Scuba Diving in 6-9 feet of Caribbean H2O

[Overkill Overkill]

I appreciate Mr. Hassell's posts on the forum. It does seem that, due to tides and currents, etc., a ring doesn't necessarily lay directly below from where it fell. Assuming this is true, then a ring belonging to a 5'10" man swimming in 5'7" water may end up under the sand anywhere within, say, a 12 foot radius of where his hand was when the ring came off. Assuming this is not totally false, doesn't it make sense to not only metal detect in the shallow side of where the man was (i.e., metal detect from where he was and all the way into shore) BUT ALSO ON THE OTHER (FAR OR DEEP) SIDE OF WHERE HE WAS? Of course, perhaps 96% of us are not equipped to dive down and dig in water 1 inch to 4 feet over our heads. But that fact does not nullify that the gold is still there, does it not?

Do you think there are folks out there silently diving the 6'- 15' depths of, say, Nassau and the Turks and Caicos Islands, gleaning all the jewelry that underwater detectorists who remain on their feet (and don't dive) miss?

Indeed, in his book, Captain Berg states that "If you are a certified scuba diver you have an advantage over most other metal detector hunters. You can get to many areas that are just too deep for even the tallest water hunter."

I'd like to hear from those who have done both (underwater metal detecting and SCUBA underwater metal detecting), and compare the advantages/disadvantages. It really seems relatively inexpensive (~$400) and quick (about two weekends) to get SCUBA certified.

 

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[Saturna]

Assuming this is true, then a ring belonging to a 5'10" man swimming in 5'7" water may end up under the sand anywhere within, say, a 12 foot radius of where his hand was when the ring came off.

Don't forget to account for his waist measurement and whether or not he has a full head of hair.

 

[mlayers]

Buy a hooka and you do not need to get certified. No hassels of getting your tanks refill....Matt

 

[Sandman]

"Do you think there are folks out there silently diving the 6'- 15' depths of, say, Nassau and the Turks and Caicos Islands, gleaning all the jewelry that underwater detectorists who remain on their feet (and don't dive) miss?"

Why just in those places? If you don't get your coil over it you didn't miss it. An you have to take into account fish will hit anything shiny that is falling in the water column. I once cleaned a fish that had a wedding band in it.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Your assumption is wrong again........Where did you read, and or how did you come up with the 12 foot radius. In fresh water, this may be true but in salt water there are currents, swells and wave action. I have hunted for rings lost by people right by me, pattern hunting the area around them and found no sign of the ring.

I recovered a ring for a couple that was at least a hundred yards from where they told me their 10 year old son lost it in front of their hotel, and they were 100% sure where he was when he lost it as they were in front of their hotel when the son came out of the water telling his parents he had lost his Christmas ring. There was no doubt it was the same ring I found since it had the inscription inside of it "To Travis Love Mom 12.25.2008". I found the ring 4 hours after giving up the initial search and moving down the beach hunting, finding it on 1.1.2009 when I went hunting New Years Day...................

 

[digum smacks]

i see you didnt take into account low tide.if the 5'10" man swimming in 5'7" water at high tide.at low tide ring could easily be retrieved.with a good tide the water could be 5'1" or less.dont forget where people are is where they lose things.the majority of people stay between waist to chest deep

 

[Willee]

Buy a hooka and you do not need to get certified. No hassels of getting your tanks refill....Matt

Yeah ... all that stuff you got to learn to get certified is just ... overkill!
Who needs to know all that information that just might save your life.

In your case I recommend you just get a hooka system and do it.
I know there will be years of posting and evaluating systems before you actually buy one.
And by then something else will come along to capture your attention.

 

[UNCLENICK]

Allright everyone take a deep breath...the guy is just asking no need to jump down anyones throat...Buy a hookah...why Scuba in less than 30 feet of water? Sure your hooked up to a hose, but that shallow of water you dont need to be absolutly "free" with a scuba setup. HH, Safe diving,

Nick

 

[Overkill Overkill]

OK, thanks to those who gave helpful feedback! Overkill Overkill

 

[goldfever]

"Do you think there are folks out there silently diving the 6'- 15' depths of, say, Nassau and the Turks and Caicos Islands, gleaning all the jewelry that underwater detectorists who remain on their feet (and don't dive) miss?"

Why just in those places? If you don't get your coil over it you didn't miss it. An you have to take into account fish will hit anything shiny that is falling in the water column. I once cleaned a fish that had a wedding band in it.

Lol. Thats a bit hard to swallow

 

[KJ$IPW]

I have done some shallow water SCUBA(hookah would have been great but didn't have one), in a local lake, the good thing about tanks, is that they last a good while in shallow water. As for rings, or anything people have lost, they generally don't know where they lost it, they only know when they realized it was lost. I have found rings 30' to 40' from where someone thinks they lost it, remember things don't sink straight down
HH
Steve