7/19/15 Report - Do Crashing Waves Throw Coins As They Break? 130 Year Old Winchester Found In Desert.

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.

Real Wave Photo.

Now this is really cool.  Believe it or not this is an actual photo.  Beside being a beautiful picture, it shows something very interesting.

I'm not positive but I think the photo is a Clarke Little photo.  He is a surfer turned photographer.

I lost track of the source, but here are more of Clarke Little's beautiful wave photos. 

http://clarklittlephotography.com/


Take a good look at that photo again.  Do you see what is happening?  Look at the brown sand or whatever being sucked up into the wave.  That is what I think is very interesting.  It wouldn't be that apparent if you were just watching it happen, but when it is frozen in time like that you can really see it.

In my 7/16 post I showed this illustration.  Notice how the waves move in circles.  I've told before about how if you are floating in the deeper water, you'll move in a circle as a wave goes by.

As the wave gets in more shallow water the circles get flattened and turn into  ovals.

What you are seeing in the top photo is the bottom of the circle where the sand is getting sucked back into the wave.  The circle isn't completed here because the water is too shallow and the wave is breaking.

Just think about what is happening there.  First the top sand is getting sucked out and then the wave comes crashing down with force just in front of that.  

When the sand gets sucked up into the wave, as you can see in the photo, it is lifted, and then when the crashing wave impacts the sand with considerable force.

That happens time and time again as the waves come in, and each time in just a little different place.

A report by the Naval Warfare Center (http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a495574.pdf) says, Overall, average impact pressures from the breaking waves are greater in magnitude than the impact pressures from the non-breaking waves and average impact pressures tend to increase with increased speed...

OK.  We knew that crashing waves have considerable force.  I recently posted about blocks weighing tons being moved.

Big waves, as is obvious, stirs up a lot of sand, but in addition to the effect of crashing, there is also the sucking that we see in the photo.   Add that to a near continuous flow running along with the long shore current on a steep beach and a lot of sand and stuff could be moved quickly.

Adding in any undertow or backwash, the net effect will depend upon a variety of factors, including the "trigger" and "drop" points for specific objects, as I've said before.  

I think my understanding of how coins and objects get covered and uncovered is fairly complete.   I've tracked and observed how objects move in many situations, but I have never been able track the movement of objects within big waves and during storms.  I think I'm getting pretty close to a complete understanding of that part of the process too, which will explain how coins and things wash up at times.

Looking at the picture at the top of the post and how the sand is getting sucked into the base of the wave, I wondered if coins or other objects could get sucked up into the wave and actually thrown ahead with the water in a breaking wave.  I don't know about that, but considering how easily coins flip (turn over) in relatively little current, I wouldn't be surprised if large breaking waves could throw some objects.  Certainly they are blasted, lifted and moved, but maybe not through the entire cycle of the breaking wave.

In the photo, you can see some of the sand moving ahead with the wave.

It would only happen when the waves and obects are in shallow water.  That is one condition.  When the water is deep relative to the size of the waves, the bottom and objects on the bottom are not affected.

When we have storms, some waves are breaking on a slope rather than a flat bottom like we see in the photo.  I

I didn't really want to introduce the complication of the different types of waves yet, but I unintentionally just stepped into it.

Besides breaking waves, there are other types, such as plunging waves and surging waves.

According to wikipedia

A plunging wave occurs when the ocean floor is steep or has sudden depth changes, such as from a reef or sandbar. The crest of the wave becomes much steeper than a spilling wave, becomes vertical, then curls over and drops onto the trough of the wave, releasing most of its energy at once in a relatively violent impact. A plunging wave breaks with more energy than a significantly larger spilling wave. The wave can trap and compress the air under the lip, which creates the "crashing" sound associated with waves. With large waves, this crash can be felt by beachgoers on land. Offshore wind conditions can make plungers more likely.

That is as much as I want to get into that for now.

I've known for a quite a few years that coins wash up onto the beach.  There is no doubt about that, but perhaps large crashing waves can move sand and objects in even more dramatic ways than I previously suspected.

