A young couple answered my "ring finder" ad in Craigslist, Monday evening. They had lost a near-one carat custom made diamond engagement ring Sunday morning, in the water down on South Beach (Miami Beach). They had already hired one guy to come out Sunday afternoon and he had searched 2 1/2 hours without success.
This other guy told them they didn't have to worry about the ring being found by a "pirate" metal detectorist in the meantime. He said nobody searches South Beach since only fantasy jewelry is to be found there, and that all the capable hunters go up to Deerfield Beach where the rich folk live
. I assured them that I personally knew many proficient hunters who searched south beach constantly, and that even though the forecast was for rough water and a rising mid-range tide the next morning at 7:00, that they should go for it. If we waited for the predicted calm water and low morning tides that were expected Thursday through the weekend, it may already be recovered and gone; not to mention the vagaries of rip currents and sand deposition.
It was close to 7:30, by the time we all arrived at the water. The rough seas must have discouraged a lot of the usual water hunters, as I didn't see anyone else out there. This was fortunate. But the rough water with an already fairly high and rising tide was unfortunate for me. Frankly, I also had problematic relations with both my water detectors, and had never found any valuable jewelry in the water beforehand with either one, a point I didn't mention of course. I guess ignorance is bliss, and if I do anything well, it's ignore problems and just blunder on, as my son is wont to point out to me frequently.
Well, anyway, watch the video. By the way, there are details in the video description you may find interesting, so don't skip that, but read it afterwards.
Let me just note that I was using a lightweight but extremely robust "Howie Scoop", an aluminum alloy scoop handmade by Howie, the VP of our South Florida Treasure Hunters Club. He makes a mean mf scoop. (mf stands for "mostly french"
, if you don't know.)
[video]http://www.youtube.com/edit?video_id=3pk74vG8afQ&ns=1[/video]
This other guy told them they didn't have to worry about the ring being found by a "pirate" metal detectorist in the meantime. He said nobody searches South Beach since only fantasy jewelry is to be found there, and that all the capable hunters go up to Deerfield Beach where the rich folk live
. I assured them that I personally knew many proficient hunters who searched south beach constantly, and that even though the forecast was for rough water and a rising mid-range tide the next morning at 7:00, that they should go for it. If we waited for the predicted calm water and low morning tides that were expected Thursday through the weekend, it may already be recovered and gone; not to mention the vagaries of rip currents and sand deposition.It was close to 7:30, by the time we all arrived at the water. The rough seas must have discouraged a lot of the usual water hunters, as I didn't see anyone else out there. This was fortunate. But the rough water with an already fairly high and rising tide was unfortunate for me. Frankly, I also had problematic relations with both my water detectors, and had never found any valuable jewelry in the water beforehand with either one, a point I didn't mention of course. I guess ignorance is bliss, and if I do anything well, it's ignore problems and just blunder on, as my son is wont to point out to me frequently.
Well, anyway, watch the video. By the way, there are details in the video description you may find interesting, so don't skip that, but read it afterwards.
Let me just note that I was using a lightweight but extremely robust "Howie Scoop", an aluminum alloy scoop handmade by Howie, the VP of our South Florida Treasure Hunters Club. He makes a mean mf scoop. (mf stands for "mostly french"
, if you don't know.)[video]http://www.youtube.com/edit?video_id=3pk74vG8afQ&ns=1[/video]
Good job .. congrats !! 