Off the Beach Metal Detecting

[jwvanno]

My girlfriend and I have found some great teeth over in Venice, and now want to try some things closer to home. (Rockledge, Brevard County) The Brevard beaches have a serious reputation problems for visibility and lack of "interesting" dive targets, but we have lots of tourists playing in the water.

I've searched the board and the WWW in general, over a period of weeks, and have found scattered information concerning the Spanish shipwrecks around the Sebastian Inlet area. I even found the GPS numbers on this site for the wrecks, and a picture from somewhere (maybe here) that outlines the salvage areas.

I understand completely that you are not allowed to even consider taking a metal detector into the water in those areas, due to the salvage operations, but my question is this:

At what point North or South, is it O.K. to use a metal detector off the beach??

There isn't a wreck to the North side of the inlet, so is it O.K. to use a metal detector from the inlet north?

I don't want to even REMOTELY run the risk of being fined or getting equipment confiscated, but I do want to use the MD in the water freediving for rings and earrings or with SCUBA for something far more valuable.

Who knows... maybe there are still other wrecks that haven't been discovered!

Also, any hard links to the State pages or some other "official" site would be greatly appreciated! Something to print out and show Da Man, when he is standing in the surf as I exit the water...

Thanks guys and gals.

 

[MikeJacobs]

I don't have any information but am very interested in off-shore metal detecting... best of luck to you in your search! A neighbor suggested that the barge off LBTS collecting sand for the reclaimation might also be searching for valuables at the same time. The idea of at least trolling the dropoff is very appealing!

 

[jwvanno]

Today I asked one of the state park rangers at Sebastian Inlet and another one at McLarty museum, the question above about how far north do you have to travel, before a metal detector is legal in the water.

Both of them told me that the ban covers the entire east coast of Florida!!!

Can that be right?!?!?!?!?!?!?

If anyone can find anything different, I'd LOVE to hear about it!!


Also, people should be aware that the Isolated Finds program in Florida has been canceled. I don't feel qualified to explain the changes, but if you're a fossil hunter, treasure hunter, or relic hunter, in Florida, you should definitely review the laws before your next trip. They have changed RADICALLY!!!

 

[Bill51]

I’d love to hear how one can go about doing some metal detector diving in this area since I’m relatively new here. I’ve heard of a couple of undocumented wrecks as well as missile parts where we’ve been diving about 25 miles off shore from Cape Canaveral.

 

[Brewone0to]

Try typing "Treasure Troves into your browser and see what comes up.
Most all of the wrecks are well documented (Shipping records have always been pretty well monitored and recorded)although sometimes aship will carry unregistered cargo(belonging to the captain and crew.many times they collect a % of a given haul and accumulate it)So sometimes what should be non treasure bearing wrecks may actually have treasure to be had.BEWARE the State and Feds can sometimes get pretty serious in thier claims,so read up on the laws concerning legal collection of artifacts(So you will know where to say you found it. lol)BEWARE>>>BEWAREcompanies with permits to salvage and thier employees have been known to get rather agressive if you wander into or to close to thier claims. GOOD LUCK BRIAN

PS: Check up on make and models of UW Locators as some of the become all but worthless when used in ocean water because of the disolved metal and compounds in sea water

 

[DennisS]

I read somewhere that you aren't allowed to look for artifacts on state property BUT you can look for recent lost coins and ring on some sites.

If you are metal detecting you are looking for rings and coins lost by swimmers and sunbathers not historical artifacts.

 

[metaldector]

I am one of several investors who annually pay for a permit to work the 1715 wreaks from Jupiter to Sebastian. Our license cost $1000 per year. We jealousy guard our area from anyone entering the water with a metal detector without proper credentials. As long as you are on the beach you can search down to the waters edge, if you are in the water we will notify the police. You can swim and scuba dive in the area without a metal detector. And yes, the band on metal detectors is on the full eastern coast of florida.

 

[jwvanno]

Metaldetector, I FULLY appreciate and respect your salvage lease arrangements for the known shipwrecks. I am not willing, and do not desire to spend the energy or money to do any serious salvage work. I understand the historic work and documentation that is being done in those cases, and thank you and your team for bringing those artifacts to the surface so that I can view them in the Fisher Treasure Museum or McLarty Museum, both in Sebastian. I have been to both of them a couple times each, and have enjoyed both of them very much.

You are providing me a service I simply do not wish to tackle, and would not be able to see the artifacts like the pins, cannon, pottery, ship's equipment and of course treasure without your efforts.

So PLEASE don't misunderstand what I'm about to ask...

Where can I read with my own eyes, that the ENTIRE EAST COAST is off limits to U/W metal detecting?!?!?!

That just doesn't make any sense...

Why should I not be allowed to dive Jax-ville with a metal detector???

I'm willing to give a very wide berth to the claimed salvage areas, simply for the fact that I don't even want to MISTAKENLY enter a restricted area, but you're telling us that even Indiatlantic, Cocoa Beach, St Augustine or Jacksonville is too close??

I posted a nearly identical question to the treasurenet.com forum. It is toward the end of the thread:

http://www.treasurenet.com/f/index.php/topic,8844.0.html

How would you respond to wreckdiver1715's comment that you are trying to keep others out of the water with rumor, so you can lessen the competition for a new discovery??

Don't be offended. I AM NOT trying to argue with you!! I just find it very hard to believe...

I will be happy to reply that you are fully correct, and will do so quickly, if you can post a link to a state page that shows this to be the case.

I know I have no intention of doing any serious salvage work. I just want to look for lost jewelry or artifacts in very shallow water along our beaches. But I don't want to go to jail or have dive equipment confiscated for it. That's why I'm asking before I ever get in the water!!!

 

[Bill51]

I too don’t want to discourage or disparage historical salvage operators, but I did raise this question last year to one of our legislators. Without going into detail he simply told me that salvage operators have a much larger lobby with a lot more money than sport divers. Until amateur divers raise the money to compete with the salvage operators, the salvage operators will write the laws and regulations.

 

[Scuba_Dad]

So PLEASE don't misunderstand what I'm about to ask...

Where can I read with my own eyes, that the ENTIRE EAST COAST is off limits to U/W metal detecting?!?!?!

That just doesn't make any sense...

Why should I not be allowed to dive Jax-ville with a metal detector???

[/QUOTE]

There was a guy who lived just south of Sebastian Inlet got busted last year for pulling artifacts out of the water. I wouldn't want to be in his shoes right now.

Al