8/29/11 Report - Lessons From Irene

Wabasso Beach Friday.

You can see several things in this photo. Notice the big cut, as well as the smaller. Also notice that these cuts are into new replenishment sand. What you can't see is that most of this erosion occurred before Irene.

As I've mentioned several times before, erosion in beach replenishment sand isn't nearly as significant as erosion in old sand that has not been disturbed for a long time. The best thing is when the real old undisturbed sand from the dunes is eroded down onto the beach. That is one way that shipwreck items get left on the beach. Of course the other method is by washing in.

When you look at a beach analyze what is happening. Look for erosion. Consider how long the eroded sand has been undisturbed. Newly exposed roots are a good sign. If there are newly exposed roots you know that the sand probably hasn't been disturbed since the roots grew there.

It helps if you just go out and check the beaches to see what is happening. That will help you know what the sand has been doing and when different changes occurred.

One advantage hard core hunters have is that they are out there a lot and know what the beaches are doing and have done. They are also there, ready and able to jump on any new opportunities. You can't find any thing on a beach unless you are there.

Patience and perseverance will eventually pay off.

With experience you will be able to identify the different sources of sand. Notice if it is fine or course, white or beige, black sand, etc. Get to know where it has been laying and when and where it got moved. That will tell you a lot.

Notice things like in the Wabasso photo that there is a layer of sand over the board walk down to the beach. That obviously means that that layer of sand was put down after the board walk was constructed or modified. That means recently deposited sand - bad sign.

Another thing to note is the curve down in front of Disney. Things often accumulate near the water at the bends in the beach.

All of these things can lead you to treasure. All of these things are important in learning to read a beach.

Try to identify one thing you learned during the last few days from your experience with Irene, either before, during or after the storm. That one thing you learned might end up being more valuable than any thing you found because it might lead you to numerous finds in the future.

The overall bad news is that there was so much replenishment sand on beaches like this, especially towards the northern end of the Treasure Coast, that conditions didn't get any higher than a 2 on my beach conditions rating scale.


I received some photos of finds that were made by Irene. I received a photo of what appears to be a cob found on St. Augustine beach. I also received photos of a few very interesting finds made on the Treasure Coast during Irene. One could be a silver artifact and some nice pieces of ceramics. Identities of those items are yet to be determined.

Hopefully I'll learn a little more about those items and be able to post them.

I also have some more Irene beach photos but was not able to get them posted yet.



On another topic, archaeologists were doing a survey and happened to find a WWII dog tag.

Here is the link to that story.

http://www.mydesert.com/article/20110818/NEWS01/108180308/Solar-survey-finds-returns-missing-WWII-era-dog-tag?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Frontpage

It is not uncommon to find WWII dog tags on Treasure Coast beaches, especially between Pepper Park and Walton Rocks. Just south of the Fort Pierce jetty is also a spot where dog tags are commonly found.



Treasure Coast Beach Forecast and Conditions


Well Irene left us alone. She didn't cause very much erosion on the Treasure Coast, but as I expected a few things were found that yet need to be analyzed. I'm sure there will be finds up on the Outer Banks. Maybe you learned something by going through the process that will help you in the future. You can't find something great every time out, but try to learn something every time out.

Right now there is a tropical depression below Bermuda that probably won't develop, and there is another storm coming off of Africa that could come this way. It is more likely to develop than the one that is closer to us.

The wind is now out of the west, as was expected, and the seas are calm again. That does give you a good shot at the low tide zone. The seas will remain calm through much of the week.

In addition to the low tide zones, I would be checking the areas where the seas did get high and where shells were dropped. From the finds that I've seen, that is where a few lighter artifacts such as ceramics will probably be found.

I'm dropping my beach conditions rating for the Treasure Coast back to a 1.


Happy Hunting,
TreaureGuide@comcast.net

8/24/11 Report - Irene Moves East & Not Much Action Yet

One Treasure Coast Beach This Morning.


I often remind you to keep any valuable finds in a bank safe deposit box. Evidently one St Lucie County person didn't do that.

Earlier this year a Spanish Colonial coin collection was stolen in Port St. Lucie. The collection included 136 Spanish coins, many of which were minted in Potosi in the late 1700s. There were also some Pillar dollars, Portraits and cobs.

A suspect has been arrested and 45 of the coins have been recovered. Contact Doug Davis at 817-723-7231 or Doug@numismaticcrimes.org if you have information on any of the others.

