9/9/18 Report - Safe Uncovered. Now Three Named Storms That Could Become Hurricanes Moving East.

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

Source: See CBC link below.

An old iron safe discovered by construction workers digging up part of downtown Dawson City, Yukon, is generating a lot of curiosity.

"Everybody wants to know what's inside, but we checked with YG [Yukon Government] heritage resources and the local museum and neither of those people seem to be interested in it," said Mark Dauphinee, superintendent of public works in Dawson City....
Here is the link for the rest of the story.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/yukon-dawson-city-safe-discovered-1.4777964

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For us the Treasure Coast the big story is that we have three named storms now.  You can see that it looks like a parade of storms coming off of Africa now.

Three Named Storms.
Source: nhc.noaa.gov.

Besides Florence, there is now Isaac and Helene.  I said a couple days ago that North Carolina could get hit by Florence.  Now that is what the TV news is saying.  Worse yet, if the Ventusky.com projections are correct, Florence will slow down and hang near the Coast of North and South Carolina for quite a while.  Of course there could be changes to any of that.

Florence.
Source: nhc.noaa.gov

According to the above cone, there is a good chance North Carolina will get the strong north side of the storm.

But the one I'm thinking could hit near us is Isaac.  We got the I storm last year - Irma.  That one caused a lot of problems.

Isaac.
Source: nhc.noaa.gov

It is too early to say with any kind of certainty where Isaac might go, but the NHC has it going across the windward islands as a hurricane.  The storms normally turn north at some point.  If it turns early, it could hit the East Coast of the U.S., or if it turns later, it could go into the Gulf.  Still too early to tell.

Helene.
Source: nhc.noaa.gov

It looks like Helene will go out into the Atlantic and not be much problem to the U. S.

So what does all that mean to us this week?

Surf Predictions.
Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

It still looks like we'll get a day or two of big surf.  Those other days of three foot and more surf could help too, depending upon how they hit.

Bottom line is that you need to be ready for the possibility of improved beach detecting conditions some time in the next week or two.  Get your batteries charged and your equipment in good order.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/2/18 Report - Meteorite or Meteor Wrong? Meteorite Worth $30,000. Very Good Chance of Beach Detecting Conditions Improving.

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

Treasure normally doesn't just fall out of the sky and hit you on the head. although I guess it theoretically could.  Every once in a while I get a question about meteorites.  I might have dug one up at some time, but if I did, I didn't know it. 

Florida isn't a great place for finding meteorites and I know nothing about them, but there is a fellow that hunts meteorites and gold nuggets on a regular basis, and he also visits the Treasure Coast to detect, so I was able to ask him when I recently got a question about a possible meteorite being found on a Florida beach.

First, here is the question and a couple photos of the unidentified item that I received from Joe D.


Hi, my name is Joe from Merritt Island.  Your website I great.  I look at it every day  I purchased a metal detector about a year ago.  I haven't found anything worth a lot of money but I really enjoy the time on the beach.  Last week I was north of Sebastian when I came across what I thought was a rock.  My detector was going off on it so I took it home.  I figured it was a EO so I broke it apart where there was       a crack.  There was nothing inside.  A couple of days later I started thinking it may be a meteorite  Has anyone seen something like this?  Thank you.

3.5 by 2.5 Inch Unidentified Object.

Find and photo by Joe D.

Same Object Opened.

The fellow I asked about the item is a super guy who uses the handle SuperRick.  I posted some of his finds before, including a meteorite that I showed in my 5/31/17 post.

Below is SuperRick's response concerning the above object.

It's hard to tell from the photo but I would say no. There is only one type of meteorite that looks like charcoal and that is a  carbonaceous chondrite! Those meteorites are extremely rare!
I went to Sutter Mills when that meteorite came in and have a very small piece of it.

Here is a photo of the one that I missed because someone was cutting the grass in a park that we stopped to hunt! That part of the meteorite was found by a school teacher that sold it for over $30,000.00 Here is a photo of it.

https://s17.postimg.org/btbg5yfsv/IMG_20120426_162854.jpg

I hope that this helps you out.  I would throw it away without sending a small sample to a university if you can find one that will look at it because when you say that you found it on the beach it's going to throw up a red flag!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutter%27s_Mill_meteorite

Thanks for the help Rick.  I'm sure it helped the person that asked the question  It also helped me, and I'm sure it helped many of the readers of my blog.  It is always good to know something about different types of treasures

Thanks much for your help.  I'm glad I have so many readers who are experienced and informed in a wide variety of types of treasure and are willing to help others.

