3/22/2020 Report - Beach Dynamics and Beach-Specific Knowledge. Many Beaches Closed.

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

Source: madkeen.com  (See specific link below.)

There are at least two distinct types of beach knowledge.  One is the general ability to read beaches, and the other is knowledge about the unique characteristics of specific beaches.

These days it seems almost everybody talks about "reading a beach."  My first posts on that topic were done back in 2008, although I was reading beaches long before that. 

People have been reading beaches for a long time - well before most of the current generation of detectorists was doing it.  It didn't take treasure hunters long to notice that blackened coins showed up on the beaches after storms.

One thing that is very different today is that a lot more gets published.  You can watch YouTube videos and read blogs and forums.  Those didn't exist back thirty or forty years ago.  Back then detectorists were generally much less talkative.  Some went to great lengths to remain invisible.  Some of the best detectorists hunted at night so they wouldn't be observed.  They weren't about to give anyone else their secrets.  Of course there were always a few who liked to talk, but most remained very tight lipped.  Now people come along, observe what others have been doing, read what others have to say, put it in a book, slap a picture of their face on the cover along with some finds and sell it as their own.

I remember once getting a call from somebody who wanted me to sell me some type of oil investment.  I thought if it was as good as he says, why is he on the phone trying to sell it to me.  According to him, a small investment would quickly become a fortune, so why didn't he just do that.  I feel similarly about people who are trying to sell books filled with information they got from somebody else without giving any credit.  There are all kinds of people in the world.

One thing you must do if you conduct any kind of serious academic or scientific research is give credit to the various sources that you use.   In a research report, you would include a review of the literature.  That includes everything relevant that has been published up to the point of your investigation. The literature review gives a history of the state of knowledge on the subject and gives credit to the people who contributed that knowledge.

If you've been watching the daily Coronavirus task force you'll notice that Dr. Fauci has a very conservative approach that demands good hard research and data.  You'd expect that from a person in his position.  He would naturally have a different attitude and perspective than somebody working alone with people in poor remote regions of the world that have to do what they can with what they have to solve immediate problems.  The press doesn't seem to understand that or much of anything else.

But back to reading beaches - detectorists are not the only people who do it these days.  I just ran across a fishing blog that talks about reading beaches.  It seems that many fishing sites talk about it.

Here is the link to the one I bumped into.

https://blog.madkeen.com.au/how-to-read-a-beach/

I didn't actually read much of it but saw some good illustrations on one post.  At the top of this post is one of those.

To me that seems more like reading the water than reading the beach, but that isn't important, and it is still food information for both shallow water hunters as well as land hunters.  The tides will go out.

You'd think the gutter is a good place to hunt, and it can be, but sometimes it is too shallow and is filled with loose sand and shells.  Even then it can be a good spot to find some types of objects - watches for example.

I still remember the first time I got caught in a rip tide.  At that time I knew nothing about rip tides. I just felt myself getting pulled out.  That was between Hollywood beach and Dania beach.  It was a little scary.

It is helpful to know how the sand is moving.  One thing I used to say a lot is "Follow the sand, but don't catch it."  When the sand moves it ends up in one location, but has left another.  Generally you want to be where the sand was - not where it is.

A sand bar can be moving in or out.  If people have been playing on it, there can be good items on the sand bar.  If the bar is moving towards the shore, things that were dropped earlier can be uncovered.   That is something that applies more often but not exclusively to hunting modern jewelry.

Gutters can be good, but they aren't always good places to hunt.  It depends upon how deeply they are scoured.  You can usually tell in just a second or two.  If the gutter is filled with coarse pieces of shells, it probably isn't very good.  There are a few types of items, however, that will often be found in shallow gutters,  That includes watches.

Rip tides and gutters can create fantastic hunting.   If the loose cover gets cleaned out down to bedrock, it can be a real bonanza until it fills in again.

One mistake I made on more than one occasion is not staying to clean an area like that out before it refilled.  Sometimes those types of spots can last for days, but they can quickly disappear.

What I started out to talk about was the difference between the general skill of reading a beach, and beach-specific knowledge.  If you know the general principles, you can walk onto any beach and use those skills, but it also helps to have a good knowledge of specific beaches.

If you hunt a particular beach enough, you will learn its unique habits.  You will learn where things tend to show up, and under what conditions.  If you hunt a particular beach enough, you will know where the good spots are.  Very seldom will somebody give you that kind of information.  And it takes a while to acquire.

Beaches will change over time though.  I've known some spots that were good for years or even decades, but they eventually changed.

To sum up my main point today, there is a general knowledge beach dynamics that you can apply to any beach, but there is also beach-specific knowledge, which is best acquired by working that beach for months and years.  If you have a good beach and are lucky enough to be able to hunt it enough so that you know it inside and out, you will have a huge advantage over anybody who does  not know it as well.

