diverdan76
Tenderfoot
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Thread Owner
vacationing in marathon this year looking to swing a detector i am a newbie to this area any tips on were to start? Iam new to this forum so if this is a dumb question please be gentle.
marathon fl
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comfortably numb
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diverdan76 said:vacationing in marathon this year looking to swing a detector i am a newbie to this area any tips on were to start?
The Beach.Sorry, I could not resist.
You are so bad ! 
Treasure Hunters....sheesh ! That is as bad as a TH they showed on t.v. last night. He went to the Australian outback to hunt for gold and had 2 buddies. The TH had a bad heart condition, and went MD..ing with no extra medication, no water, NO COMPASS, and they decided to leave their GPS back at the truck.
Well being totally engrossed in the hunt (and we've all been there) he kept going, and going and...then realized he needed to get back to the truck. But he had gone so far, that the terrain all looked the same, the sun was down, and he had no clue which direction to go. He continued to make bad decisions for 5 days and almost died out in the desert.
One of the funniest moments, (or maybe deliriously sad, as his mind was going with the dehydration, and heat)
was that with the danger of Dingo Dogs wanting to chow down on his remains and following close behind him, he decides to get rid of his pickax, and keep the metal detector. You can fight off wild beasts really well with your XLT right ? The humor for me was the treasure hunter mentallity.
He also was "smart" and wore a pale yellow shirt that blended in with the background of the desert. Search parties missed him 3 times.
Yep in a land he has never been, no compass, no water, no gps, no weapon, and no sense.
Wisdom is good for TH's.
itmaiden
Treasure Hunters....sheesh ! That is as bad as a TH they showed on t.v. last night. He went to the Australian outback to hunt for gold and had 2 buddies. The TH had a bad heart condition, and went MD..ing with no extra medication, no water, NO COMPASS, and they decided to leave their GPS back at the truck.
Well being totally engrossed in the hunt (and we've all been there) he kept going, and going and...then realized he needed to get back to the truck. But he had gone so far, that the terrain all looked the same, the sun was down, and he had no clue which direction to go. He continued to make bad decisions for 5 days and almost died out in the desert.
One of the funniest moments, (or maybe deliriously sad, as his mind was going with the dehydration, and heat)
was that with the danger of Dingo Dogs wanting to chow down on his remains and following close behind him, he decides to get rid of his pickax, and keep the metal detector. You can fight off wild beasts really well with your XLT right ? The humor for me was the treasure hunter mentallity.
He also was "smart" and wore a pale yellow shirt that blended in with the background of the desert. Search parties missed him 3 times.
Yep in a land he has never been, no compass, no water, no gps, no weapon, and no sense.
Wisdom is good for TH's.
itmaiden
comfortably numb said:diverdan76 said:vacationing in marathon this year looking to swing a detector i am a newbie to this area any tips on were to start?
The Beach.
Salvor6
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Hey NumbSkull, How about the surf zone?
diverdan76
Tenderfoot
- #6
Thread Owner
maybe but living in pinellas park i dont think you would no much about that.
diverdan76
Tenderfoot
- #7
Thread Owner
thanks itmaiden i have a few ideas but there's always someone who knows more than i do so i was just asking.... never afraid to take advice.
Know before you go:
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
Rules:
http://floridakeys.noaa.gov/regs/fknms_regs2.pdf
itmaiden
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
Rules:
http://floridakeys.noaa.gov/regs/fknms_regs2.pdf
itmaiden
diverdan76 said:
chipveres
Sr. Member
If you would like to join the Beach & Shallow Water folks, I would suggest Sombrero Beach. It's one of the few sandy beaches in the Keys & must have some coins or jewelry.
Chip V.
Chip V.
capri_auto
Full Member
Stop by the Marathon Dive Center near the Marathon airport. They have tons of treasure on display and love detecting. They will get you started, tell them Chris from NJ sent you.
KEYSHUNTER
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hey,you do not say when your going to be here but i live in this area and could show you some spots out of the box.all in fuN!!! if you have not left let me know. HH
diverdan76
Tenderfoot
- #12
Thread Owner
i will be down there aug 21st thru the 28th staying by vaca cut. iam bringing my boat so i can get out onto the reef.
mad4wrecks
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You can't remove any historical resources within the Sanctuary, which is the entire Florida Keys. You also can't disturb the seabed at all, which includes hand-fanning I have been told. Don't risk arrest, as well as losing your boat and everything in it.
