3/5/14 Report - Helpful Gear for Detecting in the Water, 435 Year-old Shilling Find Could Rewrite History & Camera Found After Six Years and Thousands of Miles

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



Surfacing With Gold Chain.

I've been focusing on beach hunting and beach dynamics a lot lately but decided to switch it up for today. 

I generally like to be as free as possible.  That means not too much equipment or specialized gear.  I want to be flexible and able to walk into the water or up onto land without changing equipment or anything.  I therefore often use just the basic equipment that will work well both in the water and on land and nothing extra.

Sometimes though, if you go out knowing that you want to be in the water you might find some of the gear you see in this picture helpful.

The wetsuit can help maintain body temperature on cold days.  It can also help protect your skin from pests such as Portuguese Man-O-War or sea lice.  Also, of course, it protects your skin from the sun.

I found the Man-O-War to be a more common problem in South Florida than on the Treasure Coast even though they do show up on the Treasure Coast from time to time.

The snorkel and mask can be helpful at times.  One of the advantages is that it can help you see the bottom better.  That can help you see items and better see the bottom conditions and treasure traps, including things such as dips or pot holes.

One of the things I don't like about wearing a mask is that I feel less aware of my surroundings, both visually and aurally.   I also don't like carrying it around if I decide to exit the water or go into very shallow water. 

A weight belt can help even if you don't wear weights because you can strap equipment such as pouch or snorkel mask to the weight belt when you are not using it.

One advantage of snorkeling is that unlike the optometrist that fell into the lens grinder and made a spectacle of himself, you can work near crowds without drawing as much attention to yourself.  Most people won't see what you are doing and won't ask as many questions while your head is in the water.  On the other hand, it might be more difficult to keep an eye on them.

I might or might not choose to use a scoop when snorkeling, depending upon the situation.  When not using a scoop, I'll either hand or foot-fan.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both wading and snorkeling.  I like to be flexible enough to change quickly on the fly.

Here is an article that starts out very much like many others talking about an important discovery made by an amateur treasure hunter.  It says, An amateur treasure hunter with a hand-held metal detector has turned Canadian history on its head after finding a 16th-century shilling buried in clay on the shores of Vancouver Island.  Thank God for amateur treasure hunters.

                       
The article continues, The 435-year-old coin discovered in western-most Canada has rekindled a theory that a British explorer made a secret voyage here two centuries before it was discovered by Spanish sailors.  Official historical records show the Spanish were the first Europeans to set foot in what is now Canada’s British Columbia province in 1774, followed four years later by British Royal Navy Captain James Cook.

 Retired security systems installer Bruce Campbell found the coin in mid-December, along with a rare 1891 Canadian nickel, a 1960s dime and penny from 1900.

That is a big range of dates. 

“I was getting fat and tired of watching TV,” he said about what got him into his hobby, surrounded in his Victoria, British Columbia, home by a trove of adventure novels and a few dug up treasures.

Here is the link for more of that story.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/03/04/amateur-treasure-hunters-shilling-discovery-could-rewrite-canadian-history/

A water proof camera lost near Hawaii was found near Taiwan more than six years later and the owner was found from the pictures that were still on the memory card.   Sounds like a commercial doesn't it.   Six years and thousand of miles later...

Here is the link.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/2013/03/26/camera-lost-in-ocean-reunited-with-owner


The weather patterns that have caused storms up north and across the Atlantic have been leaving us with frequent south winds and calm seas this winter.  I'm really tired of that.  I'd like to see a little change on the Treasure Coast.  At least November was good.  Since then, very little.


More on the ten million dollar gold coin cache having been stolen.

http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2014/03/04/10-million-in-gold-coins-found-by-northern-california-couple-may-have-been-stolen/



There is a possibility of a five-foot surf this coming weekend.


Don't forget the TCAS club hunt coming up this weekend.  For more details see the banner posted back a few posts.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net