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Continuing with my list of top ten most popular posts from 2017, number three on the list is the 4/27 post about the Cooper's Treasure TV show and the salvage lease process in the Bahamas.

You might remember the controversy caused by the TV show.  I don't know what happened to it.  They seemed to drop it.

The link for that post is immediately below.

http://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2017/04/42717-report-more-on-coopers-treasure.html

The top two posts of the year actually made it into the top ten all time list.  That is especially surprising because they were posted late in the year.  In fact the number two post of the year was posted in December, less than a month ago.  It was the post about the find and return of the 1937 class ring of Fairleigh Dickinson Jr. that was recovered on a North Florida beach by Chris N.  The same post also showed a silver reale found on a Treasure Coast beach.

Below is that link.

http://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2017/12/12617-report-ring-of-well-known-person.html

And finally, the # 1 post of the year, the 9/10 post about how the best conditions are not always caused by the strongest storms.  I talked about Irma and Jose.  The title of that post was For Metal Detecting You May Have Missed the Big Deal. More To Come.

Here is the link.

http://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/search?q=missed+the+big+deal

I didn't think it would take so long to do the top ten.

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There is a lot going right.  The tides are big;  the surf is going to be something like 6 - 10 feet Tuesday; the wind turned Monday evening and should continue from the north through Tuesday.  That all goes together to suggest a very strong chance of improved beach hunting conditions 

Here are the surf predictions.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

Hopefully I'll get a chance to check some beaches tomorrow, so I can show you what is happening.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

12/9/17 Report - Hoard Uncovered by Roadwork. Finds: Tools of Sailing Ships and Sail Making. Jacksonville Area Conditions.

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

Hoard Uncovered by Road Project.
Source: See RT.com link below.

A Swedish farmer has been awarded thousands of dollars after roadworks on his land uncovered a Viking treasure trove that included hundreds of silver coins.

Here is the link for more about that.

https://www.rt.com/news/412305-viking-treasure-coins-sweden/

Thanks to Norbert B. for submitting this link.

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Chris N. said, Here is the rather large needle either Upholstery or a Sail Needle, it was rolling in the surf whence I found it. 

Broken eyelet curved needle point, some corrosion, especially on needle point end. I cleaned up best I could with out destroying item.  

Below are three pictures Chris sent of that needle.

 Found Needle

Pointed End of Same Needle.

Other End of the Needle.

I don't know much about sail making tools, neither new or centuries old, but because of recent posts I've been doing some research and learning a little.  

I found the following on a site having to do with sail making.  The author used the name Savage24.

A sail needle has a 3 sided point, like a leather needle, except the edges are rounded off.
They slip between the fibers of canvas or heavy sail cloth without tearing the fibers...
A properly tempered sail needle will last for years I have some that I have been using for 10-12 years. 
They will cost you a couple of dollars each for the larger sizes, but you get what you pay for.
I would recommend from size 12 - 14 for general use. That's about a 3 to 3 1/2 inch needle that will take the inner strands of 550 cord.
As a sailmaker I use them for sewing sails and sailor stuff, they also make a dandy vent pick for your flintlock. 

Savage24 is talking about needles that you can get today, so they might be a bit different than those used centuries ago.

Another source said,

Sail needles are used for canvas repair work by hand sewing, it is generally much thicker as compared to normal machine needles to provide a comfortable finger grip. The body of the needle is triangular in shape with a sharp triangular point for sewing onto the fabric using minimal force. The eye of the sail needle is also ...
While sails were made on land, I would expect tools for maintenance and repairs to be carried on a ship or brought in after a wreck for various uses.

Here is a good list of sail making tools from the boat-building.org web site (See link below.).

