1/8/16 Report - Big Guns (Subsurface Radar?) At Turtle Trail Today. Sand Accumulating.

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

 Turtle Trail Beach Being Scanned Today.

This unit was being used on Turtle Trail today.  It took them a while to put it together, and then they seemed to have a bit of trouble before getting it working.  I think it was about noon before they got started on the beach.  They got help from Vero based Moran Electric.

Closer View

Set Up In The Parking Lot.

Moran Electric.

I think the contractors were called in because of some problem with the unit.

I have a lot of other things to talk about, but thought this was interesting and wanted to get it  posted so you could see it.

Maybe you can see that there is a computer display screen in front of each of the fellows carrying the detector.  I don't really know if it is subsurface radar, but that is what I would guess.

I'm turning into a reporter or sorts.

Two feet of sand accumulated south of Turtle Trail in the last couple of days.  It was up some yesterday, but today most of the blue bags were covered again.

There were also some posts that were sticking out another couple of feet a couple of days ago.

Beach At Ambersand Access Around Noon Today.

I took a look at Ambersands, which I haven't seen in quite some time.  It was pretty firm.  Better than I recall from the last time I was there.

Beach North Of The McLarty Museum.

I also took a look at the beach north of McLarty.  There were some dips and at places there were cuts into the renourishment sand.

I've have a lot to write about and some lengthy discussions, but I'll get into that some other day.

The surf will be slacking off for a few days now.

The area south of Turtle Trail will be something to watch for at least the next month or so.  As I've said, it has been going on and off and on again lately.  I plan to talk about why that might be.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/7/16 Report - I Missed It, But Not All Of It.

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

One Reale and Half Reale

Sometimes you miss by an inch and sometimes by an hour or a day.  You have to be in the right place at the right time.

I had it figured right this week, but life got in the way.  I had an injury and had to get to the doctor as soon as I could.  He could only fit me in at 7:30 Tuesday morning.  That was when I was planning on hitting the beach.  The surf and wind were right, and I knew a place that had produced in recent months under similar circumstances, so I wanted to be there. It didn't happen.

That was the only time the doctor could fit me in and I needed to go.  I thought it might not take too long so I packed all of my gear in the car so I could go directly to the beach from the doctor's office.   Well, it turned into a big deal and took much longer than expected.  Then I needed to go to the pharmacy for antibiotics.   They couldn't fill the prescription right away, so I had to come back later.

The doctor said I shouldn't do much of anything.  I still felt like going to the beach, but all things considered, thought it wasn't a good idea.  I still wasn't ready to give it up, and went out to a closer beach just to see what it looked like.  It didn't look much good, and I didn't feel so good so I thought I better give up on detecting for the day and go home.  End of story.  I missed it - not all of it, but the main event.  That is the way it goes sometimes.

I didn't miss everything.  I definitely missed the first day, but I did manage to get out a little, and managed to pick up a few things.

The spot continued to produce for a few days and might continue to produce for a few more days. Only time will tell. to come.  Under the circumstances maybe I should count myself lucky to have found as much as I did.

I don't know that I've ever seen a time when the finds have been so predominately from one small spot while most of the beach isn't doing anything.  Usually if one beach is good, there will be some others that aren't all that bad.

The spot that I'm talking about has been producing on and off for at least three months now.  First a day or two on then a couple weeks off, but this week it has been producing for a few days.  I think the most this week.

I found a little but missed most of it.  There has been a lot found.  I've heard of nearly 200 shipwreck items of various sorts.  Not too many cobs, but at least one gold cob and some other neat items.

Most of the beaches look poor right now and have not been producing much of anything old.  I haven't issued a beach detecting conditions upgrade because as far as I know, the conditions have only been good at that one spot.  My beach detecting conditions rating isn't meant to rate a single beach.  It is meant to reflect general conditions along the Treasure Coast.

I know everybody will want me to tell them which spot I'm talking about.  I did give some hints, but didn't tell it outright because I don't want hundreds of people showing up at that one spot.

Shortly after I started this blog I quickly found out that if I said that a particular beach was good a hundred people would show up at that beach.  I got a lot of complaints from people because of that. As a result I try to give good information on when it might be a good time to go, but don't want to send everybody out to one little spot.  If you carefully read what I've said the past few days you can probably figure it out for yourself anyhow.

I'll have more pictures of what has been found.  I already mentioned the gold coin.  A lot of lead was found, including musket balls.

For the time being, at the top of the post is a couple of finds.

