Determining the wave height pre-trip

[Crunchyhippo]

I had been using a website that was supposed to tell me the wave height at the beach before I went out. I used it to decide whether I would go in the water or just hunt in the sand. I saw yesterday that it measured the wave height at 0.3 ft., and I hadn't been able to get in the water to hunt for over a week, so I was excited to get out there and find something, since most detectorists stay on land. But I get to the beach yesterday afternoon, and instead of a near-glass-smooth surface, the waves made me think a hurricane was on the way - and this website is *constantly* wrong. It was a busy day at the beach, too, and I wound up having to weave in and out of the crowds on the sand instead of being in the relative freedom of the water. Needless to say, I was pissed, and I wound up finding jack-squat after 2.5 hours.

Does anyone use a site that accurately states the wave heights for your beach?

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

I used Magic Seaweed, but it was sold and is now called surfline.

https://www.surfline.com/

 

[Knight_of_Excalibur_II]

I used Magic Seaweed, but it was sold and is now called surfline.

https://www.surfline.com/

I use this site as well, it's not perfect, but it's fairly accurate. It will give you a spread for the average wave height as well as the height of swells (occasional max height outlier waves). Most people ignore the latter, but it's important if you're water hunting, especially on the east coast of Florida, since it's a lot choppier than the gulf. I often have to fight the waves a bit, but if it's bigger than 3-4 ft at my torso, I skip the water, and stick to the swash zone or the dry.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

West Gulf coast surf is flat compared to the surf on east coast of Fl...

 

[Mackaydon]

Along with a tide chart, I use this one:

https://www.surfline.com/surf-report/carlsbad-state-beach/5bfdced06871990001fd9ff2?camId=5bfda1f033218e72e882d24c

Don in SoCal

 

[Crunchyhippo]

I use this site as well, it's not perfect, but it's fairly accurate. It will give you a spread for the average wave height as well as the height of swells (occasional max height outlier waves). Most people ignore the latter, but it's important if you're water hunting, especially on the east coast of Florida, since it's a lot choppier than the gulf. I often have to fight the waves a bit, but if it's bigger than 3-4 ft at my torso, I skip the water, and stick to the swash zone or the dry.

I guess it's different for everyone, but if I'm in water to my hip, and the waves go to my chin, I can't effectively detect in the water; it's pushing me around too much, and that's only about a 1.5-ft. swell - especially if I'm trying to dig something up. I don't see how people hunt in waves higher than that.

 

[OBN]

Like all things its a learn thing for where you hunt. I've been hunting the same area for almost 12 years now and there is no site that is perfect. But I have learned to put all the information together and come up with a close outcome.
I use a couple local live cams, Windy.com, One I will not disclose, and these two.

This one is real time works off a bouy

Florida Live Buoy Data, with tides, wave height, water temperature, waves, and Wind

Florida Live Buoy Data for Florida tides, wave height, water and sea temperature, wave length, Wind Speed and wind direction.

www.eldoradoweather.com

CO-OPS Map - NOAA Tides & Currents

Here in the Chesapeake bay the winds control tides and wave action, so windy is one of my best tools.. and hits at about 60% of the time

 

[Knight_of_Excalibur_II]

I guess it's different for everyone, but if I'm in water to my hip, and the waves go to my chin, I can't effectively detect in the water; it's pushing me around too much, and that's only about a 1.5-ft. swell - especially if I'm trying to dig something up. I don't see how people hunt in waves higher than that.

That's fair. I'm able to do it, albeit with some difficulty. I wait between waves to dig, and try to minimize my resistance to the waves so I don't get smacked by one-- I'm also fairly young, so there is that. I believe that water hunting my local beaches is only marginally better than dry hunting on average, with a few exceptions for certain sites and conditions, but I find it's better to wait for certain beach conditions to make the most of your time. The dynamics of dry hunting and water hunting are very different.

 

[Crunchyhippo]

That's fair. I'm able to do it, albeit with some difficulty. I wait between waves to dig, and try to minimize my resistance to the waves so I don't get smacked by one-- I'm also fairly young, so there is that. I believe that water hunting my local beaches is only marginally better than dry hunting on average, with a few exceptions for certain sites and conditions, but I find it's better to wait for certain beach conditions to make the most of your time. The dynamics of dry hunting and water hunting are very different.

Right. It also depends on the beach, too, I think. Detectorists cover Clearwater Beach like army ants, even in the dark, so whatever I find is just their leavings. It's also why I've never found gold here (and silver only 3X), whether searching in the water or the sand. CB is a gorgeous beach, but it's the last place you want to detect.

The thing about water-hunting - I think a target is more likely to be something valuable in the water, but one gets fewer signals there than on land (more trash there). I get tired of walking in the water for an hour sometimes without a single beep (much less finding jewelry, MUCH less finding actual silver or gold). Sometimes I'll leave the water and go on land, even if it means only finding pop tabs and foil, just to hear that welcoming *beep!* for once.

 

[Knight_of_Excalibur_II]

Right. It also depends on the beach, too, I think. Detectorists cover Clearwater Beach like army ants, even in the dark, so whatever I find is just their leavings. It's also why I've never found gold here (and silver only 3X), whether searching in the water or the sand. CB is a gorgeous beach, but it's the last place you want to detect.