The additional hand tools used by a sailmaker are:

• Sail needle: a strong needle with a sharp triangular point.
• Sailmaker’s thread: strong thread for sewing up the sails, leech ropes and grommets.
• Sailmaker’s palm: a strip of leather with a metal pad with an indentation that is used to force the needle through the sailcloth. The strip is strapped around the palm of the hand.
• Awl, to create a hole in heavy sailcloth or multiple layers of sailcloth before inserting the needle.
• Pliers, for pulling through a needle inserted into heavy sailcloth or multiple layers of sailcloth.
• Seam-rubber: a wooden handle with a strong 'scraper', made from strong lignum vitae (tropical type of wood) for creasing down seams in the edges of the sailcloth.
• Fid: a cone-shaped piece of lignum vitae for splicing rope or opening up holes in the sailcloth. The fid is inserted between the strands of a rope in order to create space through which another piece of rope can be inserted. The fid can also be inserted into a hole in the sailcloth and will open it up wider, so that the hole becomes larger.
• Marlinspike (also known as a marlingspike): a wooden handle with a piece of metal that tapers to a point in the form of an awl and which has a hollow in it and which is intended for splicing stranded rope. The marlinspike is inserted between the strands of rope, a strand is inserted through the hollow section of the marlinspike and is thus fed through the gap in the rope.
• Hollow punch: a metal pin with a round hole at one end with a sharp edge and a flat face on the opposite end so that it can be hit with a hammer. Hollow punches are available in various sizes and diameters to make small and larger holes.

It appears that one of the diagnostic features of a sail making needle would be a triangular point.  I can not usually see that in pictures of either new or found needles.

Although I've learned a little, I'm not yet able to say if the needle in question today is a sail making needle or an upholstery needle or how old it might be.  Perhaps somebody more familiar with those types of items can say.  If so, please let me know.  Perhaps the above information will help some one identify the item.

Here is the link I mentioned above.

http://www.boat-building.org/learn-skills/index.php/en/wood/sail-making/

---

Chris N. also sent a beach report from up around the Jacksonville area.  Here it is.

Went out a little bit today,, not very much.. Very sanded in.. this storm is bringing the sand up and covering were all the good material is, except down by the very low water tide line.  I did not stick around to wait.. really early out in the surf in and around Jacksonville. I bet although Anastasia Island and further south conditions may be better...

Bad weather still on the move unfortunate for folks who live in homes by the ocean... Major construction all over Northern Coast from Irma.. there finally establishing Sea Walls for folks who pay for it..

Note* When I find a lot of fossilized bones, larger sharks teeth etc Items I usually get good hits on my detector... "Just a thought".. 

On the Treasure Coast there is lot of thunder, wind and rain this morning.  It looks like we'll just have a two foot surf for a couple weeks on the Treasure Coast.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/5/17 Report - What Was Found During September 2017. Beach Conditions. Another Hurricane.

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

Little Erosion to Back Dunes As Seen Yesterday Afternoon.

 The water has been getting pretty high on the beaches.  Note the new erosion to the base of the dunes.  Also notice that this is renourishment sand with planted sea oats.  There were a few spots where the newly exposed sand was not the newest, but also not real old.  That older sand was also dumped there, but contained some old objects, unlike the most recent layer of renourishment sand.

John Brooks Beach Yesterday Afternoon

Waves Hitting Beach Yesterday Afternoon.

Notice the flat area in front of the beach.  The sand bar seems to go out maybe twenty yards.  That is protecting the beach to some extent and also covering anything is the shallow water.

The slope was mushy, especially in the middle.

The water was hitting the beach straight on instead of a slicing angle.  That is one thing we've been missing since Irma hit us.

I used to always say it take more than a big surf.  I don't think I really have to say that anymore.  I think it has become common knowledge.

---

Thursday Surf, Swells and Wind for the Fort Pierce Area.
Source: MagicSeaWeed.com

Notice that the surf starts to decrease a little today.  It will continue decreasing for a couple of days.

Another Hurricane.
Source: nhc.noaa.gov

Can you believe it?  Another hurricane.  It looks like it is headed towards the Mobile/Tallahassee area.  Being to the right side of the storm, the wind direction probably won't be much good for beach erosion on the Treasure Coast.

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Well, the most recent blog poll has just concluded.

Poll Results.
Source: TreasureBeachesReport.blogspot.com

This has been an unusual period of time with three hurricanes affecting us to some extent or another during the month of September.  All three send us a good high surf, yet none of them really ripped the beaches.  There was some moving of sand, but it was not the kind of movement that leaves big cuts and the back dunes weren't hit hard despite all the high surf.  I believe that was due two to factors: first the large amount of renourishment sand in front of and on the beaches, and secondly, the poor angle of the swells.  Most of the waves were hitting from the east.  We didn't get those nice slicing northeast winds and waves.

Anyhow, there were some things found.  Some of the beaches reminded me a bit of Sandy, which produced some beach cobs - more than these hurricanes produced.

The total number of votes was 71 and the total number of respondents was 63.  (People were allowed to select more than one response.)  That is a good sample size.  Thanks to all who responded and helped us all learn a little something.

