florida beaches

suwannee pirate

Full Member
Feb 12, 2006
135
8
Lake City FL
Detector(s) used
excalibur,garrett,micropulse
Go for it , no restrictions that I know of , might want to leave the backhoe at home though .Good Luck , Suwannee Pirate
 

Sandman

Gold Member
Aug 6, 2005
13,398
3,992
In Michigan now.
Detector(s) used
Excal 1000, Excal II, Sovereign GT, CZ-20, Tiger Shark, Tejon, GTI 1500, Surfmaster Pulse, CZ6a, DFX, AT PRO, Fisher 1235, Surf PI Pro, 1280-X, many more because I enjoy learning them. New Garrett Ca
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Not that I know of. Cover your holes and don't grab any Thongs.... ;D

Good Luck.
 

Chagy

Bronze Member
Dec 20, 2005
2,226
121
Florida
Detector(s) used
JW Fishers Pulse 8X
Primary Interest:
Shipwrecks
Its OK!!!!!....IN THE SAND..... not in the water, if he is going in the water he must find out if the area has a lease or is a state park.

Best,

Chagy..........
 

diggummup

Gold Member
Jul 15, 2004
17,815
10,120
Somewhere in the woods
Detector(s) used
Whites M6
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Yeah,most all of them.Unless they are part of a state or federal park or unless there is a lease site such as the 1715 site in Vero which is covered under the Fisher admirality I believe.The vast majority of Florida beaches are free to detect in or out of the water.
 

bigwaveohs

Tenderfoot
Apr 15, 2006
9
0
California Delta
Hmmmm...the Captain of the Endeavor on another forum said that Florida no longer allows you to keep (or even remove) what you find in the water that is more than 50 years old! Seems they failed to renew the Incidental Finds law for those who are just casual treasure hunters. Used to be you only had to provide documentation regarding where you found it >:(. Now you go to jail!
 

Bigcypresshunter

Gold Member
Dec 15, 2004
27,000
3,338
South Florida
Detector(s) used
70's Whites TM Amphibian, HH Pulse, Ace 250
Primary Interest:
Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
diggummup said:
Yeah,most all of them.Unless they are part of a state or federal park or unless there is a lease site such as the 1715 site in Vero which is covered under the Fisher admirality I believe.The vast majority of Florida beaches are free to detect in or out of the water.

Yes, you should have no problem in or out of the water in St. Augustine or most any other Fla beach. I do not believe there are any state leases north of Sebastian Inlet. You CANNOT use an MD on the 1715 leased sites from Sebastian south to about St. Lucie Inlet. There are also some 1733 sites that are off-limits in the Fla Keys to MD and one wreck in Key Biscayne.
 

bigwaveohs

Tenderfoot
Apr 15, 2006
9
0
California Delta
I saw a press release issued in November of last year that said some folks were finding old coins off Melbourne. I think it was a 50-plus group that got a boat and put a slavage crew together. Anyone have any details?
 

Bigcypresshunter

Gold Member
Dec 15, 2004
27,000
3,338
South Florida
Detector(s) used
70's Whites TM Amphibian, HH Pulse, Ace 250
Primary Interest:
Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
I don't know about this salvage group, but old Spanish coins are being found on the beaches of Brevard Co., absolutely. I don't know about any state leases at this time.
 

Bigcypresshunter

Gold Member
Dec 15, 2004
27,000
3,338
South Florida
Detector(s) used
70's Whites TM Amphibian, HH Pulse, Ace 250
Primary Interest:
Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
I guess there are other leases. I doubt there are any leases north of Cape Canaveral, as this is where the Treasure fleets turned East toward Spain.
 

diggummup

Gold Member
Jul 15, 2004
17,815
10,120
Somewhere in the woods
Detector(s) used
Whites M6
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
bigwaveohs said:
Hmmmm...the Captain of the Endeavor on another forum said that Florida no longer allows you to keep (or even remove) what you find in the water that is more than 50 years old! Seems they failed to renew the Incidental Finds law for those who are just casual treasure hunters. Used to be you only had to provide documentation regarding where you found it >:(. Now you go to jail!
Doesn't mean you can't use a detector in the water.I believe that was your original question?Besides,illegal or not,i'm not gonna throw back a coin because it's more than 50 years old,sorry.Prove it.
bigwaveohs said:
Are there any beaches on the East Coast of Floride where you can actually take a metal detector into the water without being thrown in jail?
 

wreckdiver1715

Bronze Member
May 20, 2004
1,721
151
Satellite Beach
Detector(s) used
Minelab Excal 1000
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I would like to direct your attention to the LEGAL ISSUES Topic on this forum, and then down to FLORIDA. You will find the answers to most of your questions regarding the laws as they apply to Florida Beaches and shallow water along with many GPS coordinates.
In a nut shell, there are no restrictions or laws that prohibit the use of metal detectors in Florida waters other than the Federal Parks and the leased search and recovery aeries.
There are a couple of search leases in southern Brevard County. The first site belongs to the Fisher’s and is just North of Sebastian Inlet up by Chucks Steak House (now a vacant lot North of Bonsteel Park), and another even further North that belongs to Amelia Research, and that site is up by the NASA tracking station, and some good recoveries were made there last season. However, they still are looking for the ballast pile. Please remember that the leases do not include the beaches, so hunt from the low tide line to the base of the dune and you will be fine.
Coins have been found for years along the stretch of Melbourne Beach a couple miles south of the 192 Causeway.
The aria north of Cape Canaveral is the Seashore National Park, and is off limits to metal detectors both on the beach and in the water. There is evidence of several wrecks in this location but the beaches and the waters are heavily patrolled by park rangers with orders to keep treasure hunters away.
Just for the record, there are still five ships from the 1715 fleet that have not yet been located.
 

Chagy

Bronze Member
Dec 20, 2005
2,226
121
Florida
Detector(s) used
JW Fishers Pulse 8X
Primary Interest:
Shipwrecks
#1 SAN MIGUEL
#2 NUESTRA SENORA DE CONCEPCION
#3 EL CIERVO AKA GALLERIA
#4MARIA GALANTE
#5 HOLANDESA ( I HAVE A BOOKS THAT MARKS HOLANDESA JUST A BIT NORTH OF THE FORT PIERCE INLET)

WRECKDIVER 1715:

IF ANYONE FINDS ONE OF THESE WRECKS IN AN ARIA THAT DOSENT HAVE A LEASE, CAN YOU STILL GET A PERMIT OR LEASE??? IN FORIDA

BEST,

CHAGY.................
 

wreckdiver1715

Bronze Member
May 20, 2004
1,721
151
Satellite Beach
Detector(s) used
Minelab Excal 1000
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
The simple answer is yes! However, nothing dealing with getting a lease to recover a shipwreck is easy. You may have to partner up with an established salvage company to get the lease, or prove to the state that you have the financial, technological and professional resources to document and recover and preserve the shipwreck.
 

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