For a relatively thorough explanation of waves, you might want to look at the following.

http://topex.ucsd.edu/ps/trujillo_waves.pdf

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132 year-old Winchester rifle was found propped up against a tree in the desert.  Nobody knows what happened to the owner or how it got there.

Interesting story.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/01/15/132-year-old-winchester-rifle-found-propped-under-desert-tree/

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It seem that the Treasure Coast is in for a couple more weeks of one-foot surf.  How long can this last?

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

7/16/15 Report - Water Metal Detecting Hints and Tips. 207 Nazi Gold Coins Found by Detectorist. Capitana Making More Finds.

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.

Nazi Gold Coins

A detectorist found 217 Nazi-era gold coins in Lüneburg, Germany.Bausch – a certified metal detectorist – was exploring old burial mounds in the town south of Hamburg when he stumbled across the first gold piece.

After a further search under the foliage uncovered nine more coins, Bautsch did a survey of the area and got in touch with local archaeologists.

A two-week long excavation followed, unearthing a further 207 gold coins – with a material worth estimated at around €45,000...

That would be just over $40,000 U. S.

Here is the link for the rest of the story.

http://www.thelocal.de/20150715/amateur-archaeologist-finds-nazi-gold-hoard

Thanks to Christopher P. for alerting me to that story.

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I wanted to talk today about the surf zone.  Many items are lost where the waves break.  People get slapped around by the breaking waves.  Many items come off there.

The last time I was detecting in the water, a strap holding a piece of my equipment broke when hit by a breaking wave.  There is a lot of force there, and people often aren't prepared for it.

People also play there.  They dive into breaking waves.

Items that break or come off in that area then get pushed in towards shore a few feet.

As a result that is a good area to hunt, but it is also rough.  It can test you and your equipment.  And when the waves are big, it can be downright impossible.  It will require some skill.

You can learn to hunt there, but it can be very annoying until you master it.

I remember one day long ago when I got a headache from getting slapped in the head from the breaking waves.  It also would knock earphones or other equipment off.

After you learn how, you can go with it instead of fighting it.  You will learn to feel what is coming without paying attention.  When you start getting sucked out, it is about to hit you, so pick up your feet and go with it.

Instead of fighting against it, which is near impossible, you an learn to float with it.  Learn to pick up your feet and float at the right time.  It will return you to the spot where it picked you up.   You can do that when the water is deep enough but it only takes a couple of feet of water in the trough.  If it is that shallow you will have to lift your legs and sit down so that you can float through the trough, then extend your legs again when the water returns.

Notice the circles in the illustration.  That is how you will move.  

Dig a hole to mark your signal.  Float away and back, then dig again, if necessary.  Repeat until you retrieve the target.

You will often find it easier to work in the slightly deeper water just before the breaking waves. Not only will it not slap you around as much, but the bottom currents are not as strong in the deeper water, making it easier to retrieve targets.

In the shallow water inside the breaking waves there will be strong currents near the bottom that will push your detector, making it difficult to run a tight grid, and it will also refill your holes.  It will also push sand and objects out of your scoop if you use the currents for your benefit.  That takes timing.

The open end of your scoop should be pointed so the currents are moving into the scoop, otherwise sand and objects can be washed out of the scoop as you lift the scoop.

The currents can alternate back and forth, so timing is important.  Wait for the right time to lift your scoop.

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Not metal detecting, but maybe you'll find it interesting.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/07/15/volunteer-watchdog-group-prepares-for-counter-jade-helm-campaign/

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I just received a great new set of find photos from Captain Jonah of the Capitana.  I'll probably have them ready to post tomorrow.

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Expect small surf on the Treasure Coast for days ahead.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

6/27/15 Report - 8.5 Karat Diamond Found. Things You Need To Know. Beach Dynamics. How To Find Old Sites.

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.

Above is a great illustration.  It gives more information than it might first appear.  I saved it long ago and can't find the source again right now.

Anyhow, the bottom wave in the illustration shows something similar to what has been happening on the Treasure Coast lately with the calm surf.

I showed quiet a few photos showing the waves breaking in shallow water and rushing over the sand in the shallow water in front of the beach.  The main difference with what is happening on the Treasure Coast and what is shown in the illustration is that many places on the Treasure Coast have a very flat front sand bench instead of the rolling sand bottom shown in the bottom part of the illustration.  The waves are breaking out fifty or so yards and then washing in over the fairly flat sand in the shallow water.  In many places there is almost no sand bar.

