4/11/18 Report - Florida Rep Responds To Beach Access Issue. Figural Bottle. Traveling Bottles.

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

Figural Cologne Bottle
Photo submitted by Scott B.

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Joe P. received a response from the Florida representative that he contacted concerning the beach access issue.  As I've said, I'm not going to play attorney and try to explain House Bill 631 or what I think it will or will not do.  There is much confusion about the bill.

Part of the confusion and problem comes from the fact that the bill, like most legislation, isn't easy for the average person to read and understand, and the articles that have appeared in the media are not totally accurate or clear.  In fact I'm sure the articles are responsible for a large part of the concern and confusion.  I'll give you an example of that later.

Here is the note Joe received from his representative.

Joe,

Thank you for your email. I always appreciate hearing from my constituents on the issues of importance to them.

I want to share with you a news story from Jacksonville that was posted last week. I believe it does an excellent job explaining what the bill actually does and does not do. Should you have any questions after reviewing it, please feel free to send them to me. 

https://www.news4jax.com/news/florida/leaders-clarify-how-new-law-will-affect-your-access-to-florida-beaches

Best,
Bill Hager

I hope you will read the entire article, but here is a brief excerpt from that article.

But after backlash online from people who are worried it will give owners the right to kick people off public beaches, local leaders are trying to set the record straight.

State Rep. Cord Byrd, whose district includes Duval and Nassau County coasts, told News4Jax on Thursday that it's complicated, but to simplify it, those who own property on the beach generally own the land up to the sand dunes, which are protected by the state and are off-limits.

Byrd said the wet sand in between the water and the dunes is public property, and beachgoers have a right to access it. He said the new law doesn't change that...

The public is speaking up and making it clear that they are concerned and do not want beach access to be restricted.

The article is helpful in tone, but leaves much to be desired.  I do not believe they really mean "wet sand."  I would guess that what they really mean by that is the beach up to the mean high tide line.  However, if the "wet sand" or "beach up to the mean high tide line" is all the public will have access to, that would indeed be a BIG reduction in the amount of beach that the public will have access to.

The third or last sentence in the excerpt above, I think would be more accurate if the word "wet" was omitted, so it would read, ..the sand in between the water and the dunes is public property, and beachgoers have a right to access it.  It appears to me that the reporting has caused a lot of the confusion and turmoil.

Without telling you what I think the law will or won't do, or guess any more about what the article was trying to say, I'll just say that the public is making itself heard and at least some of the law makers have taken notice.  And regardless of what the law will or won't do, it is good for citizens to let their representatives know their concerns.  Joe's representative certainly responded more politely than some of the other representatives that I've heard about.

This isn't the kind of thing I like to write about.  In fact I don't like to write about it, however I think it is necessary because of the importance of the issue and the confusion and concern surrounding it.

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Scott B. sent me the photo of his friend's cologne bottle at the top of the post.  It still has a label on it, so he knows exactly what it is.

The locomotive bottle I found was only half the size of the cologne bottle, but could also be a scent bottle if it isn't a candy bottle.   The small size would make me think perfume rather than cologne, and I have a found a lot of small perfume bottles in the area, but the locomotive would seem to me to be more likely for a male than female.

Thanks for the email and photo Scott.

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Here is an email I received from one reader concerning bottles and bottling plants.

I've enjoyed the mention of bottling companies in your blog over the past few days.  It is a rich history-and a personal one for me.

My great-grandfather started a Coca Cola bottling company in Kissimmee in 1909 or so.  Three generations operated the plant until it was sold to Orlando in 1970.  It is a little hard to fathom now, but the bottles were recycled and refilled at the local plant until they wore out.  My father has told me many stories about the process, since he worked at every station as a teenager!

This is something I find extremely interesting.  It is easy to imagine Coca Cola bottles traversing the country in much the same way as a coin.  My dad tells me that more than half the bottles were from another location at any given time-many from out-of-state-unless they were filling a bunch of recently delivered new Kissimmee bottles.  The bottles traveled in cars or by other means until they were recycled at the local bottler for 2 cents.  They were then cleaned, refilled with Coca Cola, sold and the travels started again.  This is why it is not unusual to find a bottle far from where it originated.