Only three of the 63 respondents reported finding treasure coins.  That was a lot of storm and surf compared to the number of finds.

I should have specified "beach" finds, but I suppose most finds reported were from the beach.  There were a couple other refinements I should have made to the poll, but didn't think to do it at the beginning.

So what we see is that a few treasure coins were found.  Not many though.  It wasn't anything deserving more than a 2 rating on my 5-point Treasure Coast Treasure Beach Detecting Conditions Scale.  I didn't issue many numerical ratings due to the fact that I wasn't able to get out to observe the beaches enough to issue precise numerical ratings.  Hopefully moving forward, I'll be able to get back to doing that more.

I didn't get any pictures of the precious metal find - coin or artifacts.  Somebody said they were hoping to see pictures of those.  I know that one person who reported finding a precious metal treasure coin also reported finding a precious metal artifact.

I did get a lot of pictures, which I posted, of many of the other metallic finds, including the many musket ball and lead finds.  I'm sure you saw those.  I commented on those in previous posts.

I also posted pictures of some wood finds.  I suppose there were also some shards found, but I didn't get any pictures of those to post.

There were ten reported finds of silver U. S. coins.  As you might suspect, and as is supported by the poll results, they will often surface first.

Almost half of the reported responses (not finds) were some kind of shipwreck related find.  So even though conditions evidently weren't great for finding cobs, they weren't bad for coming up with some kind of shipwreck related find.

21 of the 63 respondents found some sort of shipwreck related find.  That isn't bad.

As usual, if you found one shipwreck related item, the chances are that you found more than one.  Previous polls have verified that.  If you find one cob, you have a very good chance of finding more than one  I know that at least one respondent reported finding both a precious metal coin and a precious metal artifact.

I previously posted pictures of many of the lead finds and some of the wood finds, I'd be pleased to post pictures of some of the other finds if you would send them.

Overall, I'm sure everybody was disappointed with the relatively small amount of treasure relative to the number and size of the storms.  Perhaps there were more finds in other parts of the state that experienced more beach erosion.

It sure was better than the hunting we had on the beaches all summer.  The storms did us some good.  And it isn't over yet.

I'm encouraged by the result.  I think the results generally supported my observations, even though there were many times when it seemed things might turn out better than they did.  We got the surf, but not the angles.  And there was all of that renourishment sand still out there protecting the dunes and front beach.  Still a good number of interesting things were found.

I'm sure a few more will be found this month.

---

More polls to come.

Also I'll be talking about detecting in renourishment sand.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/28/17 Report - Lost Gold Wedding Band. USGS Coastal Change Hazards Portal. More Rough Surf.

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

Wabasso Beach Historical Shoreline Changes.
Source: https://marine.usgs.gov/coastalchangehazardsportal/

The USGS has an interesting web site that shows historical shoreline changes, including Florida. The snipping I posted above shows the Wabasso area.  If you look at the key and then the map, you'll see that back in the later 1900s the shoreline was farther out than it is today, but also farther out than it was in the mid-1800s.  It hasn't progressed continually in one direction or another, but has come and gone to some extent at various times because of both natural causes and beach renourishment.

Historical Shoreline Changes Around Fort Pierce Inlet
Same source.

There are a lot of interesting things you can find on the coastal hazards portal.  I didn't zoom in so much for the above image, but you can see that north of the inlet the shoreline is now farther out in the 2000s than it was in the mid-1800s, and south of the inlet, the shoreline is farther back in recent years than it was in the mid-1800s.  That is natural. You typically get accretion north of east coast the inlets and erosion south of the inlets because the supply of sand is cut off and that starves the beaches to the south.

If you look at the coast towards the top of the map, you'll see where the old St. Lucie inlet was.

I am showing these examples to highlight what I believe to be a very useful tool.  Here is another example.   The area is just south of Bathtub Beach.

You can see where back in the 1800s the shoreline jutted out.  Now the shoreline is much farther back than it was at that time, but it is more seaward than it was the the 1900s.  That is probably due to beach renourishment.  You can also see the rocks at the present shoreline.

Too bad they don't show us where the beach was in 1715.  That would be very useful.


Here is another example from the coastal change hazards portal.   This one (below) shows the probability of inundation and overwash from Irma.

Areas of Irma Inundation and Overwash.
Souce: USGS coastal change hazards portal.