The thing about water-hunting - I think a target is more likely to be something valuable in the water, but one gets fewer signals there than on land (more trash there). I get tired of walking in the water for an hour sometimes without a single beep (much less finding jewelry, MUCH less finding actual silver or gold). Sometimes I'll leave the water and go on land, even if it means only finding pop tabs and foil, just to hear that welcoming *beep!* for once.

I agree. Popular beaches are a double-edged sword - more foot traffic, but also more detecting competition. I prefer the surf, because it's easily accessible to swimmers, but far less so for most detectorists. From my research, I've deduced that most Boca Beaches are not worth detecting. The beaches are heavily polluted with bottle caps, cans and other trash, mostly junk jewelry. Demographics of Deerfield beach are much younger, and cannot afford gold or silver as easily. That isn't to say that you can't find stuff like that there, but the effort to do so would be considerably greater than elsewhere. Every spot has trade-offs but the sweet spot for me has been the in-between beaches, or the beaches sandwiched between the popular ones.

 

[2Peas]

I had been using a website that was supposed to tell me the wave height at the beach before I went out. I used it to decide whether I would go in the water or just hunt in the sand. I saw yesterday that it measured the wave height at 0.3 ft., and I hadn't been able to get in the water to hunt for over a week, so I was excited to get out there and find something, since most detectorists stay on land. But I get to the beach yesterday afternoon, and instead of a near-glass-smooth surface, the waves made me think a hurricane was on the way - and this website is *constantly* wrong. It was a busy day at the beach, too, and I wound up having to weave in and out of the crowds on the sand instead of being in the relative freedom of the water. Needless to say, I was pissed, and I wound up finding jack-squat after 2.5 hours.

Does anyone use a site that accurately states the wave heights for your beach?

Try to find some web cams for the area. At least you'll be able to look before leaping.
I also use the "Windfinder" app.

 

[2Peas]

Right. It also depends on the beach, too, I think. Detectorists cover Clearwater Beach like army ants, even in the dark, so whatever I find is just their leavings. It's also why I've never found gold here (and silver only 3X), whether searching in the water or the sand. CB is a gorgeous beach, but it's the last place you want to detect.

The thing about water-hunting - I think a target is more likely to be something valuable in the water, but one gets fewer signals there than on land (more trash there). I get tired of walking in the water for an hour sometimes without a single beep (much less finding jewelry, MUCH less finding actual silver or gold). Sometimes I'll leave the water and go on land, even if it means only finding pop tabs and foil, just to hear that welcoming *beep!* for once.

Clearwater Beach is not like it use to be.
10 years ago, you had plenty of parking meters, now it's all pay by plate. Also those cabanas stacked on the beach, use to get hauled away each night and the had 2 or 3 beach rakes cleaning the beach each morning.

 

[zigzag]

I also use surfline and it's almost always accurate even a week or two in advance

 

[Crunchyhippo]

I agree. Popular beaches are a double-edged sword - more foot traffic, but also more detecting competition. I prefer the surf, because it's easily accessible to swimmers, but far less so for most detectorists. From my research, I've deduced that most Boca Beaches are not worth detecting. The beaches are heavily polluted with bottle caps, cans and other trash, mostly junk jewelry. Demographics of Deerfield beach are much younger, and cannot afford gold or silver as easily. That isn't to say that you can't find stuff like that there, but the effort to do so would be considerably greater than elsewhere. Every spot has trade-offs but the sweet spot for me has been the in-between beaches, or the beaches sandwiched between the popular ones.

When I go to the beach, I actually gravitate TO the heavily detected areas, which are where the most people hang out. Mainly because that's where most of the goodies will be lost. Second, I spend most of my time in the water, since most detectorists look on land, giving me an edge. Lastly, I've noticed that the water detectorists (at least the ones I've seen) walk in the water *parallel to* the beach, whereas I hunt *perpendicular to* the beach - so I cover ground that the others skip. I think it helps me avoid walking along a path that a dozen others have already covered and me wondering why I'm getting zero signals.

 

[Knight_of_Excalibur_II]

When I go to the beach, I actually gravitate TO the heavily detected areas, which are where the most people hang out. Mainly because that's where most of the goodies will be lost. Second, I spend most of my time in the water, since most detectorists look on land, giving me an edge. Lastly, I've noticed that the water detectorists (at least the ones I've seen) walk in the water *parallel to* the beach, whereas I hunt *perpendicular to* the beach - so I cover ground that the others skip. I think it helps me avoid walking along a path that a dozen others have already covered and me wondering why I'm getting zero signals.

To each their own, I do the same minus the popular beach part, though I sometimes make exceptions for new beaches that I'm scouting... I've yet to sample Miami, so I might change this in the future if it proves worth my time. I don't really have a preference for parallel vs perpendicular, though I really only do parallel if I'm detecting the first trough in the wave break where all the shells and heavies concentrate. Currently, I prefer beaches with mid-level foot traffic: less competition, less trash, and parking is easier. Also, drops have a tendency to accumulate over longer periods at these beaches due to the low competition. When I go out into the water, I go out perpendicular, usually chest deep and do a spiral where I think people frequently get in / out of the water in large groups. If the water is too choppy, I may go parallel along the first trough. If the wave height is too dangerous for that, then I'll stick to scallops or dry hunt.