I'm the guy that found the ring for the woman in Destin. Funny how things turn out. I mean this forum this story. It's true. I ran into Mr. Memphis as he floated by me on his raft. He told he was in a metal detecting club and had just hunted the beach but was just going to relax, and that he did! He should have hung out with me more because it seemed every time he was around I would find something, yeah a quarter!
I had waited since Christmas to try my Tesoro Sand Shark out at the beach on our family vacation. My only problem was getting away from the kids. I initially tried it out on the beach in front of our condo/hotel Emerald Towers. I found every Corona bottle top and Pepsi pull tab out there plus some loose change. Once the umbrella man set up shop (6-7am) I quit and joined the family. The first thing I figured out real quick was that I needed to discriminate out the bottle tops and tabs, no chance to do that this trip. After I had covered the beach I figured I would venture out into the surf. That's when I really started to enjoy metal detecting. I started to find good stuff, money right away. Also, that's the same time I realised I needed to have a good sand scoop instead of my daughters play fishnet. After one day of hunting around in the surf the lady in the story above approached me and asked me if I had found a diamond ring. I said no but I would go look for her, it would be an adventure for me so I asked her if she knew where she lost it. We went out to about neck deep and started looking. I had the kiddy net and she had a daughter with scuba mask, no problem. When that tesoro high pitch sound finds something you will know it. Well, I got a sharp hit and then would be knocked off of it by a wave. It's tough standing on your tip toes and use a kiddie net. Readers Digest version, the daughter couldn't work my net so the mother took over. When she returned to the surface with a net full of sand, we both watched it drain away leaving a beautiful White gold diamond ring. That was cooool! It made both of our days for sure.
That find is why I am on this forum, the next day two older locals worked "my turf" like nobody's business. The were nice guys and totally cleaned out the area, I'm sure. One gentleman showed me his handmade sand scoop which has a long handle and PVC 6" pipe. They could work the deeper water when I was limited to waist deep water. I was searching to see if anyone had any plans on how to make one of these scoops and all of the sudden I find Mr. Memphis sharing our story. That story was meant to have a witness. Anyway, I am back on Lake Erie and in bad need of a scoop and a metal detector that can discriminate out iron.
So to answer the questions about Destin. Emerald towers and Sand Destin were the locations we were at. Also, get a deep sand scoop for the surf because on most days the surf was-no surf- allowing you to get out in 5 foot of water with little hassle, where we found the ring. Prepare to find lots of bottle tops/ pull tabs. Surf hunting is a lot cooler than hunting the beach during the day.
Mr. Memphis, it was a pleasure meeting you. Sure hope to see you there next year only you better get a water unit.
Bart from Texas and New York