I was going to suggest metal detecting at Anne's Beach aka Treasure Beach at mile marker 73, in Islamorada, but now I am not sure if even that is legal.
Bob Frogfoot Weller wrote this:
Today we have another "treasure beach" in the Florida Keys. This storied beach goes back to 1965, two years after we salvaged El Lerri, a 1733 merchant nao that sank about one mile offshore of Lower Matecumbe. We hadn't found that much on El Lerri, even though it was one of the largest merchant ships of the fleet. It was a huge ballast pile, rising almost six feet above the sand and covering a good 125 feet by 45 feet of hard coquina bottom. The huge 14-foot anchor was given to Dick Bartlett, who owned what is now Cobra Marina on Windley Key. Today the anchor rests against the front of the building, a reminder that we worked hard moving ballast without a lot of glitter to show for it. That may be because the top decks came ashore over a mile away, carrying the personal belongings of some wealthy Spanish merchants on their way back to Old Spain.
As it turns out, Ray Manieri and I were working the area around Sombrero Light off Marathon in 1965. I had my 16-foot wooden Mohawk boat Frogfoot on a trailer, and we were staying at the Siesta Motel on US#1 in Marathon. On this Particular morning as we were hitching up Frogfoot to the back of my car, a father and son staying at the motel came up and started a conversation that began, "We understand you're treasure divers!" They wondered if there might be a place that the father, his wife and son might look in shallow water and find something from an old shipwreck. they were visiting from up north, and Florida was getting all kinds of publicity about the shipwrecks we were finding. We answered that if they were to drive up to a sign along the side of the road that said , " Yankee don't go home!" and signed Jerry Eagan - Real Estate. "If you park your car there at the sign and walk out about 150 feet, where the water is about two or three feet deep, you might find something That was about where we figured the El Lerri top decks came ashore. They thanked us as we hitched up Frogfoot, and we were on our way.
It was a long day on the reef and close to dark when we pulled up to the Siesta Motel. Before we were even out of the car the father, his wife, and son came out of the Motel carrying a plastic container full of water. They were grinning from ear to ear. "We went right where you told us to go...and look what we found!" In the bottom of the container lay a dirk, two silver pieces-of eight, and a very valuable "pillar dollar". After a lot of handshaking, and shaking of our heads, they pressed $50 on us for gas for the boat. I am sure they went back up north with a lot of treasure tales to tell. We were both wading around "Treasure Beach" the next morning in three feet of water!
Now fast-forward to February of this year. I had my San Jose team ( Joe Kimbel, Doug Gossage, Bill Brohm, Brad and myself) staying at Bernie Smith's house on Lower Matecumbe, about two stones throw from treasure Beach. We were working on my search lease for the 1733 missing galleon San Fernando, and I had my 40-foot Striker search boat docked behind the house. After ten days of fairly decent conditions, the weatherman decided e would take a winter vacation, and he took the weather with him. The wind was blowing, the white caps were dancing, and we were sitting around looking at four walls and truing to decide if another trip to Key West was in order. It was then that I told the group about Treasure Beach and our 1965 episode. It seemed to arouse the sleeping giant that treasure has a habit of doing That day Brad and Rob Barfield searching Treasure Beach. They didn't find much that day, a spike or two, and Rob had to catch an early morning plane back to Atlanta. Brad returned early that next afternoon. It was then that he found a beautiful piece of gold jewelry with four gorgeous green emeralds. It was definitely a 1733 artifact, one that started a stampede to the beach the following morning by all of us. We found a few spikes and a lead musket ball or two, but nothing that glittered except modern silver coins dropped by bathers.
As the Summer Salvage 2000 got underway in May of this year we were back at Bernie Smith's house, rented for the entire summer. There were days in July that the weather kept us off the site. It was during those days that the pilgrimage to "Treasure Beach" began anew. Rob Barfield an I were working the area between High tide and Low tide at "Treasure Beach". I had moved the search area about 300 feet further north from the location Brad had recovered his gold jewelry. We both had no inclination that Pandora's treasure box was about to open. I spotted the first glint of gold. It was a small section of heavy gold chain 2-1/4 inches long! I waved Rob over and showed him the treasure, and with renewed interest both of us started working the area with a fine tooth comb. It wasn't long before Rob came up with another section of gold chain, this one a little over six inches long. Before the day was over I recovered another section--all apparently from the same original chain--this one 11-1/2 inches long. It was dark outside when we finally gave up for the day. The celebration came later as we showed the chains to the rest of the group.
