The Sand Man is at Cocoa Beach

Digsalot

Forum Supporter
Joined
Aug 9, 2011
Messages
497
Location
Madison County Florida
Planning to detect Cocoa Beach? I'd put it off for a couple of year's.
Well, this past Thursday the wife and I arrived at Jetty Park Camp Ground (Port Canaveral) to spend a few day's detecting and celebrate a family members birthday.
After we got the RV set up, low tide was coming up so we got our gear and walked to the beach with thoughts of gold dancing around in our scoops.
After about 3 hours of hearing nothing but threshold and testing the coil with my scoop, I told the wife that the Jetty must have caused sand to move in and we need to try further south the next day.

Next Day- Weather not to good, so the wife drops me 1/2 mile South of the Cocoa Beach Pier, the weather never stops me, and she goes shopping. I wave goodbye with this life is good smile on my face, walk over the boardwalk to the beach to see all this Purdy white sand along with this giant pipe coming out of the ocean. :shock: I see the other end of this pipe 600 yards off shore (that's where they hook up to the sand dredge) I then say to myself, NOOOOOOOOOOOOO.:jawdrop: :crying:
I walked north to the other side of the pier and found about a 1/4 mile section that they hadn't covered up yet. Found a few clad, a couple fishing weights and the usual junk. At the end of that 1/4 mile was a pile of bulldozers, excavators and another pipe coming out of the ocean. :no:
They are replenishing the beach from Jetty park to Patrick AFB. The Fed's ( you and I) are paying over 30 Million for this project. :mad: Hurricane Sandy relief :?:
I feel for you guy's that live and detect at Cocoa and if your planning a trip there to detect I'd change plans.
Just a little heads up for those that didn't know.
HH Ben
 
Yeah you're absolutely right. I hunt those places almost everyday and its done. It's going to take a good northeaster to take it on down the beach.
 
Thanks for the heads up Digs. I'm heading down that way in a few weeks and was gonna hit Daytona and Cocoa. From what I'm hearing though, is that I might want to head over to the gulf side to find anything decent? Maybe further North it won't be so sanded in? I'm considering detouring on my way home maybe to Myrtle beach?.......:yes:
 
If dredges are pulling all that sand from about 600 yards out, Just think of what they are pulling out, and pouring out on the beach. All that, if found now, has to be older, than what you find on the beach. Storms throw allot of sand, and whatever on the beach. If i was there, I would search it as much as I could. You dig most stuff that you can get to. That dredge has a long reach, that most will never reach. That the way I see it. :no: If you do not search, you will not find.
 
If dredges are pulling all that sand from about 600 yards out, Just think of what they are pulling out, and pouring out on the beach. All that, if found now, has to be older, than what you find on the beach. Storms throw allot of sand, and whatever on the beach. If i was there, I would search it as much as I could. You dig most stuff that you can get to. That dredge has a long reach, that most will never reach. That the way I see it. :no: If you do not search, you will not find.

Actually they dredge the sand onto a barge from a couple miles out, then they hook the barge to the pipe that is 600 yards out to pump it to the shore, then the dozers move it around from there. They will add 5+ feet of sand over the existing, and extend the shoreline out several hundred feet.
Its all clean sand.
It would be great if they dredged it close to shore :yes:
 
Actually they dredge the sand onto a barge from a couple miles out, then they hook the barge to the pipe that is 600 yards out to pump it to the shore, then the dozers move it around from there. They will add 5+ feet of sand over the existing, and extend the shoreline out several hundred feet.
Its all clean sand.
It would be great if they dredged it close to shore :yes:

No doubt they are filtering all that sand because of all the wrecks of the Spanish fleets. When they pour that sand on the beach then bulldoze it, it consequently doesn't get packed down tightly like when the waves wash sand in. A good storm will wash a lot of it back out to sea.
 
it consequently doesn't get packed down tightly like when the waves wash sand in.../QUOTE]

Florida says otherwise....their beach renourishment / sand remediation programs have a life expectancy of 12-20 years. In depth details are provided in the sand renourishment program for St. Johns county....which follows the same reg's as other counties. Hurricanes are the caveat to life expectancy; however, the program states the renourishment program must be sufficient to withstand a reasonable amount of storms.

-David
 
Thanks for the info. Heading down near Vero Beach area. Hopefully they have not done the same.

Vero should be good.
Make sure you stay away from the treasure fleet wrecks. They have salvage rights on them and they will take you to jail and take your gear.
I lived on the beach in Vero for a couple years (before I got into detecting).
I use to dive for lobster from the beach. One of the spots I dove at often was the Riomar wreck. There was a guy that lived right there that would call Mel Fisher and the Marine Patrol if he saw anyone diving the wreck.
He never bothered me because I made friends with him and he new I was just after the lobster.
I actually witnessed 3 Marine Patrol boats and a helicopter, come and board a boat that was diving the Riomar, then the Marine Patrol drove there boat away with the others following. I think they lost there boat. :shock:
Good luck and HH Ben
 
Back
Top Bottom