11/6/24 Report - Rafael Still On Track. Nice Days for Metal Detecting. Legal Issues Beach Detectorists Should Know. Riparian Rights.

 

Written by the  Treasureguide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.

Source: nhc.noaa.gov.

No change here.  Rafael still looks like it will become a hurricane and make landfall around Louisiana.

Another day of high surf combined with high tides.

The surf will be changing direction.  There will be a some southerly flow.

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I couple days ago I talked about private property and property lines as well as the important Mean High Water Line.  Today I'll comment on a couple related concepts that determine access to beaches and other waterway adjacent properties.

Below are a few excerpts from a legal overview paper.  Here is the first.

The title to lands under navigable waters, within the boundaries of the state [Florida], which have not been alienated, including beaches below mean high water lines, is held by the state, by virtue of its sovereignty, in trust for all the people. Sale of such lands may be authorized by law, but only when in the public interest... 

The bottom line of that is that the lands below the mean high water line, which includes but is not limited to, the beaches and waters.  Some homeowners or corporations might try to keep you from those lands.  They can keep you off of their property, but not the area below the mean high water line.  You can walk along the beaches or waterways and use them for common recreational purposes.  The navigable waterways and land below the mean high water line is for the public's use.

But the owners of land adjoining the waterways also have rights (riparian rights) to those lands. Below is an except that describes the rights of those landowners (private homeowners, corporations, HOAs, etc.).

Florida common law has broken down the bundle of riparian rights into general and special rights.36 General rights, which are shared by the public, include the right to navigation, commerce, fishing, bathing and boating.37 By contrast, special rights are rights exclusive to the owner of upland property to use of the adjacent water body.38 The special rights include the right of access from the water to the riparian land, a right to wharf out to navigability,39 the right to take title to the property by accretion and reliction, and, the right to an unobstructed view over the adjoining waters.4

Those are the rights that enable homeowners to build docks out beyond their property line.  They are rights that provided additional value to waterfront properties.

The excerpt also tells us that landowners gain property when the shoreline changes to add beach or land.  The MHWL changes with the shoreline.  I've talked about how the MHLW is determined before.  Similarly, when there is erosion, waterfront properties are reduced.  

So what happens when the beach is increased by beach renourishment projects?   Do the homeowners just get the additional land?  To some extent they do, but there is more to it.

“Once the erosion control line along any segment of the shoreline has been established in accordance with the provisions of ss. 161.141-161.211, the common law shall no longer operate to increase or decrease the proportions of any upland property lying landward of such line, either by accretion or erosion or by any other natural or artificial process, except as provided in s. 161.211(2) and (3).”83 

So there is an erosion control line that becomes in effect the MHWL when the shoreline is modified by the state.  Homeowners can not extend their property by dumping sand or taking other measures to modify the shoreline along their property.

You should be aware of the rights of yourself, as part of the public, as well as those of the waterfront landowners.  There can be times when there is conflict.

To give an example. one day I was metal detecting on a beach in front of a resort that maintained a swimming area and a lifeguard.  The lifeguard told me I couldn't detect on their beach.  I knew I could.  It was a replenished beach.  I called the county official, who told me I could use the land back to the erosion control marker at the back of the beach.  That is an example of what I was talking about above.  I didn't argue with the lifeguard at the time, but I knew my rights.  

It only stands to reason that the government should keep for the public the beach that was added at public expense.  Taxpayer funded beach replenishment projected benefit landowners in other ways, such as protecting their land from erosion, which left unchecked could result in the reduction in the size of their property.  

When you walk along the intercoastal waterway and encounter a dock that extends into the water, you are seeing the riparian rights of the landowner.  Your rights to use the land below the MHWL intersects with the landowners' riparian rights.  You are not on private property as long as you are below the MHWL, and are simply using the land held in trust for the public use.

I've discussed the determination of the MHWL before.  And, as I've said, you probably won't know where that line is unless you can find a survey marker.  Otherwise, you can get a general idea of about where it might be but the precise dividing line between public and private land won't be obvious.

