5/4/20 Report - TreasureGuide's Formula For Metal Detecting Success. Tragic Treasure Coast History. Analyzing Your Goals.

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

I developed a formula for metal detecting success. I presented the first version a few years ago but have continued to improve upon the formula.

The previous version of my success formula looked something like the following.

Success = L + T + Sk + E + D

I defined Success as the number of finds. I suppose it would be better to define success in terms of total value. Value, of course, is subjective. 

How you define success is very important. You should be very clear about what you want to accomplish so you can quantify and measure your progress. Keep track of what you accomplish as it relates to your goals. That feedback will help you improve your level of skill. It might not seem like it is very important, but you will be surprised by how much it helps to measure and monitor your success in a very precise way.

In my old formula, L represents location, T is time spent detecting. Sk stands for skill level, D, the detector used, and E is amount of effort.

I discussed those factors to some extent in previous posts. I talked about the effort factor in my 1/9/18 post, for example.

Extreme effort can really pay off. It refers to really pushing the boundaries in a variety of ways. I've discussed that before and won't get into it again now. Extreme effort can be limited by your determination, physical fitness, and courage, or should I say stupidity.

D is for the type of detector you use and its capabilities - not how you use it. How you use your detector is part of the skill factor.

I wanted to revisit the formula because I am going to add a couple new factors.

The most important factors are listed first. The two new factors were added to the end of the formula but that might change after I more carefully evaluate their relative importance.

Location is the most important factor in my opinion. If you are not where the targets are, none of the rest matters much. And time is definitely right up there at the number two spot.

Factors can interact. I suspect that most of them do. If you have a quality detector, it still doesn't matter much unless you know how to use it well. So the skill factor definitely interacts with the detector factor.

Not long ago I mentioned the importance of the time you spend scouting around and how that time can be as important as the amount of time you spend detecting. Time spent on the beaches and time spent scouting the beaches can dramatically improve your chance of being at the right spot at the right time. The time factor therefore includes time spent in the field scouting as well as time spent actually detecting. It also includes researching sites. Therefore to be more specific, my time factor includes three factors: time scouting (Ts), time detecting (Td), and time gathering and assimilating information (Ti).

The new factors that I am adding today are networking (N) and access (A), so the new revised formula is  Success = L + T + Sk + E + D+ N + A.

Networking, like employment networking, includes relationships that provide you with important information. It helps you find out what is going on where. That includes internet as well as other relationship networks. This blog has a networking component.

The other new factor that I am adding to the formula today is access. Some people have more access than other people. For example, if you are a park ranger that can metal detect in a park while others can not, that gives you an advantage. Or if you have access to restricted areas because of your employment or occupation or other reasons, that can als be an advantage. Or if you have access to the beaches when others do not, such as having a beach-side residence so you can get on the beach while the beaches are closed, that is an advantage too. Perhaps the most obvious example is having a state lease to shipwreck site that excludes others from being able to detect that site.

So that is my new and improved version of my formula for metal detecting success. Expect future adjustments to the formula.

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The Treasure Coast was the scene of some very gruesome 20th century history as mass murderer Gerard Schaefer tortured and killed along South Hutchinson Island and A1A in the 1970s. One incident occurred at Blind Creek. If you have a weak stomach, you might not want to read anymore about this, but here is the link in case you do.

https://murderpedia.org/male.S/s/schaefer-gerard.htm

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Definitions are important if you want to communicate clearly or think clearly. I highly recommend using "operational definitions," but I won't attempt explain anymore about that now.

Having some meaningful measure of success will help you assess how well you are doing, but first you have to know exactly what it is that you want to accomplish.

If you just look at detecting as a hobby or a form or relaxation, you don't need anykind of measure, but if you want to accomplish something specific, it will help to have good data.

First, ask yourself what you want to accomplish. Is it old coins, modern jewelry, artifacts or whaat? Are you going for quantity or quality? Or are you going for total value? Just what is it? You'll often find that quality is sacrificed for quality or vice versa, but you need to be clear about your goals.

If your target is something really big, you'll probably need a lot of a patience. Maybe you don't have the patience to do that. Maybe your personality would be better suited to something that makes it easier to see occasional success. That is something to consider.

Your personality will determine to some extent the types of goals that will best suit you. If you can't tolerate long periods of time without any clear successes, you might mix types of hunting, You might find yourself taking time off from your big target to do a bit of something that provides more frequent feedback.

