5/16/20 Report - Metal Detecting a Couple Beaches Today. Meager Finds.

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

Wabasso Saturday Morning.

The waves had good height at Wabasso this morning.  It was nice and rainy - the kind of day I like - so I went metal detecting.  I also wanted to see if I could follow up on yesterday's finds.

Wabasso Saturday Morning.

I was hoping the beaches would improve a little, but they didn't change much since yesterday.  Most of the places I saw had more sand than yesterday.  There was one area that lost a little sand.

Turtle Trail Saturday Morning.

The bags down near the second flag pole were more exposed Saturday than the day before.  You can see that in these two photos.

Exposed Bags at Turtle Trail Saturday.

Despite the loss of sand, I didn't find much there.  Targets were scarce.

I did find a couple iron spikes and a small lead ball before quitting for the day.

Below are a couple photos I took at Turtle Trail Friday.  It wasn't looking good, yet I managed to find a few things yesterday, including the bronze spike and a lead strip.

Turtle Trail Friday.

I didn't photograph the same areas, so you can't really compare them.  In fact I almost forgot to take beach photos yesterday.

Turtle Trail Friday.

Here are some meager finds from today.  I was hoping for more beach improvement and some better finds.

Saturday Finds.

I did manage to get in some good field time.  I haven't put in a lot of time the past couple years and I needed the practice.

I used both the Equinox and ATX today.  I hadn't been using the ATX much lately and really needed some time with that detector.

Yesterday I showed some finds, including the bronze spike.  Below is a closeup of the crust on the spike.  I just thought it was colorful.

Encrustation on Bronze Spike.

And below is the void where a dissolved iron object had been.  I think I might be able to make a mold of that to recreate the shape of whatever was in it.

Crystal Filled Void in Corroded Iron Lump Found Yesterday.

Overall, I got in some much needed field time and got reacquainted with my ATX.  It seems if I don't use it much for a while, it takes me a while to get back in tune with it.  It is very different from the Equinox.  I wish I had more targets today so I could get a better comparison on the two detectors under real field conditions.

Seagrape Trail was still closed today.

I didn't get to look at many beaches, but it looks like this weather system didn't do a lot for us, and I think it is probably about over.

Oh, I forgot, I did manage to luck onto a modern gold band, but that isn't the kind of thing I was looking for today.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

Will have to take a different approach as we get into summer conditions, but hopefully we'll have some nice storms that stay offshore and cut the beaches without doing much property damage.

Happy hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

5/14/20 Report - Tropical Storm Forming. Beach Conditions Around the Treasure Coast.

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

Turtle Trail Beach Thursday Morning.

It looks like we could get our first tropical storm of the year before long.  More on that later.

I took a look at a few beaches.  At Turtle Trail this morning, there was a little erosion, as you can see above.  Just the top of the bags was showing.

There was a flat area in front of the beach that had mostly aluminum bits but also a few pieces of lead.  The biggest piece of lead I got was a small strip, maybe two inches square if it wasn't folded.

Turtle Trail Thursday Morning.

The flat wet area is where I was finding most of the targets.

I dug a few small holes just to see how deep the orange sand was and found that it was more than a foot where I checked, but I didn't get all the way down to it.

As I was leaving, I saw Warren doing a few test holes.  He mentioned that the orange sand was down about 18 inches at one location.  That is about what I would expect when just the top of the bags are showing.

The parking lot at Seagrape Trail was still closed.

Ambersands Beach Thursday Morning.

Here is what Ambersands looked like.  I didn't check it with the detector at all.

Over the past couple of weeks, if anything, it has deteriorated a little.

Ambersands Beach Thursday Morning.

Wednesday evening I took a look at John Brooks.  It was much like Turtle Trail, with a small cut pretty far back on the beach and a lot of sand out front.

The cut at Turtle Trail was fresher, and the bar in front of Brooks was wider.

John Brooks Wednesday Evening.

John Brooks Wednesday Evening.

Frederick Douglass Beach Wednesday

Photo by SuperRick.

Rick lost his controller for his XPDeus, so if anyone finds it, let me put you in touch with Rick.  Here is what he said.