You'll have to visit the site and take a closer look at this one with the key etc.

Another part of the same site shows that maria affected the South Carolina and North Carolina shoreline the most.

Here is the link if you want to really explore that web site.

https://marine.usgs.gov/coastalchangehazardsportal/

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People are acting like the surf has gone smooth.  It hasn't.  Look at this.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com

And Sunday the swells are supposed to be more northerly.  Something good could happen yet.

A lot of people got excited when they heard there was going to be a hurricane.  Everybody got ready.  Then a lot of them went out and were disappointed. 

How many times have I said, it doesn't take a hurricane.  I recently posted about the 1984 Thanksgiving storm.  That was no hurricane, but there was a lot of treasure found.  I'm getting the feeling that a lot of people are starting to snooze after all the hurricanes passed by.  That might be a mistake.  There is still a lot of good surf predicted for the next week or two.  If it wasn't for the very high surf we've had lately, the surf that is predicted now would be getting people excited.  I'm just thinking that people might be giving up too soon.
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I got a report from Kevin K.  Here is what he had to say.

I went to Frederick Douglass and John Brooks beaches yesterday to hunt, using my ground-penetrating radar machine and my Bounty Hunter Landstar detector. The surf was, indeed, running 5-8 feet with many breaking on the first reef - wish I’d had a surfboard! As you said in yesterday’s blog, it looked like new sand had been added all the way up to the permanent dune, and I did not get one hit on the metal detector, although a lot of false readings on all-metal mode. Those readings must have been mineralized sand, as the discriminator mode never showed anything. The radar machine did not show any deep targets down to 10 feet, although up near the dunes some areas showed disturbed sand as deep as 5 feet...

Thanks for the report Kevin.

Kevin also lost a gold wedding ring in the process and is hoping it can be found.  Here is how he described that.

Somehow I did manage to lose my gold Claddagh wedding ring probably near the Douglas pavilion or in the parking lot of the street north of the Brooks Beach entrance-so if anyone finds the treasure I left, I’d like it back!

Let me know if you find Kevin's ring,, and I'll hook you up for the return. 

Kevin might also be able to do some ground-penetrating radar for you.  His business is Underground Discovery, LLC.

---

That is all for today.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/22/17 Report - Predicting Versus Rating Beach Conditions. Will Maria Send Us Good Hunting? Coaked Sheave. Beached Sailboat.

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

Washed Up.
Photo by Warren D.

Warren D. said, This is located in Brevard County at South Spessard Holland Park. Similar to the one in Vero a couple of years ago.

I talked with the Channel 13 reporters and they said no one was on board but there was a mannequin.

The coast guard had boarded it at sea and saw no one was on board and they painted "OK" on the hull.---

Two hurricanes and little to show for it.  Disappointing!  That is how you might be feeling.

Irma and Jose raised expectations but didn't deliver much.  The surf got bigger, but on the Treasure Coast we didn't get anymore than brief erosion at a few spots.  There were definitely places that got more.

As I said the other day, it isn't over yet.  We still have a chance.  Maria is still out there, and they are predicting a surf of six to nine feet for three days.  And Monday we're supposed to have North winds. That could be what we've been waiting for.

I recently highlighted some factors that have to come together to produce what I would call ideal beach hunting conditions when I referred to the legendary Thanksgiving Storm: high surf, north/northeast wind, continuing for days coordinated with high tides.

The MagicSeaWeed surf predictions are frequently off when they predict a very high surf several days in advance.  As I've often pointed out, those high predicted surfs tend to get smaller as the time gets closer.  I don't know why that is, but it is a definite error in their model.

It is often said that one of the most important qualities for a treasure hunter is patience.  Treasure hunting is a very opportunistic activity.  You have to be at the right place at the right time.  You have to be alert and prepared to take advantage when the window of opportunity opens.

I often say there is always some place good to detect.  You might have to adapt.  It depends upon what you are willing and able to do.

I have no doubt that some of the most serious detectorists will travel to other parts of the state to find better hunting conditions.  Over the years I ran into fellows that lived in their van and traveled around always looking for  the best location they could find to detect.  Maybe they'd pull into Fort Lauderdale during the height of spring break, park their van and detect for days until some better opportunity called, and then they'd move on.  They'd follow the opportunities.

Most of us aren't willing to live out of a van and follow the biggest and best detecting opportunities. That is a choice we make.  For me and you that might be a good choice, but it is a choice.  We have our priorities and detecting doesn't come first.