Tomorrow the surf is supposed to be 5 - 7 feet, but the wind will be coming from the south.  That will be a change from today.  It will be interesting to see what happens.

South of Turtle Trail Near Low Tide Thursday.

A lot more of the bags were showing yesterday.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide

1/6/16 Report - A Quick Survey Of Some Treasure Coast Treasure Beaches This Morning. More To Come.

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

Frederick Douglas Beach This Morning Just Before Low Tide.

Yesterday I wasn't able to get out much.  I did get to see one beach but that is all.  Today I took a look at more beaches, but it looks like things have already changed some.

Most of the beaches, like the one above, had seaweed this morning.  That is a sign that sand was
accumulating.

View From The Seagrape Trail Beach Accsss This Morning Before Low Tide.

You can see the seaweed here too.

I also took a picture at Turtle Trail but messed that picture up.  Too bad.  That was the best looking beach that I saw this morning.

From the beach access, it didn't show much other than a small cut running along the high tide mark, however to the south, between the two flag poles, the blue erosion control bags were very visible - more than I've seen for quite a while and most certainly more than I've seen in the past few months. At some spots there was a new three foot cut.  However, in front of the bags it appeared that sand had accumulated again.  I found some things there but they all need cleaned before I know what they are.

I saw seven detectorists there this morning but none at the other beaches that I visited.

Wabasso Beach.

Wabasso didn't look very promising either.  Again, you can see the seaweed.

Rio Mar had about a one foot cut, but again you see the seaweed.

Rio Mar This Morning Before Low Tide.

It appears that the best time was when the front first came through. That is often the case.  It isn't uncommon for the wind to start from the north, shift to the east and then the south.

We've had a lot of those lately where the front moves through and the wind shifts through the cycle fairly quickly.  Windows have been opening and closing in quick succession.

An injury kept me off of the beach when the front first came through and most of yesterday and I kept my hunt short today.  I didn't want to push it, nonetheless I managed to pick up a few things, mostly crusty and unidentified at this point.  I'll do some cleaning and maybe post some photos when I can.

We;re supposed to have three days with a surf in the 4 - 7 foot range.  That is welcome, but only one morning is the wind supposed to be from the north, then it will shift again.

That is all for now.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/5/16 Report - Wind Picks Up and Some Sand Moving On Treasure Coast. Spike Finds. Aztecs and Glyptodons.

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

Monday Just After Low Tide.

Below is the same as seen a couple of days ago.  Unforntunately the picture was taken from a different angle.  I thought the comparison was interesting.

Same Area A Couple of Days Ago.

The a lot of the new sand that had accumulated on this beach a couple of days ago is now gone.  Even though the beach looks different now, it is not improved to the point that I would expect much old to show up.

I only had time to take a look at one beach this morning.  As a result I can't say what the other beaches are doing today.  There is some chance that some other beach might be producing, but from what I've seen so far I'm not upgrading my beach detecting conditions rating yet.  I'll get a look at some other beaches as soon as I can.

As you probably noticed, the wind has been blowing briskly from the north/northeast today, yet if you look at the top picture you can see that the waves were hitting pretty much from the east.

The surf today is about 3 - 5 feet.  Tomorrow it will be more like 4 - 7.  We might have more days in that range later this week.

Spike Finds by Lindsay S.

These were found back in December.  Congratulations Lindsay!

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A giant glyptodon shell was discovered in a back yard.

Here is that link.

http://www.9news.com.au/world/2015/12/30/13/25/ancient-giant-glyptodon-shell-found-in-back-yard

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Here is an interesting book that you can read in part online: Handbook to Life in the Aztec World.

Click on the title above to go to the book.

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Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/4/16 Report - Super Hot Metal Detecting Experiences: Location and Conditions. More On Beach Zones.

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



Today I'll continue with a topic I started a couple of days ago.

The purple arrow on the illustration above points to the intertidal zone.  That is the area between the high tide mark and low tide mark. We sometimes just refer to it as the wet sand.

The intertidal zone is one area that is constantly being changed by the surf and tides.  Objects coming out of the dunes can end up there (for a short time), and objects occasionally get washed up onto the intertidal zone from the surf.  It is not always easy to tell whether items are being washed up onto the beach or getting uncovered or washed out of the dunes.

Items can both wash up, get washed down into the surf or get covered or uncovered in the intertidal zone.  It is a very dynamic zone and not easy to figure out. I have spent a good amount of time in the past writing about how things move in that area.