There is a web site detailing information on crimes involving numismatic collections.

Here is the link.

http://numismaticcrimes.org

I'm glad the crook and some of the coins were found.


A NFL championship ring belonging to Art Donovan that was stolen in 1977 was recently found by police listed for sale on Criag's List and returned to the former defensive tackle who said the ring was stolen on a trip to Hong Kong.

This article traces the ring's amazing travels.

here is the link.

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2011-08-23/news/bs-md-donovan-ring-returned-20110823_1_ring-art-donovan-howard-county-police



One of Hurricane Irene's early acts of destruction was the destruction of Richard Branson's mansion on his private island - not by wind or water damage but by a fire started by lightening. At least he has the money to rebuild.

http://www.hollywoodheavy.com/detail/002329/richard-bransons-private-island-devistated-by-fire/

Lightening is not what you think of first when you think hurricane, but destruction can come in many ways.


Treasure Coast Beach Forecast and Conditions.

Latest Track From BoatUS.com.

The track keeps getting shifted a little further out to sea and a little further away from us. It looks like the Outer Banks will really get it.

The surf predictions have been pretty consistent for the last few days. Now they are expecting 11 foot seas, as the peak, late Thursday. Seas will quickly build on
Thursday to a peak and then subside gradually Friday and through the weekend.

A good time to hunt might be at low tide after the peak passes and the wind shifts to come from the west.

The weekend should provide some good hunting.

As you might be able to see from the photo at the top of the page, the high seas have not begun, and there is no erosion to speak of yet. The ocean got stirred up just a little by a passing rain storm and there was some lightening out there.

The beach conditions remain poor so far.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/23/11 Report - Irene, Kim, Omar, & Au

Latest Track of Irene.

I'll start with Irene today because she is the big news. Here is NOAA's six o'clock morning track. A little further to the east now I'm glad to say, but this is one big bad storm.

I'll continue with that topic below.

Kim Kardashian lost a $75,000 ear ring in the ocean. Unfortunately that was out in Bora Bora, and I can't go find it for her.

It does show how things happen. Evidently her new husband threw her into the water - but she got out. One ear ring remained in the water though.

He should have known that she would float. Maybe he was wondering which side up. It could have gone either way.

You didn't know Jay Leno wrote for this blog, did you?

For those of you who really want to know, here is the link to that video.

http://www.aoltv.com/show/keeping-up-with-the-kardashians/185738

Good place to detect!

I don't know if any of that is for real.


Gold finished over $1900 an ounce yesterday. Seems like every couple of weeks it hits a new century mark.


Talking about gold, I wonder what happened to Kadafi's 144 tonnes. That could make for a wild treasure hunt. Could also end up funding a lot of terrorists. Who knows where it will go? I suspect someone knows.

You might also wonder how the other Libyan interests tied up in the US by the Obama administratin will be handled. Someone will benefit for sure.


A Tennessee man's backyard was added to the National Register of Historic Places by the state Historical Commission. Ancient artifacts and mastadon bones from 12,000 BC were found there.

Here is the link if you want to read that story.

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110819/WILLIAMSON/308190066/Franklin-man-s-backyard-where-mastodons-roamed-added-National-Register?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

It sounds like they've never heard of the carved Vero fossil bone.

In case you missed that, here is the link to that story.

http://www.verobeach32963.com/STORIES%202009/JUNE/vb63_bonefind_issue21_2009.html

You can find more on that story in some of my previous posts by using the blog's search box.


Treasure Beach Forecast and Conditions.


It seems like Irene will pass through the Bahamas. That will undoubtedly create some erosion over there.

Unlike on the Treasure Coast where the beaches generally run north south, islands have beaches running at all directions. That means when one side doesn't get hit right, another probably will.

On the mainland the beach curves here and there a little, so one spot will cut while others don't, but that effect isn't nearly as strong as in the islands. Those curves and angles make it hard to predict which spots on the Treasure Coast will cut the most.

On the Treasure Coast it looks like peak seas will be Thrusday. The surf web sites are now predicting ten foot seas later on Thursday. That is down a little from the thirteen foot seas that were predicted earlier, but it is still certainly more than enough if the angles are right. And it is way more than we've had for quite a while.