You might have been disappointed by Irma and Jose.  It is better to be prepared than not be prepared when the window of opportunity does open.

I don't think I've issued any higher than a three rating on my Treasure Coast Treasure Beach Detecting Conditions Scale in a few years.  We just haven't had very good beach detecting conditions overall for quite a while.  All of the beach renourishment has not helped.  But there will be a time when the window of opportunity opens wide again, and I'd rather be prepared, even if it means that I was prepared several times and nothing much happened.  I guess it is something like putting up your hurricane shutters.  All of the preparation might be for nothing, but then again, at least you will be prepared when you really need it.

If you wait for me to issue a high rating on my beach conditions scale, I don't do that until I am highly confident that I should.  I don't issue those ratings without making very sure that I am correct.That means that I don't do that early.  I have to see it for myself.  But I also keep you informed about the predictions and developments as they occur, so if you keep up with what I am posting, you should have a very good idea in advance when something good might happen before it happens.

---

Coaked Sheave.
Source: promare.co.uk/ships/finds

Recently I posted photos of sheaves.  One was found on the Treasure Coast as the result of Irma.  Of course sheaves vary.  The one shown above is in very good condition.  The found ones that I showed in this blog don't have the metal bearings anymore.  You can see how the bearing sits into a depression in the wood.

In case you didn't know, a sheave is a wheel used in a pulley block.  Back years ago Ian A. found one on the Treasure Coast with the bearing still in it and marked with a broad arrow, if I correctly recall, indicating it was from a ship of the Royal Navy

---

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com

Notice that the surf predictions slipped just a little but not much.  I hope it doesn't slip any more.

If I had more accurate surf and wind predictions, I'd be able to better predict beach conditions myself.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/21/17 Report - St. Augustine Beaches Hit Hard by Irma. More T. C. Beaches. Couple of Finds. Big Surf This Weekend.

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

St. Augustine Area
Photo submitted by Darrel S.

North of St. Augustine Inlet
Photo submitted by Darrel S.

North of St. Augustine Inlet
Photo submitted by Darrel S.

The other day I mentioned that some of the other areas of Florida would probably produce as good or better Irma finds than the Treasure Coast.   Here is a good example of where that could happen.

Darrel S. sent these pictures showing the St. Augustine area.  I can pretty much guarantee that some interesting finds have been or will be made up there.

Thanks for the photos Darrel.

Bon Steel Beach Yesterday
Photo by Joe D.

You might also remember the dugout canoe found in the Cocoa area after Irma.

Below are some new Treasure Coast pictures from Joe D.

Just South of Sebastian Inlet Yesterday
Photo by Joe D.

In Front of Wabasso Disney Resort 
Photo by Joe D.

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Here is a picture of an item found in England.  It looks similar to the rounded piece of wood found after Irma on the Treasure Coast.  See my 9/15/17 post.

Found Sheave (?)
Photo submitted by William G.

I think this item as well as the one I posted on 9/15 might be an old sheave.  In that case I would suspect that it is made of lignum vitae wood.  Lignum vitae is a very hard wood often used for things like that.  The depression might have held a metal plate.  I think that would make it what would be called a "coaked sheave."

If I'm wrong on that, please correct me.

---

Here is an old Corrigan's find.

Unidentified Corrigan's Find
Photo by Michael S.

It appears to be a piece of oriental ceramics.  If anyone can add to that, please email me.

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I'm watching the surf predictions for this weekend and next week.

Surf Predcitions
Source: MagicSeaWeed

Ther are now predicting a peak surf of up to nine feet for Sunday and Monday.  It looks like the wind will be most favorable a bit later - maybe Tuesday and Wednesday.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide

9/12/17 Report - Early Irma Treasure Coast Finds Report. More To Come.

Written by the TreasureGuide  for the Exclusive Use of TreasureBeachesReport.blogspot.com.

Captain Jonah sent these photos that prove his divers can do it on land too.  Cole and Grant show their 1715 Fleet Treasure Coast finds.

Jonah said they, "... found tons of lead sheeting ,tacks, copper nails, spikes, over 1500-2000 musket balls. Lots of lead melt and modern bullets.  All sizes of musket balls. And we all had a lot of fun.  Lol lots of digging. More pics soon.

Thanks for the report Jonah!

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I've been without internet access for the past couple of days. It has been a hectic week. I not only had to do all the things a homeowner normally has to do to get ready for a hurricane, but also had a very elderly person and another home to take care of.