While there I lost my controller for my XPDeus that came off my chest high holder that was Velcroed on and I was using the controller for my pin pointer!

At the time I was using my Equinox 800 to hunt with down in the wet so if you hear of anyone finding a controller I lost it!

Frederick Douglass Beach Wednesday

Photo by SuperRick.

Rick found on cheap ring on the day.

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As I said, a tropical storm is forming down south.

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

According to the NHC,  Environmental conditions are expected to become conducive for 
development, and this system is likely to become a tropical or
subtropical depression or storm this weekend when it is located near
or north of the northwestern Bahamas. The system is forecast to
move generally northeastward over the western Atlantic early next
week. Regardless of development, the disturbance is expected to
bring locally heavy rainfall and gusty winds to portions of
southeastern Florida and the central and northwestern Bahamas over
the next couple of days...

The beaches are not too far off now. If we can get some good direction to the wind and swells, we could get some nice finds.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

3/8/20 Report - Higher Surf and Some Erosion On The Treasure Coast. A Few Finds Made. Charles and Joanna Coins.

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

Wabasso Saturday.

Erosion started on some of the beaches Saturday.  Some beaches were cut, others weren't.  

The access gate was closed at Seagrape.  That will be an obstacle for some, but for others it might be an opportunity.  Some reales were found there last month.

DJ sent the following photos taken Saturday at Turtle Trail.

Turtle Trail Saturday.

Turtle Trail Saturday.

Turtle Trail Saturday.

Turtle Trail Saturday.

A gold ring was found and another part of one.  They need to be cleaned and tested though.  

Here are a few other finds from Saturday.

Flat Button Found Saturday.

Back of Same Button After Light Cleaning With Detergent.

Sometimes all you need is a little light cleaning.  A little detergent and a toothbrush can help make a a button readable without much danger.  I just used a toothbrush and a little dish detergent on the above button.  You do have to be careful if there might be gilt which can be easily removed by accident though.

Encrusted Bullet.

Folded Lead Strip With Couple Holes.

---

Peter H. who lives across the pond but reads this blog daily and sent in the following link to a Sedwick article about Charles and Joanna coins.

https://www.sedwickcoins.com/articles/carlosyjuana.pdf

Great article.

Thanks Peter.

---

The surf is expected to be higher Sunday - 7 - 10 feet.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/24/20 Report - Treasure Coast Beaches Building Again. Another Look At Cob Finds. Found Beads.

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

In Front of Vero Boardwalk Monday Afternoon.

I wanted to see what was going on with the Indian River County beaches today.  The first photo is in front of the Vero boardwalk, where you see the renourishment sand that was dumped not too long ago.  As you probably know, reales have been found in that area.  I remember one storm when the area right in front of the Holiday Inn washed out and exposed some reales.  That was a number of years ago.

Turtle Trail Near Low Tide Monday.

The detecting crowds deserted Turtle Trail.  It looked pretty lonely.

There is now nearly two feet of sand on top of the layers that were exposed Friday night and Saturday.  The blue bags are now covered, as are some of the posts that were exposed.

Turtle Trail Near Low Tide Monday.

The Seagrape Trail access was closed.  As I previously mentioned, the stairs were damaged.

Wabasso Near Low Tide Monday.

I think I saw only two detectorists today.  I mostly saw snowbirds and sunbathers.

Ambersands Near Low Tide Monday.

Same thing at Ambersands.

Ambersands Near Low Tide Monday.

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Mexico Minted Half Reale Found at Seagrape Saturday by Josh D.
Photo by Josh D.

Josh D. sent me photos of these new finds yesterday but got better photos so I decided to post the new photos.

Another Cob Found by Josh D.

Photo by Josh D.

This cob shows a part of the legend.  You can most clearly see the cross and the H from Hispanarium Rex.  That is just left of center on the cob.

Thanks for the photos Josh.  Great first finds!

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Not all shipwreck finds are metal.  In fact one of my most favorite and the one that amazes me to this day is an impressed wax seal.  Hard to imagine it lasting on the beach for over three hundred years.

I do not limit my hunting to metal detecting.  I do a lot of eye-balling and enjoy non-metallic finds as much as those that are detected.   Here are some made Saturday at the same beach where cobs and musket balls and other metallic finds were being made.