The inshore surf zone is like an extension the the intertidal zone.  It works very much the same way. The obvious difference is that it is constantly underwater and continually getting hit by a moving water and crashing waves.  It is the most dynamic zone and can be impossible to work during rough surf conditions.  Along the Treasure Coast much of that zone is protected by salvage and exploration leases.

The bottom conditions in the inshore surf zone can really affect how the water hits the intertidal zone. That is a big factor that isn't talked about a lot.  The most obvious effect is when there is a lot of sand in the inshore zone intertidal zone the intertidal zone is somewhat protected. When there is a lot of sand in front of the beach, besides cutting down the force of water hitting the beach, the sand will also keep items safely buried so that they will not be washed up onto the beach.

The inshore surf zone can be one of the most productive areas.  That has certainly been my experience.  Some of the best hunting I have ever encountered was when the sand was removed from the area right between the inshore surf zone and the intertidal zone, cutting into the front of the beach and creating a dip right in front of the beach.  There have been times when coins and other items were so dense there that there was a good target every square foot running for a long distance. The only thing I have encountered that remotely compares to the density of objects found on those occasions was when there were very extensive coin lines or coin holes in the intertidal zone.  But that was not of the same magnitude.  I've told about some of those times in the past and won't describe it again now.

Both of those zones can change quickly.  As I've described before I worked one exceptional dip for two days without cleaning it out only to watch a front come in one evening. The dip and all of the remaining targets, which I knew were many, were gone when I returned the next day.

The big black spot that I added to the illustration above shows the area that I am talking about.  That is the area where I have found the greatest concentrations of good targets when the sand was moved more than usual.  On those occasions when heavy concentrations were found in that area, the sand was moved down to a hard bottom.  On one notable occasion, the bottom was composed of packed rocks and near impossible to dig.  The sand packed between the narrow spaces between the rocks made it almost like pavement, I had more luck foot fanning because the sand would lift out of the cracks and make the top layer loose enough to move.

Targets that are revealed in that area when conditions are just right are not normally covered by enough material that they can not be detected.

How and why such accumulations are found there is a topic for another day.

As you undoubtedly know, last year the Capitana crew found hundreds of gold coins along with a lot of other items.  They were working very close to shore.  With their blowers they did what nature occasionally but rarely does.  They moved the sand right in that area where the inshore surf zone meets the intertidal zone.  You know the result.

Although I have my theories and ideas, there are still questions that need to be answered. Maybe in another post I'll address some of those questions,  And hopefully next year I'll get more answers.

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I like the cooler days we have now.  About time!

Monday we'll have a small surf.  Tuesday it will increase to  3 - 5 feet, with an additional foot or so Wednesday.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/2/16 Report - Current Beach Conditions. Beach Zones.

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

Frederick Douglas Beach Saturday Evening.

The wind shifted yesterday so I went out to see what was going on.  Above is a picture of Frederick Douglas beach.  You can see that there is a lot of sand on the front of the beach.  Much of it is relatively new.

The sand on the front beach is more coarse and light in color.  So far it hasn't eroded much.

Water Running Back Into The Ocean.

Above is one interesting feature that I saw.  Nothing significant really - just interesting.

I also visited another beach a few miles away.  It showed no sign of significant new erosion yet either.

Fort Pierce South Jetty Park.

Look how much renourishment sand has disappeared here already.  That renourishment sand was disappearing even when there was no erosion any place else.

In front of that twelve foot cliff is some new sand, very much like at Frederick Douglas.

There was a group of students from the University of Pittsburgh there for some reason.  That is one of my alma maters.

We are supposed to have a two or three foot surf for a couple of days and then up to six feet Tuesday and Wednesday.

We should have another day of north winds.

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I'll be discussing some things from the following illustration.  Today just a little of that.

Detecting Zones.

It can be useful to consider each zone.  It is easy to get stuck in a rut and only detect one zone or another.  As I've said, the new year is a good time to look back and also to think about the future.

I added some arrows to this illustration.  The blue arrow points to the area between the berm and dunes. That is the dry sand area.  Some people hunt that area exclusively.  There are times, such as during periods of especially high surf or tides, when that area does get wet.  In fact there are places where the water can go completely over the dunes and into the lagoon, although that is very rare.

The area indicated by the blue arrow is an area where people who hunt modern coins and jewelry are most likely to do a lot of hunting.  Old shipwreck items can be found anywhere from the brown arrow all the say back to the lagoon and beyond.