Many of the front beaches on the Treasure Coast are nearly flat too, being just a little higher than the sand in the water.  That happens when the surf is calm and fine sand is being moved.  You'll note that those flat front-beaches seem firm since the grains are fine and settle compactly.

Looking at the top part of the illustration, to the left of the sand bar, the water is deep enough that the waves aren't breaking.  The wave breaks as it crosses the sand bar.  The crashing wave picks up particles and moves them in to be deposited on the beach front.  There is, however, and under tow as the water rushes back down the slope.

A certain amount of velocity is required to pick up particles and other items.  If the undertow is strong enough it will carry a lot of sand back down the slope and into the water.

In this illustration we have so far ignored various factors such as the angle of the wave, and also the different densities and shapes of objects, sand and otherwise.

The key thing to know about that is that different size particles, and different objects require a different amount of force to dislodge them and the different particles and different objects will also drop out of the current at different velocities.

In the past I've referred to the point at which an particular particle or object will start to move as the trigger point and the point at which it settles, as the drop point.

I'll pick up there in another post.  I don't want to try to do too much at once because the number of factors multiply and it becomes confusing and difficult to explain.  I'll try to stick to a small number of principles at a time, so if you get them down one by one as we go, you'll be able to put it all together as we proceed.

Another important thing to know is how sand bars move.  You'll get some idea of that from this illustration as well.   That is not so important if you are looking for very old items, but it is important if you are hunting items recently dropped by swimmers.   There are times when the sand bar will move in and times when it will move out.  Check the eroding side of any bar where people have been congregating.

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A woman found an 8.5 karat diamond in Crater of Diamonds State Park.  

Park officials said Friday that the gem found by Bobbie Oskarson of Longmont, Colorado, is the fifth largest diamond found since the park was established in 1972...

Here is the link.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/06/27/colorado-finds-852-carat-diamond-in-arkansas-state-park/?intcmp=ob_article_sidebar_video&intcmp=obinsite

You can visit Crater of Diamonds State Park and for a small fee hunt for diamonds.  Maybe a good little vacation trip.

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There is no better resource for finding good detecting sites than talking to an old timer who grew up in the area.  I was looking at a satellite view on Google Earth of the area where I grew up.  When I looked at that, I could see clear as day where two old barns were, where old trees were, and a nice spring house where the local farmer kept the milk cool in fresh spring water, a corn crib and other buildings that were no longer there.

There used to be a an old shed that was full of old embossed bottles back when I was a youngster.  I was attracted to those old bottles even then.  I could see the exact spot of three old bottle dumps even though there was no longer any sign of them.  Who knows how old they were when I was young?  They were old even back then.

One of the bottle dumps was on a hill over a creek.  We used to get bottles there, run up creek and throw them in, then run back down to where there was a rock outcropping on a cliff and sit there and shoot the bottles as they came by.  I wonder how many good old bottles got shot that way.

And I knew of even older stuff there.  The older generation told me about things that were before my time, like where the really old school house used to be and where they found arrow heads when planting potatoes when they were young.

When kids play around an area for years, it seems like the area gets permanently stamped in memory.  Not only do I know where things were, but I could walk to those precise spots like they were there today even though not a trace remains.  Most people today would have no idea that those things ever existed and if they did research them somehow, they wouldn't know them in such great detail.  I'll have to make a detecting trip there again someday and dig up some of the past that is most meaningful to me.

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A couple Fort Pierce boys found a box of military medals in the trash.  They were dumped after a home burglary.  Leave to young boys to be out exploring.

http://www.wptv.com/news/region-st-lucie-county/fort-pierce/two-fort-pierce-boys-discover-military-medals-tossed-into-trash

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The predictions are for another week of small surf on the Treasure Coast.  More of the same.  It will change some day.  Be ready.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/25/14 Report - How To Time Your Water and Wet Sand Hunt Based Upon Tides and Waves. Single Ear Rings Being Paired.

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.BlogSpot.com.