If you watch Gold Rush on TV you'll see guys spending huge amounts of money on big equipment and land and then processing untold amounts of paydirt to accumulate a decent amount of flour gold. That is not for me. First, I'm not going to make a huge investment out front and then work a long time trying to make back my original investment. Secondly, processing endless yards of dirt to get that kind of gold just doesn't interest me. It requires a lot of repetition.  It might be profitable, eventually, but it is just not my style.

It is important to know yourself, and it can be very helpful to be very clear about your goals and keep good records that will provide feedback on your progress. But that also requires you to be a certain type of person.

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The tides are big, but the surf is getting smaller. Tuesday and Wednesday the predictions say we will be getting a one foot surf.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

12/15/18 Report - How To Be More Successful. Underground Cables. Diamond Size of Chicken Egg Found in Canada.

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

In my yesterday's post I posted comments from Dale J. about buried cables being the cause of noisy metal detector operation in some locations on the Treasure Coast.  Steve M. then sent the following message.

Today’s post you talked about buried cables, most boat GPS chart plotters will show submarine cables, so anyone anchoring, dredging etc, will know it is there. If you have a boat with one you just cursor to the beach and check to see if there is a cable. I will do that and get back to you about that. Some are not being used and some are. With my PI detectors I pick regular power lines at a fairly close range and the huge cross the state ones pretty far range. I suppose that a submarine cable coming under the beach would do the same thing. 

Steve then checked and this is what he found.

Rio Mar Cable Location

Submitted by Steve M.

 Steve said, I did find 2 different places with several cables each at Vero.  Looks like that is the only place along the Treasure Coast that has cables. West Palm Beach inlet also has some.  You can see where the cables are and the Lat and Long of each place approximately.  Hope this helps.  I am sure it would mess with any detector.

That certainly does match up well with the noisy area at Rio Mar.

Thanks Steve.

One other consistently noisy location is just south of the Fort Pierce inlet.  Those that are south of Rio Mar and Turtle Trail are very consistent.  I also mentioned a less strong and more sporadic noisy spot at Pepper Park.

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Just in time before you send your list to Santa, miners in the far reaches of Canada announced that they found a rough 552-carat yellow diamond, which is the largest diamond ever discovered in North America and the seventh-largest diamond ever found.

The diamond—about the size of a chicken egg-- was discovered in October in Canada's Northwest Territories-- in Diavik-- which is about 135 miles away from the Arctic Circle, Mining.com reported...

https://www.foxnews.com/science/552-carat-yellow-diamond-found-in-canada-largest-ever-in-north-america'

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I was watching a recent episode of Oak Island ( I think it was episode 5 of seascon 6 ) and one of the Laginas said that the metal detector finds always raised more questions rather than answering them.   I once wrote that would be the case.  Isolated near-surface finds that are part of no particular strategy will very seldom answer any big questions.  Just think about it.  The island has hundreds of years of history and therefore has tons of metal objects left behind by many people doing many different things, most of which have little nothing to do with the Money Pit or any major treasure activity, and even when they do have something to do with those things, it will be difficult to interpret or prove.  I  also conjectured that they were using metal detecting finds to fill air time and have something to talk about since they didn't have much of anything else in the way of significant finds to talk about.  Otherwise it would seem that the metal detecting efforts were only symptomatic of a generally disorganized search strategy.

One thing they really need is a well-defined goal with specific objectives.  I've heard different people on the show describe the goals in very different ways.  The TV guy once said for him it was all about the story.  One of the Laginas said what he wanted to find out is if "anything" happened on Oak Island.  I interpret that to mean "anything big or treasure related."  Somebody else said they wanted to find out what is in the money pit.   Viewers might think the show is actually about finding some huge treasure.  If you listen to what different people on the show say, they have different views of what it is all about, and that shows up in how they search.  Their goal is not clearly defined and therefore their search is unfocused.

Different detectorists have different goals.  Some are out for a little leisure.  Others want some exercise, and a nice day in the sun.  Some go out and stroll around and hope to be lucky enough to find a little this or that.  Some hunt coins.  Others hunt jewelry or caches.  Some say it is all about the hunt.  They just like the activity.

Every detectorists should have a good idea of what it is they want to accomplish.  It is not so important for those who want a little recreation or exercise, but it is very important for those who really want to maximize the return on their time or who want to find something big.

What do you want to accomplish?  I mean really!

