Bill Lemons - Daytona Beach, October 30th to November 2nd 1st.
It was a 90 plus degree day when I made the advance, senior discount, must pay today with a credit card and no refund commitment for a room at the Westgate Daytona Beach (they have 28 rooms located within the Harbor Beach building). The multiple discounts made the 3 night stay $220.80 including taxes. The nice 2-bath room was on the ground floor with a walkout from the room straight onto the pool deck. I considered that an advantage not having to tote gear down halls and in elevators.
The cold front that was moving through Florida the next day was a concern but since the money was already spent Norma and I decided to go. The first indication that this wasn’t going to be enjoyable beach detecting time happened the next morning before dawn when I grabbed the patio sliding door handle and it felt COLD! Opening the door confirmed that suspicion.
I bundled up (wearing most everything I brought) and went to the beach before sunrise only to realize my Garrett AT Pro didn’t have a back light and I hadn’t brought a flashlight. So I went back to the room and waited for the sun to come up. That’s when I noticed the palm trees beginning to show winds from the north.
Since Sun Splash Park was next door, I decided to hunt the dry sand area before driving to other areas. It was soon apparent it had been well hunted since an hour of hard detecting only produced 48 cents. It was also disheartening to see a ridge of sand running up and down the beach parallel to the water that had ‘sanded in’ most of what’s known as the towel line.
I went back to the room to warm up then drove to an area just north of the main pier area. My previous scouting found a free parking area (first cross-street light north of the pedestrian bridge) that could hold about 8 to 10 cars. I got there about 10 a.m. just when the northern gale force winds began. My sweatshirt’s hood barely fit over my headphones. I got two pieces of bling near the volleyball courts then spent a good bit of time collecting about 20 pennies from an area within a 5-foot radius. That really tested my pinpointing skills! Just when I thought I’d got them all another one signaled. By that time the sandblasting winds were almost unbearable (later I had to clean blown-in sand out of my front pockets!). Not being one to give up (I ain’t no sissy); I continued hunting south towards the pier. The winds had now gotten strong enough to quickly cover my scoop drag marks.
Finding few targets from the sanded in conditions and only a quarter from the low tide water’s edge, I returned north to now get face-pelted with blowing sand. Detecting takes on a new aspect when walking backwards.
Two hours of that was all I cared to endure. We decided to leave a day early that evening (of course after going shopping at the mall). The forecast of less wind but colder temperatures coupled with the poor beach conditions didn’t seem worth the stay.
Oh well, better luck next time.
Bill Lemons
A recent trip (Oct. 6, 2014) and his recap by Dwight Ingram Bill Lemon’s original email to Dwight:
On Tue, Oct 7, 2014 at 7:30 PM, Bill Lemons <[email protected]> wrote: The Treasure Coast beach blog made a good point a few days ago when he said to bring an item you expect to find (gold, silver and not pennies) and setup your detector’s controls in the area and on the surface you will be detecting for maximum signal response before going off detecting. He also mentioned to use a small item for setup; so a larger find would give an even better signal.
Dwight's Response:
I agree with you on the blog. Being familiar with good sounds helps to eliminate the trash.
I went to Daytona Beach on Monday and found lots of coins. I got a few good hits for rings, however, all were nickels or tab tops. I ran a few test with the MH 300, trying to ignore bobby pins, sparkler wires and metal stakes. I dug about 7 metal stakes in the morning and thought I had done my share. The bobby pins are always very deep and a pain with many scoops of sand. They light up with multiple colors: red, yellow and green lights. I now check the discriminator for null sounds before I dig. If I do not have a good sound, I do not dig. I may have learned this trick.
Many of the coins were greenies and nickels. Always a good sign that sand had washed away. The surf was high and rough so I stayed mostly to wet sand. I saw no signs of sharks, (ground up fish on the beach), however, New Smyrna Beach had two shark attacks last weekend.
At the end of the day, I used the DFX in dry sand and found a quarter, a nickel, a penny and tab tops. I used the coin, beach and jewelry preset program. I love hearing the low gold sound, but found only tab tops and nickels. The beach was cool, calm and few people. This was a good time to relax and use the DFX.
I had a pleasant surprise leaving one beach. Just as I was stepping up on the steps off the beach, I got a great high pitch for coins. I checked the hit with the discriminator and continued with a good, green light hit. What the heck, I dug it and pulled out 3 quarters and 2 gold plated $1 coins. What a nice surprise. I figure that when people are leaving the beach and have to step up off the beach, they shift or adjust what they are carrying. This is a good time to loose items. I am glad I slowed down before leaving the beach. A lesson learned.