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Many of the Florida beaches are now closed.  Indian River and Vero beaches will be closed Sunday.  So will the Hobe Sound beaches.

St. Lucie County beaches, I understand, at this point will remain open.  One local official thought it would provide a good outdoor outlet for people, but the situation will be monitored and the decision could be changed.  Safe outdoor activities can provide relief from stress that might otherwise cause some people to go stir-crazy and do something less safe.

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Both Mitch King and Joe D. identified the silver item that looked something like an small but unclosed ring as a girls toe ring.  That seems conclusive.

Thanks guys.

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Don't let the beach closures stop you.  There are still places to hunt.  It might be a good time to try some new types of areas.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

3/6/19 Report - Dangers and Precautions for Metal Detecting in Flordia. Increasing Surf Today.

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

I woke up this morning thinking of the dangers that you might encounter while  metal detecting in Florida.  The list grew as I thought about it.  While some are truly life-threatening, others are only inconveniences or minor irritations. You can minimize these problems if you are aware of them and take some precautions.  Even though it is a long list, either by dumb luck or the protective hand of God, I've personally had very little serious trouble.  Still, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

One of the most dangerous things you'll encounter is rough water.  When the surf is big, like after a storm, there will be all kinds of debris floating around, including lumber and trees.  It can easily catch you off guard and knock you into the surf.  That can be real dangerous.  I knew of one lady that lost her metal detector to the rough surf.  It could be worse.

Probably one of the most dangerous things that I used to do is work the area in front of a big eroding cliff while a big surf was banging away at it.  The water will hit you when it is coming in, but worse yet, it will then bounce off the cliff and hit you from the other direction..  I used to detect in water like that up to my waist, which isn't easy.  That could have easily turned into a bad accident.  You have to resist the water one way, and the get yourself set to stand against it coming the other way.  Sometimes you get it from both directions.  There was also the falling sand to watch out for.  Not a good idea.

Everybody in Florida knows about lightning.  There are more lightning deaths in Florida than any other state.

I only knew one fellow who had been struck by lightning.  He got struck twice and while it didn't kill him, he suffered from it all his life.

He wasn't from Florida.  I met him when I was doing consulting for Federal Express in Memphis.  He worked at the airport and was struck on the tarmac.

Accidents are always a possibility.  I recommend some type of foot protection.  I used to always go barefoot and while working in shallow water once had my foot cut by glass and another time got a fishing lure stuck in my foot.  I was doing what I call foot fanning when I got the hook in my foot.  If you do any foot fanning, footwear is highly recommended.

Depending upon what you are doing, you might also want to wear protective gloves.  If you are recovering items that are covered with barnacles, wear gloves.  Picking up and throwing a barnacle-covered bottle WILL cut your hands.  That is just one example.

Another time I got a bad ankle sprain.  I was working in the shallow water where a lot of larger round coral rocks had accumulated.  I'm sure you imagine how walking on that could end up causing an ankle sprain.

If you are from Iowa or someplace you might not know about rip tides.  The first time I wandered into one, I didn't realize what was happening.  If you don't know about rip tides and aren't a good swimmer they can be dangerous.

The Florida sun is a real danger too, especially for those with light skin.  I know some detectorists who have had very serious problems with skin cancer.  So protect your skin as well as your feet.

Florida, like every other place that has people, has crime. In the Miami area my car was broken into a few times.  I have not had that problem in at least twenty years on the Treasure Coast.  It does happen though.  Cars at the beach accesses and other locations are occasionally broken into. I've seen the broken glass and talked to police about such events.  Worse yet, I once read of an armed robbery taking place at Pepper Park.  You should be vigilant and take precautions.  Working with a buddy is never a bad idea.

Florida also has its share of animals that can be a danger.  Perhaps the most obvious is sharks, which inhabit the ocean and lagoon.

I once nearly stepped on an alligator.  It was buried in muck, and I was just walking along.  That was a surprise.

Years ago I used to detect alone in the ocean at night.  I would not not do that today.  It just seems like a very stupid idea to me now.

In my younger years I was detecting in the ocean at night when I was bumped by something large.  That was exciting!

Barracuda  have sharp teeth and can be attracted by shiny objects.  One large barracuda was always hanging out at one of my favorite water detecting spots.  It seemed like he would watch me for hours.  He never attacked, but after a while he would get on my nerves.  

Sting rays can also put a barb in your foot.   I've walked around a lot of those and stepped on some in my bare feet yet managed to escape unharmed.  I guess I've exceeded what anyone has any right to expect from dumb luck.   See http://www.beachhunter.net/thingstoknow/stingrays/index.htm. 

Jelly fish can also be a problem.  Snow birds often do not realize that those blue Portuguese Man-O-War that you see washed up on the beaches can sting. One time I got the tentacles of a large one wrapped around my bare leg while I was water detecting.  It was pretty painful.