I'm sure that my discussion of riparian and related rights is not complete, and it is not completely accurate or precise in a technical or legal sense.  Here is the link to the document I excerpted. If you have additional questions, I hope you'll look into it more for yourself.

florida riparian rights ocean - Search

Also don't forget the other issues such as the leased areas for shipwreck salvage and historic and archaeological sites.

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Looks like a nice day to get out to the beach again today.  Maybe I will.

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/5/24 Report - Hurricane Rafael Forming and Looking to Head Up Through the Gulf. High Tides and Surf.

Written by the TreaureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report

Turtle Trail Monday early Afternoon.

Tuesday morning is what I'd call a beachy day. Cloudy, a little rainy, some wind and some waves. It is a nice day to get out and do some hunting.

Unfortunately, a beachy day is not always a great treasure day. A beachy day is a nice time to get out and do a little detecting even if the chances of finding centuries-old treasures are not dramatically improved. Chances are still better than during the hot summer months of oppressive heat and beach accretion, and there can be spots where something old might be found.  On such days, it wouldn't' be a bad idea to be out there to scout around a little and see how things are trending and where good things might develop in the near future.  You can probably find some more recent items now.  You might want to check some of the areas that don't have less renourishment sand.

I had some business in Vero Monday, so I stopped at the beach.  I quickly realized that I forgot to pack my equipment.  At least I got to take a look and take a couple photos.

You can see the cliff from the past erosion, but there is still a lot of renourishment sand in front of the dunes

You can also see a little seaweed that has washed up.  That is a common sign of east swells pushing stuff up onto the beach.  

Turtle Trail Monday Early Afternoon.

We now have a storm named Rafael.  Expected to become a hurricane soon, it looks like it could pass not far off the Keys and head up through the Gulf.

We are still having some really nice high tides.  And the surf is big too.  If you look around or have been following the beaches closely, you should have some good spots to check today.

Referring to my old rating scale, I'd call this Level 2 or transitional conditions.  Although the angles aren't good, there is some chance.  It depends upon how much effort you have put into monitoring the beaches.

Source: Surfguru.com.

I'd like to get out, but don't know if I'll manage today.

It is voting day.

By the look of the lines at the polling places, the only people that will be able to vote today are those who have nothing else they have to do all day long.  Talk about voter suppression.

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/4/24 Report - Another Gulf Hurricane Forming. A Little Hillbilly Hunt. Private Property and Property Lines.

 

Written by the Treasureguide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.

Source: nhc.noaa.gov.

Looks like there could be another hurricane forming.  And it looks like it could go up through the Gulf  I'm talking about the red x.  Below is what the National Hurricane Center shows for it.

Soure: nhc.noaa. gov.

As you can see, it could become a hurricane but might weaken to a storm before making landfall.

Source: Surfguru.com.

We are still having some really good high tides, and according to Surfguru.com, we'll have some more high surf this week.  Problem is, the angles still don't look great.

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A couple days ago I showed my Garrett Ace metal detector with a rod assembly of scrap wood and duct tape that I took on a trip.  I recently used the detector on a couple little hunts in the West Virginia wooded hills.  The ground was rock hard and the area had been covered by detectorists many times before, so I didn't expect much but thought there still might be a chance of coming up with something nice and old.  

It took forever to dig each and every target with the hand trowel that I had, and I didn't have a lot of time to hunt anyhow.  I wish I would have had cleats to help me hand onto the steep slope of the hills, but I only had an old pair of old worn-out slick sneakers.  Nonetheless, I had a little fun.  I was surprised to find several modern coins.  There was a lot of junk aluminum, so all of that made it difficult to get the few older coins that I thought might still be buried near or beyond the range of the Ace.

I don't always have to have the best or most powerful detector.  I have fun with something like an entry level detector and always believe that there is always something to be found.

Here are a few of my finds.  

A Few Finds.
Figure, Small Lock or Charm, Rolled Lead, Bullet and Some Coins.