I haven't been able to issue more than 1 (poor) rating on my Treasure Beach Conditions Rating Scale for some time. I'm hoping for at least a 4 by Friday when the seas start to slacken off again. We'll see.

It looks like the Outer Banks might get the full force of Irene. I hope it doesn't do too much damage to property where ever it goes. Hopefully it will push the waves in but remain out to sea.

Get your equipment in order. Charge your batteries.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/22/11 - Hurricane Irene & More

Shipwreck Wood.

Here is a piece of wood from a shipwreck that is for sale on eBay. You can make nice display pieces out of miscellaneous finds like this. Preserve wood, pottery, or whatever, make a nice label and you have a display that will look nice in the right room and be a nice conversation piece.

Create nice displays out of miscellaneous finds like this and you will enjoy finding things besides silver and gold. Don't forget to write down where it was found and when and keep all of the relevant details. That will enhance the value of your display.


Here is a nice article showing some photos of Civil War artifacts found at a prison camp near Millen Georgia.


http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/17/georgia.civil.war.camp/


Treasure Coast Forecast and Conditions


And now getting right to the big news, Irene is now a hurricane and has passed over Puerto Rico. The projections now have it as a level two hurricane as it passes by West Palm in the early AM hours of Thursday.

The predicted track now has it a little to the east of us, but of course that could change. I'm hoping Puerto Rico threw it off track, and it stay farther out to sea.

Here is the predicted track as shown on boatUS.com this morning.



Of course I'll be keeping an eye on this and reporting daily changes.

I'd really rather not have a hurricane. Too much damage and trouble for too many people. And as I often remind, high seas and waves do not guarantee erosion. The waves can wash up onto the beach and straight back down, as happened along most of South Florida during hurricane Andrew, not causing much erosion. Smaller waves at the right angle (from the north/northeast) are more likely to slice the sand away and produce more treasure coins.

It also looks to me like this storm will pass by rather quickly. The surf web sites are now predicting 12.5 foot seas on Thursday and 15 foot seas on Friday, subsiding quickly.

Now it is a watch and wait game.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/21/11 Report - Big News - 13 Foot Seas Predicted - Tropical Storm Irene

Neck of Tinajas Jar Recently Found on the Site of the Santa Margarita.

Besides the Atocha and the Santa Margarita, Mel Fisher Expeditions is now also working the site of the shipwreck code named the Lost Merchant.

Recent finds on the site of the Santa Margarita include a pewter plate, lead sheathing, and a number of iron encrusted objects.

The most important find from the Margarita this week is the item shown in the photo above. It is the neck of a Tinajas jar. Tinajas jars were used to store water.



Someone sent me an email asking about my detecting club. I assume they were talking about the newly formed St. Luce metal detecting club. Bernie C. has taken the lead in starting that club, so anyone who wants additional information about that club should contact Bernie C. at the following email address. twiprod001@att.net

Someone else sent me photos of a ring that they found and was wondering about its age and identity. The ring was silver and gold. I've found rings that are both silver and gold that seemed to come from the mid-1900s. I don't know why they combined the metals. I suppose it has some significance, but I don't know what it might be.

It is really hard to tell how old some rings are. Some designs have been used for centuries such as the Claddagh ring, which was first produced in the 17th Century in the Irish village of Claddagh.

Typical Claddagh Ring.

Anyone who has found a lot of rings has probably found a Claddagh ring or two. A Claddagh ring has two hands holding a heart, and there is a crown on top of the heart.

Claddah rings were often used at weddings. The heart represents love, the hands represent friendship, and the crown, loyalty. It can be difficult to distinguish a 17th century example from a 21st century example. I've found Claddagh rings in silver and gold. I think I might have posted photos of one or two in this blog before.



Treasure Coast Beach Forecast and Conditions.

As you can see tropical Storm Irene seems to be headed this way and could reach South Florida as a hurricane by Friday.

The predicted path takes Irene over Hispaniola and Cuba. That could cause the storm to fall apart or change direction.

Tropical Storm Irene.

The surf web sites are predicting up to 13 foot seas on Thursday. We haven't seen anything like that for a couple of years if my memory serves me correctly. That could change detecting conditions dramatically. It might even hit the back dunes.

As you might know, it is not unusual for the surf web sites to change their predictions significantly though. We'll have to wait until a little later in the week to see if those predictions hold up.

Get ready and keep an eye on Irene.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net