Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
Last weekend I watched two treasure TV shows. They were very different, but I enjoyed both.
The first was Gold Rush: White Water. That type of hunting is difficult. The site itself is remote and difficult to get to, but beautiful. Diving in those conditions is dangerous. Not everybody could do it, or would even want to. Someone could easily die diving that white water with boulders hanging overhead. And it took a lot of time and effort before they began seeing results. It took everything they had, physically and mentally to overcome the obstacles. That is a kind of hunting you put everything into. It tests you.
One reason I enjoy that show is the primary obstacle, which is moving water. Moving water has been central to almost all the metal detecting I've ever done. It has primarily been the ocean surf, but also occasionally a creek, river, or even rain. It seems I'm always watching for moving water to remove material and expose buried treasure, but sometimes the water works against you. On the beach, it buries sand at times, just like at other times, it uncovers treasure. It has most often been the force that I worked with - or against. You learn to work with it rather than against it. You learn to go with the flow. Working against it, is a game for the young man. It is a losing game, but in the process you learn. In the end, you learn to go with the flow. When you learn to work with it, there is a kind of zen to it. You feel the harmony.
In my early days, I was eager to find out what I could accomplish. I pushed. I would set goals, and there were times when I'd be disappointed or frustrated by the results. I could come back from a hunt either happy or unhappy, depending upon the results. Now there is a much more even joy to it all, even if I don't get to do it too often.
One good example of learning to work with nature instead of against it is what I learned when I spent a lot of time in the surf and often worked in rough water. I wrote about that in one post eleven years ago.
I would metal detect while wading in the rough surf. It wasn't easy. At least I didn't think so. I remember a time when the waves kept crashing on my head, knocking off my earphones and giving me a headache. Yet I was determined. That was often the case in those days.
There are various approaches to metal detecting while wading in a rough surf. Some people use a lot of weights to hold them in place.
I eventually learned to go with the flow instead of working against it. I found that if instead of struggling against the waves and trying to stay in place, if I felt the waves coming and picked up my feet at just the right time, each wave would move me briefly off the spot, but then return me to the original spot just as quickly. There was no need to struggle against the moving water. Just go with it as it completes its cycle.
I discussed that technique in my 12/1/12 post.
The Treasure Beaches Report Direct From Florida's Treasure Coast.: 12/1/12 Report - Mercedes Items on Display, Going With The Flow & The Presidio
Of course, when the water moved you, even if it was temporary, you might have to return to the hole and keep digging when you had a deeper target. I also discussed a technique for doing that. Here is a link for that.
The Treasure Beaches Report Direct From Florida's Treasure Coast.: 5/24/12 Report - Santa Fe 8 Real and Shallow Water Detecting
While I watch Gold Rush: White Water I am always thinking how the rushing water might be used as a tool rather than an obstacle. Could it be redirected to move boulders, for example. There is a lot of force there. How can it be taken advantage of and put to good use?
So I enjoy that program largely because of the problem-solving challenge it presents.
The other treasure program that I watched and enjoyed last weekend, was the Duck Family Treasure show. That is a very different kind of show. It is light-hearted, somewhat humorous, and puts the hunt in the proper perspective.
On Duck Family Treasure the hunt is for fun. It is not taken overly seriously.
Faith and family are put first, after that comes the fun of the hunt. It reflects priorities, and for me puts it all in the proper context.
The hunting they do isn't for survival. That comes easier when you already have success and contentment with where you are in life.
So there are two good treasure TV shows that I enjoy for different reasons.
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On their latest 11-day trip to the site of the Atocha, the Dare found the following artifacts:
- 13 ballast stones
- Several pieces of pottery
They are back in port gearing up for their next trip and should be departing in the next few days, weather pending.
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Nothing on the NHC map yet, and no big change in beach conditions.
Good hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net