Fascinating!

Russ P.

Thanks much Russ.  I had no idea how many local versus out-of-area bottles would be processed at a plant.  Glad to have that information.

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Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

As you can see the surf will increase a bit tomorrow.  Nothing real exciting, but it could be enough to move some sand in some areas.

The tides aren't big now.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

6/6/15 Report - South Hutchinson Island Beach Detecting Conditions Very Poor. Car Break-Ins.

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

I went out to take a look at some Treasure Coast beaches this afternoon.  They were even more ugly than expected.  A lot of sea weed had accumulated on every beach over quite a few miles.

Fort Pierce South Jetty Park.

They finally finished with the Fort Pierce South Jetty renourishment project.  It seemed like it took half the year.   And after all of that on a busy beach weekend, they got what looks like maybe fifty people.

The beach is now over a hundred yards wide it seems.  Wonderful!  You have to take a good walk just to get to the water.  And the back beach is now built up so that it is probably three feet higher than it used to be.  The sand doesn't look like it is as bad as last time when it was half junk.

The people in the water are out some fifty yards or so east of where people used to wade.  And the old wading area is now under tons of sand.

John Brooks Park.

About four miles south at John Brooks Park it was just as ugly.  A lot of sand and sea weed.  But worse yet, cars had smashed windows and people were waiting for the police to arrive.  Theft has been a problem there for a few years, but not just there.

John Brooks is fairly isolated and the parking lot is not visible from the beach.  It is an easy place for thieves to operate.

Be careful where you park.  And don't leave valuables in the car.

Taking a look at this photo you can't help but notice the low population density on the Treasure Coast as compared to major metropolitan tourist areas like South Florida.  Must be about one thousandth of the people and therefore a similar proportion of modern targets.

Walton Rocks Beach.

Another several miles south at Walton Rocks, the beach looks similar in some ways.  Again notice the sea weed.   The front beach is more firm though.  There weren't any real shell piles.  There were a few pieces of old fossils to be seen.

I don't have time for a regular post tonight, but wanted to get this report in and remind you to be careful about where you park.

Someone asked me about Blowing Rocks and if you could still detect there.  I assume so, but can anyone tell me for sure?

That is all for tonight.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/2/2011 Report - Sunken Car Treasure & More

First Treasure Coast Sun Rise of 2011.

Hard to believe that 2010 is over. Time flies.

The weather is really nice and there were a lot of hunters out this morning. The cuts that were fresh a few days ago have gone stale and have been hunted. I'm sure there are some cuts that haven't even been worked yet - the ones that are a t distance from beach accesses or not in the popular hunting areas, but will now be a little harder to find fresh holes.

It is good to know where the cuts are even if they aren't producing. If the wind and waves are right, they could easily be replenished. Of course, if the wind and waves are wrong, those old cuts can easily disappear altogether.

I took the photo of this cut yesterday. It looked pretty much the same this morning, but the front is mushy and I don't think it will produce much. Again, you have to watch these old cuts for possibe improvement.


First Cut I Hunted in 2011.

I think I showed the same cut on New Year's Eve. Anyhow, it didn't improve any since I was last there. You can see some seaweed here, which tells you that most recently sand had been accumulating rather than eroding here. Even though it was cut about three feet deep and ran for hundreds of yards, there were very few signals here. I suppose that is in part due to the fact that the eroded sand was recently accumulated sand.

Cuts that are far back towards the back of the beach are generally better than those towards the front of the beach, and those that are down close to the water level, better than those up above a slope.


We often talk about sunken treasure ships, but here is a story about a sunken car that turned out to be quite a treasure. It was broght up from 160 feet deep in a lake and was sold for over $300,000.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6981551.ece


First Artifact I Found With Metal Detector in 2011.

I think it is probably a heavy-duty chisel.


Forecast and Conditions.

The wind is continuing out of the south. The seas will be calm for the next few days. It looks like beach conditions will continue to deteriorate. I'll probably be dropping my beach conditions rating back to a 1 very soon.

You'll have to hunt hard to find any good spot on the beach. I hope I'm wrong. It looked like 2011 was going to get off to a better start.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@oomcast.net