About a week later, a break in the action allowed me to take a few hours off and work Treasure Beach. I began working just north of where Rob and I had found the first sections of chain. Within ten feet of our last hole I found another section of chain, this one 16-1/2 inches long. Before I could catch my breath I had another section that measured eight inches. This was heady stuff. I began wondering how long the original chain could have been? I had started late, and dinner was waiting. The chain had been there for 267 years, it could wait another day or so.
The following day I started near where I had recovered the last section of gold chain, I had dug about three holes when the first links of gold chain appeared. I stopped, stood up and called everyone over to see "what they were looking for!" They all had a chance to see the first glimpse, no more than two or three inches, of gold chain. I then stood up, and stretched out what was 26 inches of encrusted gold chain! It started a flurry of activity. Before the group had scattered very far I found another section of gold chain! I couldn't believe it. This one was 19and 1/2 inches long. I soon had a lot of company in that area.
Totally we had recovered about 90 inches of 24-karat gold chain that was obviously from El Lerri. Each section had some coral encrustation, an at one time I am sure it was a single chain that had been broken as the hurricane brought the ship ashore.
Good luck. Tom
I was going to suggest metal detecting at Anne's Beach aka Treasure Beach at mile marker 73, in Islamorada, but now I am not sure if even that is legal.
Bob Frogfoot Weller wrote this:
Today we have another "treasure beach" in the Florida Keys. This storied beach goes back to 1965, two years after we salvaged El Lerri, a 1733 merchant nao that sank about one mile offshore of Lower Matecumbe. We hadn't found that much on El Lerri, even though it was one of the largest merchant ships of the fleet. It was a huge ballast pile, rising almost six feet above the sand and covering a good 125 feet by 45 feet of hard coquina bottom. The huge 14-foot anchor was given to Dick Bartlett, who owned what is now Cobra Marina on Windley Key. Today the anchor rests against the front of the building, a reminder that we worked hard moving ballast without a lot of glitter to show for it. That may be because the top decks came ashore over a mile away, carrying the personal belongings of some wealthy Spanish merchants on their way back to Old Spain.
As it turns out, Ray Manieri and I were working the area around Sombrero Light off Marathon in 1965. I had my 16-foot wooden Mohawk boat Frogfoot on a trailer, and we were staying at the Siesta Motel on US#1 in Marathon. On this Particular morning as we were hitching up Frogfoot to the back of my car, a father and son staying at the motel came up and started a conversation that began, "We understand you're treasure divers!" They wondered if there might be a place that the father, his wife and son might look in shallow water and find something from an old shipwreck. they were visiting from up north, and Florida was getting all kinds of publicity about the shipwrecks we were finding. We answered that if they were to drive up to a sign along the side of the road that said , " Yankee don't go home!" and signed Jerry Eagan - Real Estate. "If you park your car there at the sign and walk out about 150 feet, where the water is about two or three feet deep, you might find something That was about where we figured the El Lerri top decks came ashore. They thanked us as we hitched up Frogfoot, and we were on our way.
It was a long day on the reef and close to dark when we pulled up to the Siesta Motel. Before we were even out of the car the father, his wife, and son came out of the Motel carrying a plastic container full of water. They were grinning from ear to ear. "We went right where you told us to go...and look what we found!" In the bottom of the container lay a dirk, two silver pieces-of eight, and a very valuable "pillar dollar". After a lot of handshaking, and shaking of our heads, they pressed $50 on us for gas for the boat. I am sure they went back up north with a lot of treasure tales to tell. We were both wading around "Treasure Beach" the next morning in three feet of water!
