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Caribbean trip report

B

bashman

New member
Well here is six days production in the Caribbean with my new Minelab Excalibur most of the 1 and 2 euro coins aren't shown because I spent them on beer! My wife snagged the diamond (set in platinum)--the other two rings brought in around $400 for scrap. There was an American family of four asking me all kinds of questions about detecting while out in chest deep water---that's when I popped the 22kt ring. The look on their faces was priceless! Felt like a nice reward for being polite.
The flashlight is a Surefire and after scraping all of the corrosion off of it---It still works and is super bright! Guess that's why they sell that model for $160.

99% of this stuff was found out in the water--not on the beach.

I still like my Whites but this Excalibur is just simply great! I only regret not having ordered it with the larger coil.

Neal Bashor
 
Water-hunting is ultimately exhausting but an absolute blast. There is no better way to beat the summer heat !
 
McDave,
Since you water hunt and are in Minnesota you might appreciate these and may have found some yourself.....4000 years old copper culture fish spear points. Found in Grindstone Lake, Hayward Wisconsin.
 
Those are some beautiful rings that you found in the Caribbean. Water hunting is exhausting but can also be relaxing and it's a blast when you pop something nice like you did. Those ancient copper spears that bushman found are fantastic. Look like something from a museum. Way to go to the both of you & HH!
 
Great looking digs! What part of the Caribbean were you hunting in?
 
Nice finds!!! I'm new to the saltwater detecting. Wanted to ask about what dept of water was each of those rings found in and what would you estimate about how deep in the sand they were? Thanks!
 
Two rings found in 3-5 foot water depth and one in six inch water depth although that one was at low tide. Always seem to do the best at the turn of the tide when the sand is really shifting around. One problem is that you often have to scoop half a dozen times if you miss the target especially with gold as it just keeps sinking as you loosen the sand. It's also darn tough to get leverage when you are in deep because of your buoyancy....I'm thinking about adding a weight belt.

They were all around six to eight inches down in the sand.

I was in the French West Indies. St. Martin....

Water detecting does give you a hell of a workout and I've been knocked ass over teacups a bunch of times you've really got to keep an eye on the waves. I also find that in resort areas it's best to do the dry sand at dawn and dusk when there are no chairs or bodies to disturb (this also seems the best way to keep management off your back) and then work the water all day long. Management can be really testy--especially if they use tools to groom the beach which allow them to find stuff themselves--greedy so and so's.

Years ago I meet a really old guy on Waikiki beach who was detecting right at the surf line and he told me he found 500 rings in nine months! He had retired from one of the detector manufacturers and had a custom rig. He said is 30 year old girlfriend got all his rings. Good to know there is an angle that will help make us old guys more attractive!

I've also seem people detecting with mask and snorkel right at the depth where the water was over their head while they walked along.

Here's another bunch of stuff I found last year on a one week trip---the watch was still running and judging by the way the sand was stuck to it had been in the water for a couple of months. I could do this full time!
 
Did you have any trouble clearing customs, Do you think the U.S. now will make you pay taxes on bring your Detector back to the mainland.
 
I've never had a trouble with customs. Although I really got my luggage gone through in Korea one time-- guess they thought the detector was spy equipment.

The government would no doubt like me to pay taxes on the gold rings I find---but then who would be dumb enough to tell them?

I'm always more worried about the drugs in my luggage....LOL
 
Was it the three diamond ring found in the six inches of water? So can can go to resorts and detect on the dry sand area's of their beaches???
 
The diamond was out deep.

I figure if it's a public access beach I can detect it even if a resort sits behind it. I do however try to wait until the hotel guests aren't up or around.

The only time I've had run ins with people is when the beach is leased to concessioners who rent beach chairs...they tend to view anything lost on the beach as their rightful booty. The one place where I once had an serious disagreement with the beach chair guy I simply go to at dawn and clean out the beach before he comes to place the chairs. Then I make a point of showing him the stuff I found and laughing at him--calling him Le Roi du Plage.....since I have a two piece scoop I'm always willing to press the button which gives me a 30" stainless steel pipe in hand!

If it's really a public beach with public access then you should be able to detect it is my view. If they own the beach (fee simple) and choose to make it private they still can't stop you if you are in the water and can get there without crossing their ground.

In my experiance when you show them all the crap you are picking up and disposing for them--cleaning up their beach--they are pretty reasonable.

As a final note and in spite of my opinions on the matter, you can still run into restrictions like park regulations, sensitive eco-areas, or antiquities and hysterical (historical) department types depending on the country, state, county, town or municipality. It pays to do some advance research. Here in Baltimore for instance you can detect he city parks IF you get a certificate that says that you know how to dig holes and fill them in.....no kidding. However, the cops generally seem too busy with shootings and mayhem to bother detectorists.

I stopped at a county park (site of an old iron mine and town) and asked permission of the park manager who lives on site....20 minutes later the county archeologist drove by and freaked out. So I said fine but I had gotten permission but I'd be happy to leave and he could have the 1965 quarter that I found . He calmed down said the manager didn't have authority to grant permission and I actually wouldn't be able to find any old stuff as it would be too deep. Tought to myself "you might be surprised".
 
lol nice! I want to go some where in the Caribbean this winter just don't know where yet? That's why I've been asking all the questions. Kind of trying to find out what troubles I could expect??? Thanks for being help full! Most people I ask don't like to give you good advise for some reason? Like they think a novice going there once a year would clean the whole Caribbean out?
 
Since you are new to this I'd suggest Gallion Beach in St. Martin. Very calm and protected--the water is blood warm and shallow quite a ways out. Don't bother with the nude beach at Orient Bay they don't seem to lose anything--perhaps because they don't have any pockets.

When you get some experiance try Je Ju Do--an island off the coast of Korea. Full of Japanese honeymooners--tides go up and down by six to eight feet. Full of targets--it appears no one ever detects it. You'll have your picture taken at least a million times. The beach at the Kaui Mariott is great too...I'd avoid Wakaki Beach in Honolulu--I saw 15 guys working the beach and the water all at the same time.

But seriously, any old swimming hole or beach stateside can be just as good---and alot less expensive to get to!

Like I tell people it's like playing a slot machine without having to put any money in...you never know what you'll get or how much--- but if you play long enough you are bound to get something!

Have fun and good luck.
 
Thanks I was thinking something like Cozumel or Playa Del Carmen? The beach here in New Hampshire that I go to has at least 25 to 30 people detecting now on it! I've been going into the ice cold water to come up with finds. This is a nice beach for wet sand hunting as from the high tide to the low tide line must be some where around 125 yards or so. The beach is Hampton beach the tourist board say there is some where up to 200,000 visitors a weekend but not much gold seems to be lost here!
 
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