Chart Showing Exploration and Recent Finds on the Trail of the Atocha.I just received an email showing this chart produced by Captain Andy Matroci, who is seeking the sterncastle of the Atocha. As I've mentioned in recent months there have been some good finds that could be from the sterncastle where wealthy passengers would have had their private treasures. Three recent finds that indicate they may be on the right track are a gold rosary, a gold bar and a large emerald gold ring. Those artifacts are shown on the chart as labeled yellow circles and fall pretty much in a straight line.
Each circle on the chart represents a hole and some are labeled to indicate what was found in the hole. SC indicates silver coin. You can see where additional artifacts were found.
There are a couple of general things that can be learned from this that applies to beach or almost any type of hunting. One big thing is that records can be helpful.
It is good to know where you have hunted, when, and what was found. Yesterday I talked about hunting hot spots. Hot spots often show up in the same place. Some show up frequently and others less frequently, but most hot spots are replenished from time to time.
I've known some hot spots that tend to show up in the same place during approximately the same time of the year. Of course, when they show up depends upon the waves and weather.
When you do find a hot spot and work it out, you will probably not forget the spot. Check that spot every once in a while, or when conditions would lead you to believe that it is the right time. Remember what the conditions were like when the spot was good - the direction of the wind and the waves are important.
Another thing you can get from the chart is that items form shipwrecks that have been subject to the oceans sifting and sorting, are not distributed randomly. There are forces at work, and they work according to certain principles.
I get the feeling sometimes that some people go out hunting without any real reason for looking one place rather than another. If that is you, ask yourself why you chose the spot you did? I'm not discounting intuition or anything like that, but there are things you can discover and there are reasons to be one place rather than another. Knowing which place to hunt first comes in part from studying what you have done in the past and learning from experience.
It really helps to know the beaches that you hunt. Learn what it is made of, what the different layer are, how it i building or eroding, etc. etc. You can make your hunting much more efficient if you study and get to know the various beaches.
When you are hunting, exercise your mind as well as your body. Observe, question, wonder, and put two and two together.
I consider knew knowledge to be as important as any find. If I learn something on an outing, what I learned can point to many more future finds.
Notice how they analyzed the chart above. The gathered information and are now working on the hypothesis that they are on the trail of the sterncastle and many more finds.
Analyze the finds you make on the beach. Are heavy objects in one location, light objects in another location or layer? That kind of analysis is important and can tell you a lot.
One find as often as not will lead to another, especially when you are talking about old items in the wet sand areas.
When you find a singe item, check to see if it is a part of a distribution pattern. Is it a part of a cluster, line or hole. I've talked about those kinds of things before. Don't just assume it is a random find, and then fail to see if it is a part of a larger pattern.
Treasure Coast Beach Forecast and Conditions.
No change in conditions yet. Wind is still from the west and seas calm
There is a change coming though. Not a particularly significant change, but something that could refresh a few spots again.
This coming weekend the seas will be increasing to two feet or so and then maybe a little more next week.
There isn't much going on in the tropics now. Just a tropical wave down by Mexico. There is very little chance that it will deveop.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