My electricity isn't on yet, but the other home has electricity now, so I got the elderly person back to normal living conditions, and I have somewhere to go for a shower or whatever, but right now I'm typing on a computer that is very strange to me and screwed up.  I think it would have been faster and less frustrating if I chiseled this post on rock.

This morning (Tuesday) they were not letting anyone cross the Fort Pierce bridges to North or South Hutchinson Island unless you are a resident or bussines owner or have other reason for access, such as being an FPL employee. If you managed to see the beaches, I'd appreciate giving a report. I assume I'll be getting internet access before too much longer.

I do know there was erosion. I do not yet know how extensive or exactly where the most erosion or best erosion occurred. I need to get out to see for myself, and I will as soon as I can. Sand was washing out from under some of the homes around Bathtub Beach. It doesn't take much for that to happen. That area is extremely vulnerable.

I heard that Fort Lauderdale had sand over the road along the beach. I've seen that before.
The water was high and remained high for quite a while. It went down a bit around Tuesday afternoon. The surf was supposed to be down by now, and I'm sure it is, but I haven't seen it for myself.

Later today I might get a chance to get on the internet and check out some things.
We are going to get some swells from Jose. Like I said, I need to get on the internet and check out some things and will try to get out to the beaches sometime soon.

Right now you might have trouble getting access to some beaches. As I said, some of the beaches are closed. I don't know about which if any might be closed in the Vero or Sebastian areas. Gasoline is reportedly still scarce.  I really apologize, but I just wasn't able to keep up with things this time due to my other responsibilities.

I did get in a few minutes of scouting around inland even though I didn't get to the beach. Below is a sight-find I made. I know it isn't the kind of thing you are interested in, but for me it is a strange and interesting find. I don't know how it got lost or how it ended up where it was found. It is very heavy. Not silver. It is heavy enough to be a door stop. Maybe it is just ornamental.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to get out and scout around so I can bring you the kind of information that I want to be able to post.

Metal Figure Found After Irma

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I hope you all are safe and getting things back to normal.

Hopefully I'll get my internet going again and post some more real soon.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/7/17 Report - Hurricane Irma Predictions. Dangers and Difficulties of Detecting a Beach After a Hurricane.

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

Track of Irma So Far
Source: Wunderground.com

Above you can see the curvy track of Irma.

Below is the cone from NHC after the 5 AM advisory.  That track takes the eye right over Fort Pierce and the Treasure Coast.  It will still be a very strong hurricane.

NHC Cone After 5 AM Advisory.
Source: nhc.noaa.gov

Of course, there isn't 100% certainty of the future track.  

Probability of Tropical Storm Force Winds.
Source: nhc.noaa.gov

Above you can see the probability of tropical-storm-force winds hitting the Treasure Coast.  It shows that at the time of the prediction, there was a 80 - 90 percent chance that the Treasure Coast would receive tropical-storm-force winds.  The probability of hurricane-force winds, as estimated at about the same time, was less than 50 percent.

The point of that is that there is still uncertainty about the track of Irma.  Although both the Euro and FGS models are very similar now and have the eye-wall passing over or very close to Fort Pierce, it could vary.  As you can see above, the cone still extended well out into the Gulf and into the Atlantic, so it still could end up going right over us or into the Gulf or out in the Atlantic.  I really don't want the eye-wall over us or real close to us.

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I've heard from detectorists from out of state that want to run down to the Treasure Coast on Sunday and do a little detecting.  That could be a very serious mistake.  HURRICANES ARE VERY DANGEROUS.   Hurricanes kill people and cause serious damage and real human suffering. 

I can tell you right now that I will not be out there Sunday. I will be taking care of people who need assistance.  I probably wouldn't be out there Sunday even if I didn't have those other responsibilities. There will likely be many people who really need some assistance.

When the storm passes, unless it passes way off the present predicted course, things will be a mess. There is likely to be downed trees and power  lines across the road.  People will be coming out and looking at the damage and wondering how they are going to go on.  Beach accesses will be closed. Roads and bridges will be closed.  Roads might be flooded or washed away.  You might not be able to get where you want to go.

There could be massive power outages.  Gas stations could be closed.  And authorities won't want you out on the road to get in the way of emergency efforts.

It is easy to get excited hearing about gold coins on the beach, but hurricanes are dangerous and not totally predictable.  There might be good detecting or there might not.    Last year,  Matthew didn't hit where they thought it would.   