Writing down your goals and objectives can be a big help but isn't always necessary.  If you want to improve your rate of success, the first most helpful step will be defining your goal in very specific terms.  Your search strategy can not be focused unless your goals are well-defined. Well designed goals will also help you develop theories and test hypotheses.

I won't get into the details of what makes a well-defined goal.   That would take too long. As a consultant, I used to teach that to Fortune 100 companies and graduate school students.

To give an example, lets say your goal might be to find 100 pieces of gold jewelry in a year.  That defines a specific type of target, gives a quantity and a time frame.  Those are some of the things you might want to include.   That will help you to assess your progress and stay on target.  It will help you remain focused.

Goals can change.  Lets say your goal is to locate and identify the Atocha.  Once you have accomplished that, your goal might become recovering all the treasure of the Atocha.  Or if during the search you discovered another worthy target, you might change your target.

Although it might seem very basic and unnecessary, well defined goals will help anyone who wants to accomplish something difficult.

Poorly considered and poorly defined goals will result in a disorganized search.  Without well designed goals, searches will not be focused and will seldom answer significant questions.

Besides well-defined goals I highly recommend the development of theories that can be tested, but I'll have to talk about that some other time.

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On the Treasure Coast will have around a two foot surf for at least a few days.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

12/31/17 Report - Treasure Hunting, Digging Holes and a Metaphor of Life. Should Be Viral Photo. South Hutchinson Island Beaches. Bigger Surf Coming Soon.

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

Partially Buried Scoop In One Big Hole 

Photo by Eric H.

This is the perfect picture for New Years.  If the world was populated by detectorists like me, the photo would go viral.  As soon as I saw it I had to laugh and showed it to my wife, who also laughed when she saw it.

It isn't that the picture is so funny.  It is just so meaningful.  It is a metaphor for life.

I won't tell the story that goes with the picture yet.  As a detectorist you can probably identify with the big hole at the water's edge.  You get it.  You've been there.

You get a signal.  You check it out.  More beeps.  There is something definitely there.  You start digging.  It is still there.  Dig some more.  Still there.  Dig and dig and dig.  You are almost there and the tide tarts coming in and every time you remove some sand, water comes in and fills the hole again. The object is so close, yet remains just out of reach.

As one year comes to an end, it isn't really an end.  We aren't done yet.  There is more to do.  There are things that we haven't yet accomplished even though we put in a lot of work.  There will be obstacles to overcome but there will also be windows of opportunity. There are treasures that will continue to draw us on and some that will continue to remain just our of reach.

You don't know what lies in the bottom of the hole.  Imagination says it might be some exciting treasure, while discouragement says it might be nothing but junk.  The optimist keeps digging, but the pessimist gives up and says there is nothing good there.

There is a lot in life that we can't see and haven't yet reached, yet we know it is there waiting for us - urging us on.

I've been surprised how religious or spiritual so many detectorists are.  It is no wonder though.  They search for what they do not know and do not see, yet they believe that it is out there.  They can search and work for something and not know what it is.  They can do everything right and still not be successful - until the right time.

Yes, there is much left to do.  There is more to find.  There is more to learn.  The goal has not been reached.   2017 may have been the start of many projects and the finish of some, yet there is much more to do.

May 2018 NOT be a year of bottomless holes and junk targets.  May your efforts be rewarded, and may you find the real treasures of life.

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Fort Pierce South Jetty Beach Yesterday Just Before Noon.

I took a look at the beach yesterday.  Here are some photos that I took at Fort Pierce South Jetty and John Brooks beaches.  There was no new erosion at those beaches.

Fort Pierce South Jetty Beach.

It was foggy still around 11 o'clock when I took the photos.  I had to enhance them a little because the fog made them look blurry.

Fort Pierce South Jetty Yesterday.

The wind was coming from the northwest.  The water had only been to the toe of the cliff.

I did pick up some fossil pieces.

John Brooks Beach Yesterday Just Before Noon.

John Brooks Yesterday.

There was no new erosion at either of these beaches.  I don't know if any of the beaches to the north improved.  Maybe some one can give me a report from up there.

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The surf predictions are encouraging.  As you can see, we are supposed to get a 5  - 8 foot surf next week.  Also some north winds.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com

Have a Happy New Year.

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

12/4/17 Report - Focus, Goals, Feedback Loops and Analysis For Improving Metal Detecting Success. Perspective.

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

Focus, Objectives and Strategies.