Once again, I found there is always still something to find.

Below is a 1946 dime, which was the oldest of the modern coins.  It didn't even require cleaning.  Some of the other clad did require cleaning.

Silver Dime Find.

The dime came out of some very hard ground.  I was surprised to find it in such good condition.

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The above finds came out of the forested hills of West Virginia.  Like many of my Florida finds, they came from private property.   

As you know, you should get permission from the owners if you hunt on private property, but it is not always easy to know where the property lines are and therefore who owns the land.

There is a good chance you've found some things on private property without knowing it.  That could easily be the case on the Treasure Coast beaches.

Along the Treasure Coast beaches there are many homes as well as businesses behind the beaches.  You can see the homes, but do you know where the line between the private property and public beach is?  Usually you don't know exactly where the property line is.  In many cases, the property line will be towards the back of the beach but in front of the face of the eroding dune.  If the beach has been renourished, the property line has a better chance of being behind the dune face.  In many cases the survey markers will be buried.

Besides private homes, the area behind the beach can be owned by a corporation, such as Disney or FPL, or a HOA or condo association.  In some cases, you will see No Trespassing signs, but you still won't know exactly where the property line is.  The trespassing signs may not be right on the property line.  

The dividing line will often be at the Mean High Water Line, but it is nearly impossible to know exactly where that is.

I found a good article about that.  It is clear and not too technical.  Below is an excerpt.

Let's start with a definition of the Mean High Water Line (MHWL), an important measurement when it comes to beachfront property lines. Florida Statutes 177.27(14) and (15) establish the MHWL as the average height (elevation) of high tide saltwater at a specific location on the shore over a 19-year period. Most of us who go to Florida beaches think of a high-tide mark as how far water comes onto the beach (distance) at high tide on any given day. Same basic concept, just different ways to look at it.

The MHWL measurement uses an average because beach sand and bottom contours change every time the tide goes in or out, and definitely whenever a Hurricane makes landfall. It is usually just surveyors who deal with the technical MHWL, which can be very difficult and involved to precisely locate. 

Here is the link.  (Source: Who Owns The Beach In Florida? And Why Does It Matter?)

People often talk of the wet/dry sand rule, which in reality is virtually meaningless in this regard.  As the article explains, the wet sand line constantly changes, while the Mean High Water Line changes on every 19 years or so.

The situation along the intercoastal waterway is similar.  The water level changes, and the banks erode, but that does not determine the property line

If you find something on the banks of the intercoastal, there is a good chance the item was found on the private property of the home or business behind the bank.  You can occasionally see survey markers sticking up out of the mud or water along the banks of the Lagoon.  In some cases, the survey markers are old and out-of-date.  Without seeing the survey markers, it is nearly impossible to know where the property line is.  

Many properties along the intercoastal extend down the bank to the MHWL and A1A goes through the property.  Many people seem to think that the property lines end at the highway, but in some areas they do not.

The bottom line is that property lines can difficult to determine precisely and finds may be made on private property when you do not know it.

---

Good hunting,

Treaureguide@comcast.net

The same ambiguity exists along the intercoastal waterway.  Again the property line separating the waterway that provides access to the public for recreational activities and private property will not always be well marked.  Along the intercoastal, you will sometimes see survey markers sticking up near the waterline, but in more cases the survey markers will not be easy to find.  

To make matters worse, those lines will change along with the Mean High Tide line.

The Treasure Beaches Report Direct From Florida's Treasure Coast.: 9/17/14 Something Different. Life Is A Beach or Me and Dad. Not a Beach Report.The Treasure Beaches Report Direct From Florida's Treasure Coast.: 9/17/14 Something Different. Life Is A Beach or Me and Dad. Not a Beach Report.

The Treasure Beaches Report Direct From Florida's Treasure Coast.: 9/17/14 Something Different. Life Is A Beach or Me and Dad. Not a Beach Report.The Treasure Beaches Report Direct From Florida's Treasure Coast.: 9/17/14 Something Different. Life Is A Beach or Me and Dad. Not a Beach Report.

