Michael in SC

[loadams]

Have you ever had a problem searching the beaches here ? I'm in MP and curious if you've ever run across a local that said, "Nope, can't be digging holes here , son."

 

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[TOWcritter]

Hey. I just got back from Hilton Head and didn't have any problems. I hit the beach at 6 am every day it wasn't raining and had the beach to myself until the joggers got there at 7. Still, I even saw a little kid with an ACE 250 in the middle of the day with thousands of people on the beach hunting and nobody bothered him either. As far as I know from my research it is ok to detect from the dunes to the low tide line on all beaches in SC. The turtles are nesting right now so stay off the dunes. Also, no lights on the beach at night. Hope this helps you, just don't take it as gospel. You still have all sorts of local laws that can be different. Just be smart about your hunting practices. Good Luck.

 

[xXx]

Michael, I live in Myrtle Beach and hunting is open to all beaches here. In fact, local law enforcement will usually stop by and say hello to me if the beach isn't too crowded and their not buisy.
I do hunt a lot at night and I do use a light. They have seen me with it and haven't said anything about it, but with the "Cryptic Light" scam of Nags Head from the early 1800's, I can understand where this would become a problem.
If you have any questions or are coming to the Myrtle Beach area to hunt send me a message and we'll hook up.
xXx

 

[loadams]

Thanks for the responses. I , to say the least, was a little shocked. Definitely a local couple, islanders. I kinda smarted off and I shouldn't have, but my response was, "Should I go get my bucket and shovel and build you a nice sand castle?" That didn't sit well. She asked me if I had any certification and license to hunt then went on to tell me that she thought it was disgusting that I benefit from someones lost jewelry and belongings. Needless to say, I covered my hole up nicely and walked away. I contacted the local PD and they said the same TOW, no hunting at the dune line and no lights at night. The dispatcher went on to tell me that they receive dozens of calls wanting to know if "anyone found this" or did "anyone turn this in" stuff.
I guess what I should have started out saying in my first post, this is a great forum, a lot of wonderful knowledge and experiences. I hope to contribute in a useful way soon. Thanks again.

 

[Biggunshunter]

Hey Loadams - I've been hunting IOP for over 5 years and have never had any trouble. I usually hunt early morning or at night. If you go the morning of the 5th there'll be about 15 people swinging by the pavillion. You can find good stuff too. Just sold a couple of rings I found (on a previous trip) yesterday so I can buy a 1400 for my DFX to use when I go in 3 weeks. Don't let a couple of blow hards stop you. HH
Terrell

 

[alabamadan]

... with the "Cryptic Light" scam of Nags Head from the early 1800's...

What was teh "Cryptic Light" Scam?

 

[lonewolfe]

... with the "Cryptic Light" scam of Nags Head from the early 1800's...

What was teh "Cryptic Light" Scam?

I wanna know too

 

[xXx]