I don't think there is anything that improves the chance of success in anything more than a good clear specific statement of the objective.  I used to teach that a lot when I did consulting for fortune 100 companies and government agencies.   It is very obvious that you need to know exactly what you want to accomplish, yet most people don't see the need to develop a good clear specific statement of the objective.  I'm not just talking about having a a general idea of what you would like to happen or what you would like to accomplish.  There is a great benefit in thinking it out completely and being able to specify the goal in very specific terms along with some kind of quantitative measure of success.

It is perfectly OK to just go out and bop around and see what pops up, if that is what you want to do, but if there is something you really want to accomplish then you need to be clear about exactly what that is.  If, for example, you really want to find a Spanish shipwreck coin, then set that as a goal, and make decisions based upon that goal.  If you want to find a big glitzy diamond ring or a lot of glitzy rings, that is an entirely a different matter, and you might want to choose a different type of detector and visit a different set of sites.

If you watch what people do over any length of time, you can often tell that they don't have a very well defined goal.  They don't have focus.  They jump around from one thing to another and seldom make any real progress.  That is what I see on the Oak Island TV show.

One of the things that drives me crazy when I watch that show in particular is the apparent lack of focus, goals and strategy.  They only go far enough in any one direction to come up with new questions.  That might be OK for keeping a TV show going, if that is their primary goal, but it is not the most efficient way to accomplish a serious goal of any type.  At different times they express different goals, and that is one reason the search appears to be such an unfocused hodge podge of unanswered questions and dead ends.  I'm sure the goals of the TV production company adds to the apparent disorganization.  They want to keep the excitement level up. and to do that they encourage wild unwarranted assertions that do little but keep the viewer watching.  It doesn't bother them when someone picks up a find and excitedly exclaims that it is a gold coin even when it is a plated button.

Whatever happened to the shipwreck spike and plank found in the swamp?  Not important?

Exploring the TV side of things for a minute, they have to keep it interesting while the big longer term projects plod along.. They have to find something to get excited about every once in a while.  An endless series of frustrated attempts and questions without answers would be too much for most TV viewers, so the production company has found a savior in metal detecting, which, while not recovering anything near the magnitude of the Holy Grail or treasure chests overflowing with gold, at least it provides something to entertain the viewers, even if it is nothing more than broken toy guns, chunks of iron, spikes without ships, with some old coins and buttons thrown in, all of which is standard detecting fare for any location with history that has not been cleaned out by detector wielding hoards. 

What does all the metal detected surface trash and treasure have to do with the money pit or answering the big questions?  Very little.  Maybe there might be some clue discovered that actually answers an important question, but most of the metal detected finds are little more than momentary diversion to keep viewers entertained while the big finds remain elusive.  It has little to do with what I would suspect is the major objective.

How does that relate to you?  First, if you want to accomplish something, it helps to be very clear about exactly what that you want to accomplish.  Secondly, it helps to have a quantitative measurable way to evaluate your progress.

When I started metal detecting, I wanted to find a lot of coins.  I kept records of each hunt.  I could tell how I was doing and if I was improving.  Then I started keeping track of the value of the coins I found.  That is slightly different than finding a lot of coins.  Later my goal was to find a lot of gold items.  Then high value gold items.  As I improved, I changed my goals.  But it was important to have a way to measure progress.

In these days when AI and robotics are talked about so much, you probably know that the feedback loop is an important element.  You can't make the best adjustments unless you have some way of measuring analyzing performance.  You need to keep on track.  That is the function of the feedback loop.  If you have a very clear objective (or objectives) and some way of measuring progress, you can keep track of how you are doing and continually make improvements.

For example, I look at the number of hits and page views on my blog daily.  That helps me get an idea of what people are interested in and what they like.  The total number of page views is near two million now, and the daily hits are usually somewhere between 500 and 1000.  Of course, I also use other things, such as emails.

It isn't always simple to analyze the data.  Some people love certain posts, but the posts that some people really like are not always the ones that get the most views.  They touch certain individuals powerfully but don't particularly appeal to the mass audience.  There are various reasons for that and I won't get into all of that now.

In summary, I'd encourage you to be real clear about what you want to accomplish, and come up with some measurable way to keep track of your progress.  I know I won't get a lot of people to do that, but if you do, I think you'll be happy with the results.

I don't really think this will be one of my most popular posts, but to me it is probably one of the most important and can help you a lot if you take it to heart.