Now fast-forward to February of this year. I had my San Jose team ( Joe Kimbel, Doug Gossage, Bill Brohm, Brad and myself) staying at Bernie Smith's house on Lower Matecumbe, about two stones throw from treasure Beach. We were working on my search lease for the 1733 missing galleon San Fernando, and I had my 40-foot Striker search boat docked behind the house. After ten days of fairly decent conditions, the weatherman decided e would take a winter vacation, and he took the weather with him. The wind was blowing, the white caps were dancing, and we were sitting around looking at four walls and truing to decide if another trip to Key West was in order. It was then that I told the group about Treasure Beach and our 1965 episode. It seemed to arouse the sleeping giant that treasure has a habit of doing That day Brad and Rob Barfield searching Treasure Beach. They didn't find much that day, a spike or two, and Rob had to catch an early morning plane back to Atlanta. Brad returned early that next afternoon. It was then that he found a beautiful piece of gold jewelry with four gorgeous green emeralds. It was definitely a 1733 artifact, one that started a stampede to the beach the following morning by all of us. We found a few spikes and a lead musket ball or two, but nothing that glittered except modern silver coins dropped by bathers.
As the Summer Salvage 2000 got underway in May of this year we were back at Bernie Smith's house, rented for the entire summer. There were days in July that the weather kept us off the site. It was during those days that the pilgrimage to "Treasure Beach" began anew. Rob Barfield an I were working the area between High tide and Low tide at "Treasure Beach". I had moved the search area about 300 feet further north from the location Brad had recovered his gold jewelry. We both had no inclination that Pandora's treasure box was about to open. I spotted the first glint of gold. It was a small section of heavy gold chain 2-1/4 inches long! I waved Rob over and showed him the treasure, and with renewed interest both of us started working the area with a fine tooth comb. It wasn't long before Rob came up with another section of gold chain, this one a little over six inches long. Before the day was over I recovered another section--all apparently from the same original chain--this one 11-1/2 inches long. It was dark outside when we finally gave up for the day. The celebration came later as we showed the chains to the rest of the group.
About a week later, a break in the action allowed me to take a few hours off and work Treasure Beach. I began working just north of where Rob and I had found the first sections of chain. Within ten feet of our last hole I found another section of chain, this one 16-1/2 inches long. Before I could catch my breath I had another section that measured eight inches. This was heady stuff. I began wondering how long the original chain could have been? I had started late, and dinner was waiting. The chain had been there for 267 years, it could wait another day or so.
The following day I started near where I had recovered the last section of gold chain, I had dug about three holes when the first links of gold chain appeared. I stopped, stood up and called everyone over to see "what they were looking for!" They all had a chance to see the first glimpse, no more than two or three inches, of gold chain. I then stood up, and stretched out what was 26 inches of encrusted gold chain! It started a flurry of activity. Before the group had scattered very far I found another section of gold chain! I couldn't believe it. This one was 19and 1/2 inches long. I soon had a lot of company in that area.
Totally we had recovered about 90 inches of 24-karat gold chain that was obviously from El Lerri. Each section had some coral encrustation, an at one time I am sure it was a single chain that had been broken as the hurricane brought the ship ashore.
Good luck. Tom
PyrateJim
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KEYSHUNTER said:
Hey Keyshunter, looks like the wife, kids and I will be headed down to Marathon for Christmas. Decided the winter drive was worth it to get away from our famiies for at least Christmas.
We'll have but a few days, but if you dont mind, would love to hook up for a few good places. I might even be able to pull a surprise as well. Working on that one now.
macblastr
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"which is the entire Florida Keys"
that is not correct.
that is not correct.
mad4wrecks
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macblastr
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you can metal detect anywhere except in state parks. also, the reef sanctuarys are clearly marked on the reefs with bright red balls usually in a square pattern. The coast guard and fish and wildlife will not say anything to you about the metal detecting (as long as you are not in the marked areas). Now if they stop you and you have 22 gold bars on board, thats a whole different scenario. Likely the bars will be seized, and then abruptly dissappear.
KEYSHUNTER
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The 21st is a Full Moon week,some crazy parties down here,glad to hear you have a boat,not much else to do on the island.If you have a water machine,nothing in your profile,there are alot of spots that are good for snorkling that produce drops from people partying on/off boats. Must warn you,dont give up after the 100th bottle cap!! May not seem like it but land,there are some decent producing sites.Alot of times you come across bottle dumps pretty easy since you cant dig a hole without dirt.let me know whats up on the situation,always nice to meet someboby who enjoys this hobbie HH
KEYSHUNTER
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Pyrate Jim,sounds like a wonderful XMAS getaway,keep in touch. HH
diverdan76
Tenderfoot
- #20
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yes iam bringing underwater detectors.
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