Two Beads Found Saturday.

The trouble with these, like many other finds, is that it isn't easy to determine the source or age.  These ones are painted clay.  You can see the clay around the inside of the hole.

Now the research begins.

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Friday night and Saturday there was a window of opportunity.  It was one of the better ones that we've had for a while.  It didn't last long though - I'd say maybe two tide cycles at most.

We've been getting those fronts coming through.  The window opens and then the wind shifts, and the window closes again.

Sometimes you get some shifting, and sometimes there are a few straggling finds.  In fact, some of the best all-time ever shipwreck beach finds were made when the detectorist thought it was all over - and much of it was.

I'm still waiting to receive the photos of some of the reales that were found.  There was quite a group, including some large denomination cobs.

I always say, "Nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd." There were tons of people gathered at one beach and not too many at other beaches, so you might be surprised to learn that reales were found at more than one Indian River County beach yesterday.  In fact I know of shipwreck finds made at three different beaches.

We're supposed to have another cold front come through soon, but so far they are not predicting a high surf to go with it.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

3/22/20 Report - Beaches Show Very Little Cutting But Produced Some Very Good Finds.

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

Ambersands Beach This Morning.

Things have been found.  Several reales have been found and a few other things.

You probably heard the wind whipping last night.  That was between yesterday evening and this morning, and that seems to be when most things opened up.

Ambersands This Morning.

The sun came out today.  I never like that.  And a LOT of detectorists hit the beaches today.  The parking lot was almost filled at one beach, and a lot of them were detectorists.

Wabasso This Morning.

I didn't see cuts hardly anywhere, but the water was hitting and eroding the dunes in some places, and there were some good dips.  In at least one location there was very little new sand over the old orange sand.

I didn't do real good with the photos today.  My mind was on the hunt, and I forgot about the photography.

The stairs at Seagrape were damaged.  I mentioned yesterday that they had just been repaired, but they were damaged last night again.

Turtle Trail This Morning.

At Turtle Trail the erosion control bags were more exposed today, and you could see some of the old cut off posts that were buried yesterday when I was there.

Bags Getting Hit At Turtle Trail.

I was trying to photograph the bags in the above photo, but it was poorly timed and the water covered the bags as I took the photo.

Erosion Control Bags Covered by Water.

I'll have some find photos for you in the near future.   I have one object in cleaning now.  

The surf was up around ten feet today.  It will be decreasing tomorrow.

Surf Predictions.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/21/20 Report - A Look At Some Treasure Coast Beaches This Afternoon.

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

North of McLarty Museum Friday Early Afternoon.

I looked at a good sample of Treasure Coast beaches this afternoon to see if anything was developing yet.

You probably noticed the change in weather as the front came through.  It was pretty windy and colder.

Above you see what I saw north of McLarty, which is as far north as I went this afternoon.  No cuts or obvious erosion there yet.

Ambersands Beach Early Friday Afternoon.

The wind was blowing parallel to the beach while the waves were hitting straight on from the east.

The tide was low this morning when the surf started to increase, so the water didn't get very high on the beach.

I liked how the sand was blowing and at one point thought about trying to get a nice artistic picture of that, but didn't get around to it.

One fellow complained of the sand stinging.

Wabasso Beach Early Afternoon Friday.

Nothing much going on at Wabasso yet either.

Wabasso Beach Early Afternoon Friday.

Turtle Trail Early Afternoon Friday.

There were no cuts at Turtle Trail yet either.   There was hardly any cloth from the erosion control bags showing.

Turtle Trail Early Afternoon Friday.

When I first went by Seagrape Trail the access was closed.  Later it was open, but it didn't look much different from Turtle Trail.

They had done some repairs to the stairs, evidently why the access was closed earlier.

John Brooks Beach Around 3 PM Friday.

Upon walking onto John Brooks beach I noticed that the waves were hitting at a better angle.  I then saw some cuts developing just south of the access.

Cuts At John Brooks Beach Around 3 PM Friday.

I also looked at Frederick Douglass beach.  It didn't look much different than the uncut areas of John Brooks.

The surf is supposed to be higher tomorrow.

Source: MagicSeaWeed,com

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net