficult thing and work the more difficult sites under difficult conditions and make the difficult find is something that can separate you from the others.
When you see lots of other people working the same site, some, if not most, are probably taking the easy way. Instead of doing the research or finding their own site, they are following the crowd. They might also be putting in long hours or working harder in some other ways, but in at least that one way they are taking the easier path.
I mentioned yesterday a few things I found through genealogy research. I mentioned how some regular pioneers in the 18th Century were captured and killed. Life for them wasn't easy. Somebody is always paving the way for those that follow.
We all choose at times to take the easy way. Michael E. didn't take the easy way when he returned the $4000 ring that he found. For those with a deeply ingrained sense of right and wrong it might be the easy way, but for others that could be very difficult.
Was Michael rewarded? I don't know. What I do know is the reward wasn't what motivated him, and I don't see mention that it ever happened. It could have, but it might not.
From my experience, most people do not give a reward to detectorists that return cherished items. Some do, but not many. It is easier, I guess, to not recognize another person's efforts and moral decisions than it is to compensate others for their good and productive efforts.
It can be difficult to determine what is easy or difficult for someone else. It partly depends upon who they are and what values they hold most deeply.
You might remember the story of an early (1899) torpedo that was found by Navy dolphins off the coast of San Diego last March. One of only three known to exist, the torpedo which was marked, "U.S.N. No. 24," has been identified.
Research revealed that only eight ships had been outfitted with Howell Torpedoes. Of those, only the USS Marblehead and the USS Iowa were in the Pacific where the torpedo was found. Deck logs found in the National Archives revealed that in December of 1899, the Iowa lost the Howell No. 24."
Source: http://www.military.com/daily-news/2013/08/20/torpedo-shot-from-uss-iowa-in-1899-surfaces.html?comp=7000023468025&rank=2
I've entertained the idea of training an otter to go pick up coins or shiny objects on the ocean floor. Let some of those little fellows browse around and I bet they would eventually pick up something interesting if you could convince them to keep focused. A tasty fish or shellfish reward might do the job. I think that might work better than an ROV. By the way Dolores is giving the Lost Merchant guys some trouble. I personally don't like to get any more technical than absolutely necessary. I hate equipment problems.
I've been using this hot summer weather to try to get my foot injury healed up and haven't been to the beach much lately. When I would go, it would set the injury back again, so I've been giving it a break. I have been very busy lately anyhow.
I hope you take the advice about looking into genealogy as a research tool. You might come up with some good information that you can't get anywhere else. I found the name of a couple of ships that my ancestors came across the ocean on in 1733. I found the name of the ships too. That was a bad year for some treasure galleons, as you probably know.
The tides on the Treasure Coast will be about the same as yesterday - maybe the low tide won't be quite as low.
Still a lot of sand out there. I think most people are after modern jewelry now unless you have permits and blowers.
The surf today is still running around 2 - 3 feet, and the wind mostly from the East. I don't see any real change coming for at least a few more days.
Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net
