I've been nursing a sore right shoulder and elbow that has developed from all of the digging I have been doing since late January. Last night I told my wife that I would let my shoulder have a rest today but I guess I was mistaken.
The sand has slowly been creeping in and a look at the weather forecast indicated that I won't be hunting this weekend, so at the last minute I donned the wetsuit and headed back down to Horseshoe Bay in the hope that there was still something golden within range of my Whites Dually.
Yesterday I landed 3 gold rings at this beach but that was only because the ocean was dead calm and I was able to crank the Whites Dually to the stops and pick up some really faint whisper targets, these whisper targets were turned to gold after a lot of fanning and digging.
Move forward 24 hours and the conditions had changed dramatically for the worst, the wind had swung around to the south quarter and waves were pouring into Horseshoe Bay. Add to this a fast chop and a swell running at 45 degrees to the main waves and you have a washing machine.
You bounce around like a cork as the waves push you one way and the swell tries to drag you in another direction, it takes a tricky bit of footwork just to keep your balance - never mind digging tickets.
I use the waves to help me dig, I don't try to fight them as this is a losing proposition but with the swell clipping me from the side and the wave frequency running hot from the other side it was a difficult hunt. Using only my left arm to detect and dig didn't help but there is no strength left in my right arm just now. (it is only good for carrying the scoop until I need it. 
)
After an hour of wrestling with Mother Ocean (saucey wench that she is
) I had managed a few pulltabs and a couple of quarters, the tide had changed on me and I was considering calling it a day - I could always come back next week after this weekend's weather system had passed through and stirred things up a bit.
On the other hand, I am one stubborn pirate so I stuck it out for another hour in the hopes of salvaging this hunt. After another hour had passed, I had some more clad in my loot pouch but still no gold or silver. (Surf Pirate Creed - Gold makes a hunt and Silver saves a hunt)
I was being forced back by the rising tide into the zone between the Mine and the Lane, usually a dead zone but I got a faint signal as I moved towards the Lane for a last shot at glory. I planted the scoop and took an exploratory pull; the tone got better in the Dually's headphones. I fanned it down a bit with my foot and the target split to either side of the hole, so I put the scoop on the target to the left as I was digging left handed and up came a dime. Next I focussed my attention on the target to the right and proceeded to fan and scoop for a bit as I chased the target around the hole for a bit and the hole grew ever larger and deeper. I hauled up the scoop for a quick look while I swept around the hole with the coil, I heard the coil and was just starting to dump the contents of the scoop when I spotted a freshwater pearl bracelet going over the lip of the scoop - now I had 3 targets. The dime in my pouch, the pearl bracelet I had just dumped and whatever was still in the hole. (3 foot wide pit might be a better description at this point)
I chased down the bracelet where it had settled on the bottom and then fanned the loose sand that had accumulated in the pit. A few more scoopfuls and I had the 3rd target in my loot pouch, it was a heavy silver toering made in the form of twin dolphins. Time to call it a day.
[attachment 155348 SilverDolphinsandPearls002.JPG]
The Hunt Was Saved,
BDA
The sand has slowly been creeping in and a look at the weather forecast indicated that I won't be hunting this weekend, so at the last minute I donned the wetsuit and headed back down to Horseshoe Bay in the hope that there was still something golden within range of my Whites Dually.Yesterday I landed 3 gold rings at this beach but that was only because the ocean was dead calm and I was able to crank the Whites Dually to the stops and pick up some really faint whisper targets, these whisper targets were turned to gold after a lot of fanning and digging.
Move forward 24 hours and the conditions had changed dramatically for the worst, the wind had swung around to the south quarter and waves were pouring into Horseshoe Bay. Add to this a fast chop and a swell running at 45 degrees to the main waves and you have a washing machine. You bounce around like a cork as the waves push you one way and the swell tries to drag you in another direction, it takes a tricky bit of footwork just to keep your balance - never mind digging tickets. I use the waves to help me dig, I don't try to fight them as this is a losing proposition but with the swell clipping me from the side and the wave frequency running hot from the other side it was a difficult hunt. Using only my left arm to detect and dig didn't help but there is no strength left in my right arm just now. (it is only good for carrying the scoop until I need it. )After an hour of wrestling with Mother Ocean (saucey wench that she is
) I had managed a few pulltabs and a couple of quarters, the tide had changed on me and I was considering calling it a day - I could always come back next week after this weekend's weather system had passed through and stirred things up a bit. On the other hand, I am one stubborn pirate so I stuck it out for another hour in the hopes of salvaging this hunt. After another hour had passed, I had some more clad in my loot pouch but still no gold or silver. (Surf Pirate Creed - Gold makes a hunt and Silver saves a hunt) I was being forced back by the rising tide into the zone between the Mine and the Lane, usually a dead zone but I got a faint signal as I moved towards the Lane for a last shot at glory. I planted the scoop and took an exploratory pull; the tone got better in the Dually's headphones. I fanned it down a bit with my foot and the target split to either side of the hole, so I put the scoop on the target to the left as I was digging left handed and up came a dime. Next I focussed my attention on the target to the right and proceeded to fan and scoop for a bit as I chased the target around the hole for a bit and the hole grew ever larger and deeper. I hauled up the scoop for a quick look while I swept around the hole with the coil, I heard the coil and was just starting to dump the contents of the scoop when I spotted a freshwater pearl bracelet going over the lip of the scoop - now I had 3 targets. The dime in my pouch, the pearl bracelet I had just dumped and whatever was still in the hole. (3 foot wide pit might be a better description at this point)
I chased down the bracelet where it had settled on the bottom and then fanned the loose sand that had accumulated in the pit. A few more scoopfuls and I had the 3rd target in my loot pouch, it was a heavy silver toering made in the form of twin dolphins. Time to call it a day.[attachment 155348 SilverDolphinsandPearls002.JPG]
The Hunt Was Saved,
BDA