This will be especially tricky because there are three hurricanes out there.  Hurricane Jose is following closely after Irma, so after Irma passes and everything looks bright and sunny, you might just encounter Jose.

If the beaches are badly damaged, it probably won't be easy to get there, and when you do, you'll encounter other dangers. The high surf could be very dangerous.  After a hurricane, the surf contains a lot of debris.  Anybody who has been on the beach immediately after a hurricane, probably has a story about nearly getting taken out by a tree trunk thrashing around at the edge of the water.  The backwash coming off the dunes can be powerful and dangerous.  It doesn't take a hurricane to cause that.  It can easily catch you off guard and knock you off your feet and sweep you out.  I know of more than one person who has lost a metal detector or other equipment to a rough surf.  

I'm especially concerned about people who have never been through a hurricane and unknowingly putting themselves at risk.  There are many dangers, and you might not know about the dangers or what you are getting yourself into.

In short, I want you to realize that hurricanes are dangerous and that you should not think of trying to face the storm winds or the dangerous surf after a hurricane for a few coins.  I don't want anyone to run out to the beach not knowing what they are getting into and getting hurt or worse.  I'd rather you volunteer to help with the recovery efforts.  I know I'm being a downer right now, but I want you to realize the very real danger.   If you want golden memory for the rest of your life, volunteer and help people who need it.

Another thing people don't realize is that hurricane ravaged beaches can produce for days or even weeks after the hurricane passes.  Some of the most amazing finds have been made when the detectorist thought it was too late to find much of anything.  Be sure that conditions are safe and you are prepared before you even think about running out to the beach to find some coins.

Be safe,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/6/17 Report - Part 2 - Three Hurricanes. Irma Developments. 18 Foot Predicted Surf.

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

Three Hurricanes Now All At Once
Source: nhc.noaa.gov

Katia is probably going south and into Mexico.  Jose will probably turn north before he gets to Florida.  And Irma is currently heading our way, according to the NHC predictions.

If you check the Euro and GFS models, they are very similar right now, both making landfall down around Miami and then heading up towards the Treasure Coast very close to Port St. Lucie.  Of course there is still time for things to change and there is a large cone of uncertainty that could include Irma going more east of us, only making landfall north of Florida.  Still too soon to tell for sure.

The lastest NHC Irma prediction as of 5:30 PM.
Source: nhc.noaa.gov

That is a pretty sharp turn north and away from Cuba.  It could still turn sooner or later.

Below is the surf prediction for the Fort Pierce area.  At this time the predicted Sebastian surf is supposed to be about the same but maybe a foot or two less at the peak.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com

As you can see the surf is supposed to begin increasing Saturday and peaking late Sunday.

That's all for now.
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

9/5/17 Report - Still Watching Irma Predictions. Error Coin Web Sites.

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

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

Here are the MagicSeaWeed surf predictions for Sebastian (above) and Fort Pierce (below).

Both show a pretty big surf for this coming Sunday.  It starts to increase late Friday or early Saturday. 

The predicted peak surf for both locations at this time is above 12 feet.

 Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

Irma Tracks Shown on WunderGround.com After 2 AM Update.

It seems the predicted paths are trending towards the Florida west coast.  See the tracks as shown on WunderGround.com (above).

Position of Irma as Shown on Windyty.com for 1 PM Monday.

Above is the position of Irma as predicted by running Windyty.com after Irma has passed us.  It ran up along the west coast of Florida.

Below is what you see if you ran the Ventusky web site Monday morning before the 5AM update.

Position of Irma as Predicted by the Ventusky Web Site.

Both the Ventusky and Windyty web sites now show Irma passing to the west of the Treasure Coast.

It is too early to make much out of these predictions.  There is still a lot of time left for changes.

This seems very reminiscent of Matthew, which we watched last year.

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 For a more pleasant diversion, here are a couple web sites about error coins.

MintErrorNews.com shows an issue of the online magazine.  The sample issue is no. 42.  You can easily find the other issues.

Here is the link.

http://minterrornews.com/issue42.pdf

And below is the link for the error coin section of JimsCoins.com.

http://www.jimscoins.com/error_coin_examples.php

It seems like a long time ago, but a few days ago I posted a picture of what I thought might be a die cap strike nickel.  I haven't seen anything to change my opinion on that but would like to hear from anyone who might have an opinion on that conclusion.

I'll probably update this post some time later today.

Be safe,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net