Low tide was at around 6:30pm in Bermuda this evening, which is perfect because the lifeguards at Horseshoe Bay go home at 6:00pm and that leaves me free to hunt the surf. I've been badly sanded in for the past couple of months and nothing has seemed to have changed things in the conditions until today. I drove home from work this afternoon and noticed that the sand was pushed into one corner at Horseshoe, so I decided to try my luck.
Unfortunately, a couple of things came up and I didn't get down to Horseshoe until almost 7:00pm, I didn't even have time to put on my wetsuit but seeing as the forecast said that the sea surface temperature was now 74 F I wasn't too worried.
[attachment 93849 P6060002.JPG][attachment 93848 P6060001.JPG]
I was shocked as I waded into the water to find that the water was still pretty cool, probably deep water from outside the reef getting pushed up by the 2 foot swell that was pushing into Horseshoe Bay from outside the reef. I got down to it but the swell made it hard to stabilize the Excal so eventually I dialed it way up to 12 o'clock just to quiet down the chatter. The beach was pretty flat so I avoided the lane and headed for the mine which was now shoulder to chin deep and over my head when the swells passed through. The sand was pretty quiet but at least it was firm footing so I knew I had a shot at finding something.
The first target was faint but I dug down around a foot and pulled out a thin .925 band, size 10.
My first ring in almost 2 months.
[attachment 93850 P6060005.JPG]
The next target came about 10 minutes later and it was a $1 Bermuda coin, so not bad. Then I got called into shore by a woman who wanted to know if I could find her brother-in-law's Maui Jim sunglasses, almost no metal in those expensive wrap arounds so I told her that I couldn't detect them but I'd try to eyeball them seeing as I was wearing polarized Raybans.(personally, I think the Raybans are better for surf hunting) A whole lot of quiet for the next 15 minutes and then I got a good signal, not strong but good. I was at the edge of my limit digging this hole between swells and it just kept getting deeper but the signal also just kept getting better so I knew I was onto a ring. With the tide still coming in and my teeth starting to chatter from not wearing my wetsuit, the round, low tone disappeared around 16" deep. I waited as the sand drained away and there was a nice, wide 14k band lying in the bottom of my scoop.
[attachment 93851 P6060006.JPG]
I slipped it into my finds pocket with the other ring then rechecked the hole and got another hit at the edge of the hole, a quick scoop and there was a quarter. I did a search of the immediate area but complete silence again, the tide having edged me back out of the mine. I decided to call it a day after another ten minutes as there was nothing in the lane, actually there was no lane just a gentle slope of even sand from the beach to the water.(dead zone) $1.50 in clad and two rings for a 40 minute hunt is pretty good so I headed for home and a hot shower to get the chill out of my bones. I'll be back for Surf Church tomorrow but I'll be wearing my shorty wetsuit this time.
[attachment 93852 P6060003.JPG]
Cheers,
BDA
Unfortunately, a couple of things came up and I didn't get down to Horseshoe until almost 7:00pm, I didn't even have time to put on my wetsuit but seeing as the forecast said that the sea surface temperature was now 74 F I wasn't too worried.
[attachment 93849 P6060002.JPG][attachment 93848 P6060001.JPG]
I was shocked as I waded into the water to find that the water was still pretty cool, probably deep water from outside the reef getting pushed up by the 2 foot swell that was pushing into Horseshoe Bay from outside the reef. I got down to it but the swell made it hard to stabilize the Excal so eventually I dialed it way up to 12 o'clock just to quiet down the chatter. The beach was pretty flat so I avoided the lane and headed for the mine which was now shoulder to chin deep and over my head when the swells passed through. The sand was pretty quiet but at least it was firm footing so I knew I had a shot at finding something.
The first target was faint but I dug down around a foot and pulled out a thin .925 band, size 10.
My first ring in almost 2 months. [attachment 93850 P6060005.JPG]
The next target came about 10 minutes later and it was a $1 Bermuda coin, so not bad. Then I got called into shore by a woman who wanted to know if I could find her brother-in-law's Maui Jim sunglasses, almost no metal in those expensive wrap arounds so I told her that I couldn't detect them but I'd try to eyeball them seeing as I was wearing polarized Raybans.(personally, I think the Raybans are better for surf hunting) A whole lot of quiet for the next 15 minutes and then I got a good signal, not strong but good. I was at the edge of my limit digging this hole between swells and it just kept getting deeper but the signal also just kept getting better so I knew I was onto a ring. With the tide still coming in and my teeth starting to chatter from not wearing my wetsuit, the round, low tone disappeared around 16" deep. I waited as the sand drained away and there was a nice, wide 14k band lying in the bottom of my scoop.
[attachment 93851 P6060006.JPG]
I slipped it into my finds pocket with the other ring then rechecked the hole and got another hit at the edge of the hole, a quick scoop and there was a quarter. I did a search of the immediate area but complete silence again, the tide having edged me back out of the mine. I decided to call it a day after another ten minutes as there was nothing in the lane, actually there was no lane just a gentle slope of even sand from the beach to the water.(dead zone) $1.50 in clad and two rings for a 40 minute hunt is pretty good so I headed for home and a hot shower to get the chill out of my bones. I'll be back for Surf Church tomorrow but I'll be wearing my shorty wetsuit this time.
[attachment 93852 P6060003.JPG]
Cheers,
BDA
Work has got me jumping through hoops since I took over the new company, but all work and no play makes BDA a very dull boy.
