Underwater Hunting in Curacao???

[FloridaBeachBuzzard]

Hi, I will be heading to Curacao in May and was wondering if anyone would share their experiences. I am trying to do a little research on the legality of hunting there and how to transport my Seahunter Mk III (we are going on American Airlines), we are staying at the Breezes all inclusive resort and I am also trying to contact them to see if they will allow me to hunt on the beach there or if I have to go off the property. I am also interested in what kind of a digger is best suited for travel, I have a nice stainless one with a 42" handle but some thing tells me that the airline might balk ,
Thanks in advance, Nick

 

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[SusanMN]

Don't know about Curaçao but you shoulnt have problems flying with a metal detector or scoop if they are in checked luggage. It also shouldn't be a problem to bring the detector part and the coil in your carryon, which is what I think is the safest thing to do.

 

[TORRERO]

That in Venezuela ?
I don't know about that, but flying with a machine is easy as 1,2,3
As for a digger ? I would wait and pick one up there at a hardware store when you get there
or pack it in checked bags.
I always pack my detector in my carry on, so it won't get there without me.... you know.
I use a shovel on the beach and since I can't carry that on I found if I boy a laundry bag, I can put the
shovel in there and ship it as checked, so to pick it up when I get there..
I work for US airways and so I don't pay, but it could get costly to do that at maybe $25
So for the digger.... Checked bag or buy when you get there...
Richard

 

[ron lord]

Leave your Detector at home !! In South America MD are" taboo" they will take your detector away from you at the airport and you will never see it again.The reason for this is that the the Country is Gold Rich,but the rules may be different now but 20 years ago that was the rule. So beware and HH if they will let you.

 

[TORRERO]

Leave your Detector at home !! In South America MD are" taboo" they will take your detector away from you at the airport and you will never see it again.The reason for this is that the the Country is Gold Rich,but the rules may be different now but 20 years ago that was the rule. So beware and HH if they will let you.

My wife is from Lima Peru, and we visited there 3 years ago and I took my machine.
I did not have my bags search in customs so I don't know what would have happened there....
But we hunted the beaches in Peru, without a problem.
I also talked to a Dentist in Costa Rica who said I should not have a problem on the beaches
there. He said he did not know of any laws against it there...
Like I said, I don't know about Curacao, but in this day and age it's hard to believe that there is
a country in the world that has not seen a metal detector on any of their beaches...

 

[FloridaBeachBuzzard]

Thanks for all the info so far Curacao is off the coast of Venezuala but it is part of the Netherlands Antilles along with Aruba and Bonaire. I have heard of people hunting there but havent yet determined the exact rules. I really would prefer to carry on the MD if we wind up taking it, just don't want to get stopped at the airport with it

 

[ron lord]

This is what I was told 20 years age before computers.info then was by word of mouth or in a book, thing change and life go's on HH

 

[tnt-k9]

I live in Aruba. Here the beaches are public and you can metal detect all you want with no problem. Thank you for correcting the misconception that Curacoa is in South America. The resort you're staying in will be your best source of guidance concerning the local rules for metal detecting.
As far as your scoop goes, either check it as baggage or order a light weight travel scoop that breaks down and pack that in your bags. Don't wait until you're on the island and think that you'll be able to buy a scoop at the local hardware store. I was talking with some State Department folks last week and they just got their first Starbucks on Curacoa recently. So I'm guessing there's no Lowes or Home Depot. I've not been to Curacoa yet so I can't definatively answer your primary question but again the resort management would be the best bet.
Good luck and be sure to post your finds. Here's a link to someone who had made the rounds a while back of the ABC islands.

http://www.treasurequestxlt.com/community/index.php?threads/aruba-curacao-finds.38870/

 

[TORRERO]

Found this in a quick search online...
about half way down someone asks this question...

http://www.curacao-travelguide.com/faq/


Can I use a metal detector on the beaches?
There are no restrictions on the use of metal detectors.

 

[CASPER-2]

sent you a "pm"
that will be big help

 

[TORRERO]

sent you a "pm"
that will be big help

If you have information about this, why not share with everyone following this thread as we also
want to know Pos or Neg about hunting in other countries.

 

[CASPER-2]

it involves another forum and I dont want to upset the powers that be for posting it

 

[Tom_in_CA]

I have to chuckle whenever this question comes up, for any of various Mexican, Carribean, and south american beach resort destinations comes up. Sure enough: an answer like Ron Lord's gets bandied around But as Torrero's info shows, it's not true.

I believe these mistaken notions (that there's laws against it, and somehow you're going to end up in a mexican prison, etc... blah blah) are born out instances over the decades, where ....... people asked! Eg.: someone getting ready to travel down there somewhere, inquires ahead to a consulate, a border lawyer, a bureacrat, or whatever. Someone tells them "no". But don't you get it? Whomever they asked was probably couching their answer in terms of shipwreck salvor laws, or exporting gold bars, or raiding the pyramaids, etc..

I mean, SO TOO might you get the same "no" is you asked enough bureaucrats here "can I metal detect in the USA?", because they might couch your answer in terms of ARPA, or mel fisher legal hassles, and so forth.

Such was the case in the early 1980's, when Fisher Co. fielded an inquiry in their Q&A section of their monthly periodical. Someone said they were getting ready to vacation to Mexico, and wondered if "metal detecting is allowed". Fisher answered the inquiry by saying "no", and went on to spell out dire consequences, etc... Then in the FOLLOWING issue of the periodical, several other readers had written in to take exception to Fisher's answer. They asked things like "since when?" and "who told you this?" and "we go down there all the the time with no problems", etc.. So Fisher, in defense of their earlier answer, explained how they'd come up with the info: Upon receiving the earlier inquiry, THEY ASKED. Yup, they went to some lawyer or border consulate or whatever, and asked. I mean, duh, who better to ask, than Mexico themselves, eh? And Fisher merely printed the answer they'd gotten.

What's wierd is (as people pointed out to Fisher), detectors are a common site on tourist beaches down there, so how can it supposedly be disallowed? And all the major manufacturer's have dealers/distributors down there (INCLUDING FISHER! doh!).