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I thought I might need to add some perspective.  If my Ole Timer Talk post about Clint's finds back in 1984 and 1991, you might be tempted to conclude that those were the good old days, and now it is all gone.  If that is what you think, what you are missing is the rarity of those times.  Thanksgiving 1984 is known as an exceptional time for treasure hunting on the Treasure Coast.  It doesn't happen all the time.  And did you notice that Clint went from 1984 to 1991.  That is a period of seven years.  When it is hot it is hot, and when it is not it is not.  There are times when the beaches are exceptionally good, and when they are not.  You can't take blowers and remove all of the sand from the beach.  You have to wait, and hopefully you'll be at the right place at the right time.  That is why I put so much attention on the wind, waves and surf.  If you keep up on that, you'll have a better chance of being there at the better times.  You can spend everyday on the beach for a year and not get as much as you would in a week when the conditions turn good.  We've had some better beach conditions a few times this year and finds were made, but it wasn't anything like Thanksgiving of 1984.  2004 was good after Francis and Jeanne.  Some of the other hurricanes since then didn't do nearly as much for metal detecting.

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They've been running the Shooter movie a lot lately.  It is an interesting movie, but I found it more interesting and less far-fetched than when I saw it about a year ago because of the current political environment and what we've learned about the intelligence agencies the past year.

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We're having some nice big tides but the surf is only running around two or three feet.  The winds aren't particularly favorable.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/18/14 Report - Metal Detecting Interests, Holed Pot Shard Mystery Solved & Religious Gold Pendant Find

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

14K Pendant Beach Find.

What peaks your interest?  As I said the other day, different people like different things.  But people change over time too.  What interests you at one point, might not interest you at all a year later.

There is such a wide variety of types of targets that can be found on beaches, and that can help anyone remain interested.  If you get bored with modern jewelry, you can hunt fossils.  No matter what it is, there is always something else you can target.

When you are very much into one kind of item, such as maybe shipwreck items, you might not see how or why others are interested in other things.  But when you get to know more about those other things, you might learn what is interesting about them.

The more knowledge you have of different kinds of items, the easier it is to maintain a high level of interest.

I've never had the problem of being bored.  Yes my interest level rises and drops for certain things, but there is always something that has my interest.

I do tend to get bored with certain types of targets when they become easy and routine, and I often feel that the things that I haven't found as much are more interesting.

When I first started detecting my goals were small.  I counted coins and face value of finds.  My counts got higher and higher and I'd gradually change my expectations and goals.   It wasn't long before the number of coins wasn't really of much interest at all, then I started counting gold rings.  Coins then became primarily of interest as a sign or indicator of what the beach was doing at a given area.

Anytime I could find a hot spot (accumulation of coins that had been on the beach a while) I new there was also a good chance of also finding older jewelry that had also accumulated.

As time goes by I continue to raise my standards.  What was a good day when I started detecting would not be considered a good day today.  And what was a good day after ten years, would not be considered a good day today.   My standards and expectations keep increasing.

I think it is good to keep records and set goals.  It lets you know where you are and gives you a way of judging your performance.  It also pushes you to keep learning and improving.

Another change is that I'm less and less interested in the monetary value of finds.  Now I like things that either have some mystery about them or that have some style or history to them.

The pendant shown today, for example, isn't anything great, but it just seems to me to be more attractive than most, and it isn't a type that I've already found two or three times before.  It isn't hugely interesting to me, but I like it better than some simply because it is attractive to me.  Small, compact, nice square lines, not gaudy.  Just more attractive to me than most.

Another View.

I also like things that I haven't found before or don't know much about, like those pot shards with holes, like I showed yesterday.

The shards are most likely old, but the mystery remained for some time.  I couldn't figure out how it was used or what it came from.

You can see that photo in yesterday's post.

I did learn what it is just today.  William M. said that Native Americans drilled holes in pots that cracked and used ropes to tie them together.

It did look to me like it was a hole for a rope.  William also said he might be able to send photos of some examples.

The identity of that item was a long standing mystery for me, and I'm glad to have it figured out.

Thanks William.

In any case, metal detecting never gets boring if you keep learning, studying and raising your standards.  It might be difficult to get excited by things that have become routine, but there are always new things and new surprises.

One thing to remember is, you wont' continue to learn and improve if you think you already know everything.

On the Treasure Coast today the surf is around two or three feet.   The cool wind is still coming in from the West.  That is expected to not change for a while.

About a week out, they are predicting a higher surf, but as I usually note, the predicted higher surf when it is that far out, often does not happen.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net