You have to be careful on land too.  When I was new to Florida and before I knew anything about fire ants, I dug into a mound while trying to retrieve a target.  I quickly learned about fire ants.  It seems I've had so many fire ant bites that I've developed some degree of immunity to fire ant venom.

Of course there are the more dangerous venomous animals in Florida than that.  We have rattle snakes and coral snakes.  In some parts of Florida you also have cotton mouths and others.

An aggressive cotton mouth once chased me out of a swimming hole in North Florida.

Not too long ago I wrote about one detectorist who survived a life-threatening rattle snake bite.

There are plenty of animals in Florida that can do harm.  We also have some dangerous spiders, such as the Brown  Recuse and Black Widow.  Watch for them especially in sheds with old storage boxes and places like that.  Gloves and boots are advisable.

I've seen a few scorpions in the Fort pierce area.  Florida Scorpions aren't life threatening, but they can sting.  They also like cardboard, paper and rotting logs.  I've also seen what I think is called a bullwhip scorpion.  In fact I've seen those about four times.  They aren't dangerous but will spray you with an unpleasant acid.

I wouldn't call it a danger because it is so rare, but I once saw a large Florida Panther crossing A1A the road between Wabasso and Ambersands near dawn one morning about twenty years ago.  That was an amazingly beautiful animal that was moving at a high rate of speed without seemingly any effort.  I also saw a small panther near the Savannahs once.

This isn't the type of thing I most enjoy writing about, but that is what I thought about this morning, and it might actually do somebody some good.  Some of these things can be life-threatening while others are just annoyances.  In either case, you might be able to avoid them by simply being aware and taking precautions.

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The wind is coming from the northeast today.  The tides are getting a little bigger and the surf is supposed to increase up to about three feet.

I'd like to get a chance to check out the beach today, but might not be able to.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

5/31/11 Report - Res-Q-Lite & Rip Tides

Res-Q-Light Found on Treasure Coast.

I've been trying to get answers to a couple of remaining questions about this item for some time.

There is a lot of detail on the canister, but not a date. The canister appears to be copper and reads, THE WATER LIGHT, TRADE MARK RES-Q-LITE, MARINE TORCH Co., BALTIMORE, MD., THE DEVICE MEETS IN EVERY WAY THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISING INSPECTORS.

I think you can see the picture on the canister also, which seems to show the device handing on a hip's railing and attached to a life preserver. It looks to me like it would float in the water and provide a light. From the picture it also looks like a wick or light or something stuck out of the top and that is probably where it was lighted.

Does anyone know any more about this, maybe a date or type of vessel that used it?


I got a note from one person that was down in South Florida and took his detector but was so turned off by the big crowds and craziness that he didn't even turn his detector on. If you haven't been down there it is a different scene from the Treasure Coast. Very different. As I've said that is where I lived when I began detecting and that is where I spent a lot of time detecting.

You can detect before the crowds get there or after they leave. I would never recommend detecting on busy beaches at the most busy times.

There are also some quieter spots, but they won't be obvious to the person that is not familiar with the area without doing some research.


Another person wrote to me about rip currents not too long ago. Conditions on the Treasure Coast are now favorable for rip current development. The sand bars that are now in front of the beach will be breached or broken and the water will rush out of any spots like that. That can turn into a heavy stream that will grow larger and stronger, making it difficult to go against if you happen to wander into it. It will tend to pull you out to sea.

Here is one web site that tells you what you need to know about rip currents.

http://www.loving-long-island.com/rip-currents.html

I remember the first time I wandered into one. I didn't know anything about them before that.

For any of you that want to try detecting in the water, play it safe. If you aren't accustomed to the water and aren't a strong swimmer, stay in shallow water that you an handle.

That article would be a good one for any detectorist to read. There are some good clues in there. So much about beach detecting is about the how water moves the sand and other materials.


Odyssey Marine stock closed at a new 52 week high on Friday and opened up another 20 cents a share out of the block this morning. Somebody has some high hopes for this company.


Treasure Coast Beach Forecast and Conditions.


Walton Rocks Yesterday Morning Before Low Tide.

The beaches are still sandy with a lot of sea weed. Conditions haven't improved and the chances of finding a cob are still poor.

The wind is still from the east. Seas will remain pretty much the same, around 4 to 5 feet, until next weekend when they will start to decrease again.

If you are out there walking the beach, look at the sand bar and see if you can see where any rip currents are developing.


Green Turtle Beach Yesterday Before Low Tide.

This photo was taken an hour or two closer to low tide than the previous photo.

Still doesn't look any good.

It might be a good time to look for what the beach goers left on the beaches during the long weekend.

When the water starts to calm down next weekend, that would be a good time to get out to check the low tide areas. I would expect to find a few more spikes or other artifacts.



Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net