100 Oz. Gold Nugget.A 100 oz. gold nugget was found with a metal detector and will be auctioned. The expected price is over $130,000.
Here is the video.
http://www.usatoday.com/video/index.htm?bctid=757543100001&csp=taboola#/Giant%20gold%20nugget%20last%20of%20its%20kind/757543100001
Nothing much prettier than a big raw gold nugget.
The Atocha, Santa margarita, and the Rosario are three of the eight Spanish ships lost during the hurricane of 1622. The other five still guard their treasures.
Before long the "Dare," which has been testing out new survey equipment in the calmer waters down south, will be ready to begin the search of for deep water wreck code-named "Lost Merchant." The Mel Fisher organization says, "Key West weather is not a good indicator of weather in north Florida, so we need to wait a little longer for a good weather window." After studying historical data they figure the weather should calm down enough in North Florida to begin the search for the Lost Merchant in March.
Treasure Hunting in the ocean and on the beaches is heavily dependent upon the prevailing conditions. I pointed out in a recent post that keeping records can be helpful. Here is one example.
I've also mentioned that for hunting treasure coins on the Treasure Coast beaches, my best months have been November through February, with October, March and April being not quite as good. Typically the summer months are poor unless there is a hurricane or prolonged northeaster. That is different from deep water salvage work, where you want calm seas.
I've found that the best beach and shallow water hunting is during periods of rough seas when the sand is being moved around. Of course, shallow water hunting can be difficult during rough seas, but it can also be productive when you can do it.
Site of original lighthouse on Sapelo Island has been found.
Here is the link to that story.
http://www.gpb.org/news/2011/02/09/lighthouse-home-discovered-on-sapelo-island
A sperm whale sank a whaling ship commanded by George Pollard. That was the inspiration for the novel Moby-Dick.
Pollard commanded another whaler after the whale attack, and that ship was lost on a coral reef during a storm.
Marine archaeologists have found the second vessel which sank in 1823.
Here is the link to that story.
http://www.telegram.com/article/20110211/NEWS/102110474/-1/NEWS06
They've found a nice lot of artifacts from that ship.
Forecast and Conditions.
I went out to take a look at the beaches this morning. The air was nice and cool, but I didn't find any beaches that looked much good. Most were building. Sand was piling up everywhere.
One spot did have some scalloping and very small cuts. Nothing to get excited about.
The winter conditions have been generally poor for finding shipwreck cobs on the Treasure Coast and remain so. It has been an unusually poor year. Maybe the summer will be unusually good. March and April last year turned up some 1715 Fleet cobs on the Treasure Coast beaches.
I'd like to find some space big debris. Boy do I have a picture to show you. Sometime I'll get around to it.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