Waves Breaking
 

Can you believe summer is over and we are almost at the end of September?  There is a time for everything.   The Bible says, "There is an appointed time for everything.  And there is a time for every event under heaven."

Anyhow, I've had timing on my mind as it relates to beach detecting.  Whether you hunt in the water or on the beach, timing can be very important.  You will often want to time your hunt according to the tides.

Take a look at the above illustration.   The waves will break where the water gets too shallow for the swells to proceed without being disrupted by bottom features.   (I know that is a gross oversimplification, but it will serve for now.) 

The waves will break where the water gets too shallow relative to the size of the swells  Bigger swells will tend to break in deeper water, while smaller swells will break in more shallow water.  You can therefore get a good idea of how deep the water is from where the waves are breaking and how big they are.

In the illustration above you can see the waves breaking where the water gets more shallow.  

Here is the link that is the source of my illustration.  You can also get more explanation there.

http://www.surfing-waves.com/waves/how_waves_break.htm

If the swells are small, like they were yesterday, the waves will break right in on the beach front where the water is very shallow.  If the swells are larger, they will break in deeper water where the bottom rises.

I'll call the water area where the waves are breaking zone B.  That zone can be narrow or broad and it can be in deep water or shallow water - again - depending upon the size of the swells and the shape of the bottom.

Zone A is the deeper water where the waves are not yet breaking.  And zone C is where the water surges in after the waves break. 

Unless the waves are small, it can be very difficult to detect in zone B.  Waves that break over your head can be difficult to deal with.  It can knock your ear phones off and generally make things difficult.

It can also be difficult to detect in the rushing water in the shallows if there are strong currents. 

It is usually easier to detect in zone A if the water is not too deep for you.   Zone A is where you'd find the recovery technique I described in my 9/20/14 post most useful.

Sometimes there will be a dip inside of a sandbar.  After the waves break over the sand bar, the water in the dip can be fairly calm and easy to detect.

The three zones will change as the tide goes in and out depending upon a variety of factors that includes the changing depth of water.

How does that affect how you time your visit to the beach?  Time your visit so that you can detect the zone that you want to detect.  In zone A, for example, you will probably want to detect when the tide is out.   Then you'll have more wet sand, but zone A will also now be where there was deeper water before and perhaps where the breaking waves were earlier.

If the waves are fairly big, you will probably want to detect when the breaking waves are not over the area where you want to detect.  Maybe that will be on the sand bar. 

Remember, as the tides get higher, the waves will tend to break in deeper water, and as the tide gets lower, the waves will tend to break closer to shore.   Remember those three zones and think about how they can move with the changing tides.

One other thing I want to point out while I have this illustration up, is the sand bar can move in or out too.  If you remember the experiment I did not long ago, the crashing waves will stir up the sand, causing the sand to move and causing objects to sink.  Very often the waves will break on the one side of the sand bar, stirring up sand and pushing it in.  In that case, the sand bar can move in towards shore, covering up things as the sand bar moves over them.

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You know all of those unmatched ear rings that you've found.   According to Kovels Komments, one high-end jewelry store is matching up vintage ear rings that go together well and selling them as a pair.

http://www.kovels.com/tips-on-care-and-repairs/mismatched-earrings-are-high-style.html?utm_source=Listrak&utm_medium=Email&utm_term=Mismatched+Earrings+Are+High+Style&utm_campaign=ezinesept24&utm_content=ezinesept24


One thing I forgot to mention in my 9/20 post is that when you go with the flow, you don't have to hold onto your scoop if you have a scoop that will float upright.  Get a scoop of sand in the bucket, and let the scoop go when you get washed off of the hole.  Under normal circumstances, the scoop will be waiting for you when you get returned to the hole.  You can therefore use it as a marker and not have to take the time to relocate the hole by feel.

It is still a good idea to have the scoop tethered to you in some manner.

Source: www.nhc.noaa.gov

As you can see, there is now some weather in the middle of the Atlantic that could develop.  Today on the Treasure Coast the surf will be around two or three feet - a little rougher than it has been.  It might increase a little more in about a week.

The low tides are not getting very low.

Don't forget to respond to the blog poll.

I have a lot of new find photos to show in the near future.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net