ahhh, Inquiring minds wanna know. This may take a while, and I'm sorry it's so long, but it's a great story.
The town of Nags Head, NC, is a barrier Island community of some two thousand people. During the early 1800's, however, this region was sparsely populated except for a few area fisherman and the residents of tiny villages along the coast. During severe storms, sailing vessels often sought fefuge in the more shallow sounds and bays located between the barrier islands and the mainland along this stretch of the coast to avoid the dangerous waves and winds of the open sea.
One dark night, a poor fisherman made repairs on his leaky boat by lantern light. A heavy rain, preceding an ocean storm, began to fall, and the fisherman hurried about his task in the hope of completing it before the storm arrived.
Two-and-a-half miles out to sea, a merchant ship, anxious to find refuge in the face of the oncoming storm, spotted the light from the fisherman's lantern. Mistakenly believing it was the light from another ship on its way through an inlet to the sound, the merchant vessel started following it. In the darkening night, and with visibility considerably reduced as a result of the heavy rain, the lookout could not see the barrier island that the ship was approaching.
Moments later, the ship struck a shoal and went no further. After lowering lifeboats, the ship's officers and crew rowed the remaining few hundred yards to the island and were dismayed to find the light they were following was the stationary lantern belonging to the fisherman. Cursing the poor fisherman and their own luck, the seaman continued on in the hope of securing a rescue for their ship.
Weeks later, as the story of the foundered ship was spread throughout the region, several unscrupulous bankers, desperate to add to their dwindling stock of funds, met to devise a wicked scheme. In order to fill their coffers, they decided to attempt to lure potential treasure ships onto the treacherous shoals and loot the vessels of their cargos.
A typical victim was the "Florence", a two-masted freighter traveling from Veracruz, Mexico to England. In the "Florence's" hold was $300,000 in gold ingots bound for the Band of England.
After taking on supplies at the harbor in Charleston, South Carolina, the "Florence" set sail for higher latitudes before attempting an Atlantic crossing. On passing Cape Hatteras, the "Florence" encountered a storm and the captain decited against sailing into it. Instead, he searched for an inlet that would lead him to the relative safety of one of the sounds located behind the barrier island. With that in mind, the captain steered the ship closer to the coast line.
Awaiting on the barrier island, the bankers tied a ship's lantern around a horse's neck and led the animal up and down a portion of the beach, hoping to deceive the ship into thinking it was another boat. As the "Florence" approached Nag's Head, the lookout suddenly shouted that he had spotted a light in the distance that he identified as a ship's lamp. Knowing the "Florence" was quite close to shore, the captain reasoned the ship in the distance had located an inlet and was entering it. With confidence, he ordered his helmsman to follow the light. Thirty minutes later, the "Florence" struck a shoal, capsized, and all thirty-one men aboard drowned.
The following morning after the storm had subsided, the bankers, along with their henchmen, rowed out to the "Florence". By evening, the ingots, along with other cargo, had been removed from the wreck, carried to shore, and buried.
This scheme was so effective that it is estimated that millions of dollars worth of gold and silver ingots and coins, jewelry, and other baluable objects were removed from the trapped ships. Eventually, ship captains learned about the false light and avoided the Nag's Head area thereafter.
After looting the foundered ships, the bankers buried the cargo at various locations along the beach, returning to them from time to time to extract some for their banks. The bankers and their henchmen were so successful obtaining treasure from the numerous wrecks that far more of it was eventually cached than they could keep track of. Because some of the cache's were poorly marked or not marked at all, many of them were also lost. Heavy storms often changed the topography of the shore line and modified landmarks so that it was difficult to locate previosuly buried cache's.
Eventually the bankers moved on. But, millions in gold and other items remained hidden on the beach near Nag's Head. As the years passed, the treasures buried on the barrier island beach were gradually forgotten.
In 1929, an engineer named Kindervater arrived at Nag's Head, near Kitty Hawk, to erect a granite memorial commemorating the Wright Brother's earliest airplane flight. After deciding on an appropriate site, Kindervater supervised the excavation of a portion of the beach. During the process, Engineer Kindervater was surprised to discover a number of valuable items apparently buried in the sand, including coins and an impressive silver punch bowl. More digging unearthed even more treasures.
When word of Kindervater's discoveries circulated, people came from miles away to dig in the sands from Kitty Hawk down to Nag's Head. In eighteen months time, more than a million dollars worth of coins, ingots, jewelry, and other items were discovered, all believed to be among the loot taken from dozens of vessels lured aground years earlier.
Researchers believe that dozens of ships fell victim to the bankers scheme and that millions of dollars in treasure were cached at various locations near Nag's Head. The researchers also note that much of the treasure remains today, perhaps to become uncovered in the future from another chance excavation or storm erosion.

Sorry. Guess I coulda just said, "Some guys with a light on the beach caused a bunch of ships to crash".
xXx

 

[alabamadan]

Great Story xXx! Thanks for taking the time to tell it so completely. Makes me want to got to Nags Head!