Steve from Ohio
New member
I have discovered that Getting to the beach especially on the weekends is harder than ever. Seems everyone has the same idea of getting to the beach at noon and so the roads are packed and the parking lots are full.
So I have been getting to the beach around 8 am.
Today I went to Clearwater Beach in Florida just outside Tampa. Saw a guy there with the same setup as I, an Excalibur and a nice professional scoop. So we chatted for about 45 minutes.
Gene, who I met told me that he was associated with Mel Fisher at one time back in the 70's. He dove for him and he told me stories about Mel and his friends including Kip Wagoner and all the other folks that are now legends. Gene said he went to school with most of those guys and they all were involved in treasure hunting at one time in their lives. He is now retired and hunts the beaches and waist deep water. It was fun talking to a guy who was there at the Treasure Coast when it started. Gene also told me he was one of those people who were skipping those flat what they thought were rocks back into the ocean. Of course we all now know they were silver pieces.
Did not find much at Clearwater although Gene had told me that he found a couple of weeks ago a gold and diamond ring that he got 5 thousand dollars for. He also said that that he recently found a gold chain that he got $1800 for.
Spent a few hours hunting Clearwater with only wet clad to claim and so decided that I should head over to Desoto Beach.
Not really crowded but it looked promising with lots of gold being worn into the water.
My first few minutes in the water and a guy came up to me and asked if I could help him. He and his family have been feeling around with their feet for his wedding band that he realized he had lost. The were looking for it for at least three hours and were about to give up. I told him if It was there I would find it. Sure enough, after only 15 minutes I hit that ring with the Excalibur. Scooped it up and I called him over. He was the happiest guy I have ever seen. His wife gave me a hug and they offered me a reward. I told him that I could not accept money for helping them as I would want someone to help me if I was in need. So I just asked him to pay fore ward. If anyone he finds needs help, help them to the best of his ability. He agreed and said that was really a cool thing to ask for.
Even though I found gold, it was not really mine to have and I did have a great day helping and learning. Oh yeah, I found a small spill of wet quarters at Desoto beach and it added up to three bucks. Total for the day was a little over 6 bucks in wet change and one happy family plus some great conversation.
So I have been getting to the beach around 8 am.
Today I went to Clearwater Beach in Florida just outside Tampa. Saw a guy there with the same setup as I, an Excalibur and a nice professional scoop. So we chatted for about 45 minutes.
Gene, who I met told me that he was associated with Mel Fisher at one time back in the 70's. He dove for him and he told me stories about Mel and his friends including Kip Wagoner and all the other folks that are now legends. Gene said he went to school with most of those guys and they all were involved in treasure hunting at one time in their lives. He is now retired and hunts the beaches and waist deep water. It was fun talking to a guy who was there at the Treasure Coast when it started. Gene also told me he was one of those people who were skipping those flat what they thought were rocks back into the ocean. Of course we all now know they were silver pieces.
Did not find much at Clearwater although Gene had told me that he found a couple of weeks ago a gold and diamond ring that he got 5 thousand dollars for. He also said that that he recently found a gold chain that he got $1800 for.
Spent a few hours hunting Clearwater with only wet clad to claim and so decided that I should head over to Desoto Beach.
Not really crowded but it looked promising with lots of gold being worn into the water.
My first few minutes in the water and a guy came up to me and asked if I could help him. He and his family have been feeling around with their feet for his wedding band that he realized he had lost. The were looking for it for at least three hours and were about to give up. I told him if It was there I would find it. Sure enough, after only 15 minutes I hit that ring with the Excalibur. Scooped it up and I called him over. He was the happiest guy I have ever seen. His wife gave me a hug and they offered me a reward. I told him that I could not accept money for helping them as I would want someone to help me if I was in need. So I just asked him to pay fore ward. If anyone he finds needs help, help them to the best of his ability. He agreed and said that was really a cool thing to ask for.
Even though I found gold, it was not really mine to have and I did have a great day helping and learning. Oh yeah, I found a small spill of wet quarters at Desoto beach and it added up to three bucks. Total for the day was a little over 6 bucks in wet change and one happy family plus some great conversation.