There are a few land sites where good numbers of Spanish coins have been found west of the lagoon. One of the better known is the Bulldozer Hoard found about three miles inland near Sebastian.  There aren't many detectorists that focus on those kinds of inland sites.  It requires a lot of research and effort and can be a real long shot.

I'm convinced that there has to be some things in the lagoon.  There was one lagoon site that I spent some time investigating years ago.  It appeared that whatever might have been there had already been removed.  I found a very rusted old six-foot digging bar at the site.  I think I might have shown a picture of it in the past.

Anything old found in the lagoon or any waterway in Florida belongs to the state of Florida.  O course much of the land bordering the lagoon is on private property.

The sand in the lagoon in many places is about six feet deep over bed rock.  I got that information from some guys that build docks.

Another problem with hunting in the lagoon is the huge amount of junk.

I have seen a couple fossils along the banks of the lagoon as well as a few shards.

The dunes are usually off-limits, either being covered by protected flora such as sea oats or being on private property or government property.  The treasure  in the dunes is often covered by a foot or more of sand.

The dunes do occasionally but rarely erode, and things can spill onto the beach after storms or very high water.

I'll continue on this topic in the future.  That is all for now.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

1/1/16 Report - Welcome 2016! Make It Special. Tomorrow's Cherished Memories Are Made Today. Bigger Surf Predicted. Beach Renourishment Started.

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

Just the other day I opened an old tattered box and a flood of memories spilled out.  In the box was a couple of small plastic cows, a couple of plastic horses, reindeers, mostly with one antler missing, a bigger cute plastic dog, metal chicken, and the metal skater I showed a couple of days ago.  What a bunch of junk!  That is how some people would see it, but to me it was like I was opening a box of gold, frankincense or myrrh.  They were more than items.  They were memories - very special memories.

I discovered the items when getting the Christmas decorations out of a closet for my elderly mother. The items had survived a number of moves and a trip from up north.  They had made it through at least three generations.

My grandmother originally bought them.  She liked special occasions and spared no effort to make times special.  She is gone, grandpap is gone and dad is gone, but those little objects and the attached memories survived.  Those worthless beat-up objects are in a way more valuable to me now than diamonds or gold.  They remind me of Christmases long ago and far away.  They had a place in grandma's house, and they have a place in my cherished memories.

Those memories are mine.  My mother is the only living person that shares them today.  My wife had similar objects and has similar memories, but not the same.  When I am gone, those memories of Christmas at grandma's house will be gone too.

Sorry for being a sentimentalist during this holiday season, but there is a point that is important for metal detecting and treasure hunting.

Items are not just items.  The items you find were once a part of someone's life.  They were a part of their story.  Finds that might not mean much to you might have meant a lot to someone else.

An item doesn't have to be worth a lot to mean a lot to someone.  Sometimes the more valuable items are actually less significant.  It depends on the person, their situation and the story that goes with the item.

I have mixed feelings about finding valuable modern jewelry.  Any item, valuable or not, might have meant a lot to the original owner, and very often there is no way to find the original owner. Returned or not, a lost item does no one any good, and a found item could possibly be returned.

Old items may not have an attachment to any living person, but they still have a story.  It might be more difficult to uncover that story, and the story might not be as personal, but it can be significant. I've posted research that attempted to uncover and present the story of some exceptional artifacts.

One point that I want to make today is that for me the story is more important than the economic value of the item no matter if the item is old or new.  It is about finding that link.

An old military dog tag can be a cherished item for a family member.  The same goes for an old finger ring.

When you dig up an item, remember that it was a part of someone's life and has a story of its own to tell.

The other thing I want to say as we begin a brand new year is that tomorrow's memories are made today.  Make as many special memories as you can, and preserve them as well as you can.

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I was thinking about making some predictions for 2016.  One of them would have definitely been beach renourishment projects starting again.  It has already started.  Jason T. sent me an email and said,  Here is some imfo on dune renourishment in Palm Beach County. Its happening on Singer Island right now. 1 month of work 60,000 tons of sand from a inland source. They started from south end John D. MacArthur State park to North end of Ocean Reef park..

Here is a video clip on that.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=c0e0pvv97Jk

Another prediction I would have made is some improved beach hunting this winter before the renourishment projects get into full swing.

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We have a small surf now, but Tuesday they are predicting up to an 8 foot surf and up to a 10 foot surf for Wednesday.  That is looking good and is something to watch.

Happy New Year,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net