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We usually talk about the beaches and assume that everything found is on public property, but it isn't as simple as that.  The property lines for private waterfront properties can extend out beyond the dune face, which people often look at as the property boundary.  It might look like he property line, but it is not.  Sometimes you can find property markers that are determined by survey, but often they will be buried and invisible.

I've talked about the mean high tide line before.

Does The Property Line Move When The Shoreline Changes at my Waterfront Property?

José Maria da Fonseca Winery: A Toast to Tradition and Innovation - The Lisbon Guide - Updated 2024

11/2/24 Report - Gold Votive Plaque. Excavated Dagger. Long Handle Duct Taped Detector. More High Tides.

 

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.

Gold Votive Plaque Excavated at Roman Fort.

Archaeologists have uncovered a "unique" gold artifact dedicated to an ancient deity at the site of a Roman fort, hinting at the existence of a lost temple.

The votive plaque is among the "most important" discoveries revealed by excavations conducted this year at the Roman fort of Apsaros in Georgia—a country that straddles the boundary between Eastern Europe and West Asia in the Caucasus region—Radosław Karasiewicz-Szczypiorski...

The votive plaque found during the 2024 excavation season at the site, which ran from mid-May to the end of July, is essentially a thin gold plate. It features a Greek inscription dedicated to Jupiter Dolichenus—a deity worshipped in the Roman Empire who was particularly revered by soldiers. The deity combined aspects of the Roman god Jupiter with an ancient Near Eastern storm and fertility deity worshipped at Doliche in what is now southeastern Turkey.

Here is the link for more about that.

Unique' Gold Artifact Discovered at Roman Fort Hints at Lost Temple - Newsweek

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Excavated Copper Age Dagger..

Archaeologists have unearthed a rare dagger dating back to the Copper Age at Tina Jama Cave in the regional decentralization entity of Trieste in the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia...

“Such finds do not have exact parallels in Italy, but the Tina Jama dagger can be compared with similar finds from the famous Dežman/Deschmann pile dwellings near Ljubljana in Slovenia,” Professor Bernardini said.

“Excavations at Tina Jama uncovered layers from the Bronze and Final Copper Age, dating back to the second half of the 3rd millennium BCE,” added Dr. Elena Leghissa, an archaeologist at the Institute of Archaeology of the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and the Slovenske akademije znanosti in umetnosti.

Here is the link for more about that.

Archaeologists Find 4,000-Year-Old Copper Dagger in Italy | Sci.News

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I took a trip and wanted to have a metal detector along, but just wanted to stick the detector in my gym bag so I just took the coil, two lower rods, and control box.  I didn't take the upper rod with arm rest.  It was too bulky.  So when I got where I was going, I added a wood extension and used duct tape to attach the control box to the extension.  The extension was just a piece of corner molding.

It worked well enough.  The longer handle was easy to swing and use.  It fit under my arm and was actually easier to swing and handle than the stock rod with the arm rest.   And additionally, it allowed me to reach farther, which was handy in some situations, for example reaching under bushes or up a steep bank.  Overall, I was pleased and was able to make finds.

This shows the duct taped control box.

Duct Taped Control Box.

Just a Garrett Ace that did the job.  I didn't want to take a top-level detector. Just something that worked under the circumstances.

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Source: SurfGuru.com.

Still a decent, but not big, surf.  The high tides are still very high though.

Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/1/24 Report - A Bit of 16th Century Mexico History: Our Lady of Zapopan. Atocha Emerald Sifting. Ink Bottle With Label.

Written by the Treasureguide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.

Our Lady of Zapopan.
Source: See link below.

It all began with the Franciscans. In 1524 the first group of twelve Franciscan missionaries from Spain landed on the coast of Veracruz in central Mexico. In 1525 the second group arrived, this time in the western part of the country in the area known as Nueva Galicia (the present-day state of Jalisco, of which Guadalajara is the capital). Among this group was Fray Antonio Segovia who was one of the first evangelizers of the area. The kindly and ascetic Fray Antonio (who loved the Indians as his sons) had a deep devotion to Our Lady and would always travel on his missionary journeys with her tiny statue around his neck. He claimed that it was she who was the evangelizer, not himself.

