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.

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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?

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