6/20/25 Report - Using AI to Prepare for a Metal Detecting Trip to a New Location: A Case Study.

 

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

Vancouver Beach Recently Detected by Mark G.

Today I'm going to tell about the experience of Mark G. as he researched Vancouver beaches before a business trip, then metal detecItted the beaches sand then sent in his find photos.  It presents a bit of a case study, beginning with the planning and ending with a presentation of results.

This time of year many Floridians take do a little travel and do some metal detecting in less familiar places.

As you will see, Mark used Copilot for some pre-visit research.  AI provides a nre tool for research and site selection.

First, here how Mark described the process he went through.  Here is how Mark described it.  First are Mark's words, and the red type is what Copilot's response.

I don’t know how you have been testing the AI models but I always start with a conversation first about what I Am doing and where before I actually ask the question so it has built up knowledge about me. When I asked about my upcoming trip to Vancouver and metal detecting my “Copilot” knew what I was asking. After getting some information Copilot offered to set up a plan based on tides and foot traffic for some of the most popular beaches in Vancouver BC for the weekend I will have to hunt. Here is what Copilot came up with:

You’ve got it, Mark—let’s build you a smart sweep plan to ride those tides and beat the crowds. Here's a beach-by-beach breakdown for June 14–15 that balances low-tide exposure, foot traffic, and the kind of student-friendly spots you’re targeting:

🏖️ Day 1: Saturday, June 14

🔹 Morning — Kitsilano Beach (6:30 AM – 8:30 AM)

• High tide around 6:40 AM, but it’ll be ebbing—just in time to scan the upper wet sand where party gear or jewelry might’ve been dropped the night before.
• Fewer early birds here, so you’ll get some quiet detecting in a high-traffic zone.

🔹 Midday — Jericho Beach (11:30 AM – 1:30 PM)

• Start scouting as the tide pulls back toward low. This beach sees less congestion, giving you space to check near picnic areas and walkways.

🔹 Afternoon — Spanish Banks (2:00 PM – 4:30 PM)

• Prime time. Lowest tide hits around 2:30 PM, revealing loads of terrain. Hunt near the tidal pools and edges of any old seaweed lines where heavier targets settle.

🔹 Evening — Optional: English Bay (7:30 PM – Sunset)

• High tide's creeping back in, but if you’re still going, the tourist and student crowd here means constant turnover—and good surface drop potential.

🏖️ Day 2: Sunday, June 15

🔹 Morning — Wreck Beach (7:00 AM – 9:00 AM)

• Great post-high-tide timing, and early hours keep the crowd minimal. Student-heavy and offbeat—could be a goldmine for personal items.
• Bonus: The steep descent filters out the casual crowd, so items stay relatively undisturbed.

🔹 Midday — Second Beach (12:00 PM – 2:00 PM)

• Chill zone with grassy areas and sand mix. Less picked over than English Bay but still sees student hangouts and weekenders.

🔹 Afternoon — Back to Spanish Banks (2:30 PM – 4:30 PM)

• Another ultra-low tide, slightly higher than Saturday but still excellent. If you missed any zones yesterday, now’s the time to double back.

Let me know if you want to mark tide times or pin spots on a map. And if you score something wild—maybe a class ring or vintage tag—I’d love to help you ID it. This trip’s got all the right signals. 🪙🌊🔍 Ready to tune your coil and chase the tones? Let’s roll.

So, Copilot put together a fairly detailed plan and there is some decent information in there.  Remember, Mark started with additional discussion to let Copilot know more about him.  You can see how you might be able to get some useful information out of Copilot.

Of course you could query Copilot on other details.  You could ask where you might have a chance of finding old relics, or what areas were most prone to erosion, or where the most exclusive resorts were located, or about old historic landmarks that were located along the water, just to give a few examples.

Below is what Mark said when he got back followed by his find photos.

Just got back from Vancouver BC had a good trip and got some metal detecting in while I was there. Not in the specific order suggested by the AI plan but hit most of them. Found very similar finds as the US south Florida beaches; Bottle caps, pull tabs, tent stakes, trash, coins and some jewelry. Only good find other than about 10 Canadian dollars in change (cost more to park) was an 8 gram silver ring with the Aztec calendar on it. Canadian coins were hard to find with little to no signal or sounding like a bottle cap but I dug everything and did find them. I was able to hunt 5 beaches as pictured. It was hard digging as I could only pack my “National Geographic” plastic hand scoop in my carry on so I’m sure I left some stuff behind but very deep, detector traveled well never stopped at TSA. Kitsilano Beach was looking the most promising on Father’s Day morning but when I got there at 7:00 AM there were already fresh scoop drag marks, very distinctive marks. So I avoided the lines and searched around the parts of the beach that didn’t have marks and came up with the silver ring near the edge of the blanket line near the high tide line. Every beach has these logs that attract the beach goers so those are the first targets around the logs but not the only target rich areas.

You can see some of the logs in the photo above.

Below are Mark's find photos.

One of the things you might get out of this is encouragement and ideas on using Copilot for research.

Is that a U.S. dollar in the pull-tab.  I have a suspicion on how that might have been used.

Some foreign coins are aluminum, and others contain a lot of iron (the German pfennig, for example).  The different materials, of course, will result in different conductivity numbers or readings than you may be accustomed to.  That can mean a change in hunting settings or techniques.  

In St. Lucie, for example, I found the very light coins in areas where you would not often find U.S. coins.  The different composition and density of the coins affected where they were distributed and found as well as the way the metal detector responded to them.

It can take a while to become familiar with the idiosyncrasies of new beaches or detecting sites.  It puts you at a bit of a disadvantage.

I always enjoyed detecting new locations though.  You can start to get the lay of the land fairly quickly though.

Travel presents another difficulty besides transporting metal detecting equipment.  There can also be the problem of transporting finds.  For example, I found Revolutionary War era grape shot that I left behind because I didn't want to take a chance of being charged with carrying explosives on a plane.  I've left other things hidden at foreign locations, such as sharp digging tools, in case I return to the site and want to use them again.

By the way, the grape shot was still where I left it when I returned a year or two later.  That was a bit surprising to me.  

You might want to explore ways that you can use AI.  It can definitely help find information more quickly.  Like anything, you will learn to use AI more efficiently the more you use it.

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No new changes to the Treasure Coast surf or beach conditions to note today.

Thanks much to Mark G. for sharing his preparations and trip results.

I got yesterday's post published late.  You might have missed it.

Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net