One of her titles is La Pacificadora, “the one who makes peace.” How she achieved this title occurred in a wondrous manner on one memorable day in 1540: While Fray Antonio was preaching “luminous rays issued from the statue.” It was declared by all present that “they were more beautiful than the light of the sun.” So impressed (and startled!) were the Indians with this divine manifestation that they laid down their arms (they had been warring with the Spanish) and begged to be baptized. Six thousand were brought into the Catholic faith at this time. Since the earliest days the indigenous peoples of Gaudalajara have been devoted to Our Lady. It has remained the most Catholic of Mexican states: during the years of persecution of the church in the 1920’s, statistics revealed that the most number of martyrs came from Jalisco. Not surprising perhaps because the headquarters for the Cristeros (“those who fought a war for Christ”) was located in Guadalajara.

The image is made of pasta de Michoacan a type of cornstalk which has been mixed with glue, a substance ideal for crafting durable and lightweight statues. The 13” statue represents the Virgin Mary under her title of the Immaculate Conception. It has the honour of being the first image of the Virgin Mary to be venerated in the state of Jalisco.

Here is the link for more about Our Lady of Zapopan and Mexican Madonnas.

https://mexicanmadonnas.com/2023/10/

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The Fisher organization believes there could be hundreds of pounds of emeralds still to be found.including some very valuable examples.

While dealing with bad weather and unable to go to the Atocha site, the Dare crew has put this time to good use! They have built a custom emerald sifting table. We look forward to having members out to the site to help sift on deck! Learn more about all the undiscovered emeralds still waiting to be found on the Atocha site in video below.

From personal email.

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Parker's Ink Bottle with Paper Label.

I found a bottle like the one shown above before, but it didn't have the top or paper label.  Most of the ink bottles I've found and kept don't have a screw top.  They are older. This one has a metal screw top.

Without the label or top, it is difficult to figure out the details.  Too bad I didn't get a better photo of the label.

Super Chrome Parker's Ink Bottle with Label.

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The high tides are still very high.

Source: Surfguru.com.

The surf will be decreasing, but remaining rougher than summer conditions.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net

10/31/24 Report - Happy Halloween: Black Beard's Dog? Turning $20 Find Into Thousands. Bigger Surf Coming.

 

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.

From the Queen Anne's Revenge: Black Beard's Dog?

I posted this dog skeleton from the site of the Queen Anne's Revenge before.  I like it as a Halloween image.

Looks like he could still be guarding the treasure.

For morer information on tet wreck and the salvage efforts, archaeology, artifacts and conservation, here is the link. It is a good site with a lot of good information.

Blackbeard's Queen Anne's Revenge Project

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(CNN) — When a North Carolina man headed to a convenience store on Tuesday, he had no idea luck was on his side.

Jerry Hicks, a master carpenter from Banner Elk, found a $20 bill in the parking lot of the store, he said in a news release. He spent it on a scratch-off lottery ticket – and won $1 million...

Here is the link for more about that.

Man finds $20 on ground, wins $1 million after buying scratch-off lottery ticket

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We are getting a higher surf.  Here are some predictions and advisories.

Here is teh link for the daily advisories.  You can click on their map for information on more specific areas. 

Zone Area Forecast for Sebastian Inlet to Jupiter Inlet 0-20 nm

 For example, here is the information for Vero Beach.

Source: Surfguru.com.

Here are the surf predictions from SurfGuru.com. The high tides are going to be very high.

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Good hunting,

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/30/24 Report - Miscellaneous Artifacts Including A Big Pane in the Wreck. Guadalupe and Tolosa Shipwrecks. Big Surf Wednesday.

 

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
   "To talk of many things:
Of shoes—and ships—and sealing-wax—
   Of cabbages—and kings—
And why the sea is boiling hot—
   And whether pigs have wings.

From: The Walrus and the Carpenter by Lewis Carroll - Poems | Academy of American Poets

That is the verse that came to mind when I looked at the last several lots of the concluding session (session 6) of the current Sedwick Treasure auction. The auction ends with quite a variety of artifacts, including Kang Ksi porcelain, an olive jar neck some conglomerates and even an encrusted spoon or two.  Below is an encrusted spoon.

Also included in the lots at the end of the sixth session of the Sedwick auction is an 18th century glass ship's window pane, megalodon tooth, brass crucifix. The window pane shown above is thought to be from one of the wrecks. I think that is the first shipwreck window pane I've ever seen. Below is the lot description for the pane of glass.

Square pane of clear glass, ex-Guadalupe and Tolosa (1724). 47 grams. 3¾" x 3¾". A rare shipwreck survivor: intact, lightweight glass square with rough edges, possibly from a window, very fragile. PICK UP IN PERSON RECOMMENDED. From Guadalupe and Tolosa (1724), with original certificate from Captain Tracy Bowden through his contract with the Dominican Republic and copy of the article "Graveyard of the Quicksilver Galleons" by Mendel Peterson from the December 1979 issue of National Geographic signed by Bowden.

It wasn't too long ago that I did a post on windows and window weights.  See Treasure Beaches Report: Pt. 2. (2020 and Beyond). : 10/1/24 Report - Windows, Weights and Glass: Finds and How to Estimate the Age. Higher Surf Coming Again.

The pane of glass shown at the top of this post is from the site of the Nuestra Senoroa de Guadalupe and Conde de Tolosa shipwrecks.

The Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe and Conde de Tolosa were carrying mercury from Cadiz to Veracruz and sunk during a hurricane in a bay of the Dominican Republic in 1724.  A private company located and salvaged the wrecks in 1976.

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The big news today though, is the higher surf that the Treasure Coast will see this week.  

Beow is the report from the National Weather Service for the Treasure Coast area.

Coastal Hazard Message
National Weather Service Melbourne FL
325 PM EDT Tue Oct 29 2024

FLZ154-159-164-647-747-310800-
/O.NEW.KMLB.SU.Y.0012.241030T0800Z-241031T0800Z/
/O.CON.KMLB.RP.S.0034.000000T0000Z-241031T0800Z/
Coastal Indian River-Coastal Saint Lucie-Coastal Martin-
Mainland Southern Brevard-Southern Brevard Barrier Islands-
325 PM EDT Tue Oct 29 2024

...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE WEDNESDAY
NIGHT...
...HIGH SURF ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 4 AM WEDNESDAY TO 4 AM EDT
THURSDAY...

* WHAT...For the High Rip Current Risk, dangerous rip currents.
  For the High Surf Advisory, large breaking waves of 6 to 8
  feet expected in the surf zone.

* WHERE...Coastal Indian River, Coastal Saint Lucie, Coastal
  Martin, Mainland Southern Brevard and Southern Brevard Barrier
  Islands Counties.

* WHEN...For the High Rip Current Risk, through late Wednesday
  night. For the High Surf Advisory, from 4 AM Wednesday to 4 AM
  EDT Thursday.

* IMPACTS...Dangerous swimming and surfing conditions and
  localized beach erosion. Rip currents can sweep even the best
  swimmers away from shore into deeper water.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

High surf will affect the beaches in the advisory area, producing
localized beach erosion and dangerous swimming conditions.
Swimmers should remain out of the water due to large breaking
waves and dangerous surf conditions.

Rip currents are powerful channels of water flowing quickly away
from shore, which occur most often at low spots or breaks in the
sandbar and in the vicinity of structures such as jetties and
piers. Heed the advice of lifeguards, beach patrol flags and
signs.

Thanks to DJ for that lead.

Here is the Surfguru.com chart.

Source: SurfGuru.com.

On top of that, the high tides will be big.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net