• Forum server maintanace Friday night.(around 7PM Centeral time)
    Website will be off line for a short while.

    You may need to log out, log back in after we're back online.

Florida beach hunters

Dezertyote

Full Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2013
Messages
211
Location
Vermont
The question I have is.... The sunken 1715 Spanish fleet...
Can a person metal detect the beach's that are directly off shore
of a noted 1715 ship site?
Are there claims that start at the shore line and extend out to a certain
distance, and if so, how much beach front does a claim cover.
Also is there shore lines that are off limits the detector?
I'm only talking wading out to your chest?

I have no interest in beach hunting just curious, I feel more comfortable
with my feet on sold ground. :yes:
Thanks
 
Yes And No

Low tide line to dune's, as far as the leased waters' , don't go in the water, :police: or your in big trouble , here are the places to hunt, spent 5 week's in May , only found 1- 18k ring, NO 1715 fleet item's, really you probably won't as a Major storm , with heavy beach erosion need's to happen , as most of the stuff is more than 3 foot down, than be a local , and jump-wright on the beach, enjoy your trip, happy hunting Earl http://www.mdhtalk.org/articles/beaches/1715-fleet/1715-article.pdf
 
Unless you have a "written" lease, do not go in the water. Loss of detecting equipment and a fine. There is no talking your way out as a tourist, they are very strict as the lease holders have paid big $$$ for the water and treasure rights. Wet sand at low tide is it.
Competition is heavy! If we have a storm, people fly in from all over the country. Treasure maps are all over the internet and tourist hunters frequent the beaches.
There are several leased area maps on the internet, problem is, where is the line? All of the enforcement officers, lease holders and their employees know. ;) Big Brother and his friends will be watching.
http://www.mdhtalk.org/articles/beaches/1715-fleet/1715-article.pdf
 
Last edited:
Thanks for clearing this up for me.
I didn't realize that mainland beach's were under such strict
control and thought you would be able wade out and detect like
you see in youtube video's.
I can understand that you would be violating laws by diving on a claimed sunken ship site with out permission, and maybe I'm also wrong about this also.:?: So I'll ask, can a person scuba drive within these waters without a detector, just free diving for the sport or maybe spearfishing for sport?

I thought the same rules would apply the same as a placer mining claim on public owned lands which anyone can access as long as you are not searching
for any minerals. This must fall on the antiquities laws.
Well, I guess I owe a friend of mine an apology, he said you cant stick it in water. :no:
I was under the assumption a person could detect in the surf waters.
I'm not a water detector and a good thing I'm not or I'd on the chain gang splitting rock and not the mining type of rock.
Thanks for answering my questions and now I have to go and eat my fill of crow:lol: HHHMMM... what goes go with crow:lol:
Thanks again and good hunting!
 
You can scuba dive in the leased areas such as for lobster during lobster season but you cannot have a metal detector with you.
 
Most of us here in FL don't even mess with the 1715 fleet lease laws. How the enforcement person wants to interpret the law is anybody's guess, either way it's going to wind up in court and not worth it. If it's lobster season, probably no questions asked, but there is so much coast line, why even mess with it. If you found a coin while lobster diving would you pick it up? All of us that live here have heard horror stories, are all of them true?, probably not, but why test the waters ;)?
 
Thanks for your post CanSlaw. I think I many have been in the water around Jupiter Inlet and it appears that area was permitted according to the PDF. I asked the life guard before I hunted and he gave me the green light so I thought I was good.
 
I have never found anything that goes good with crow and believe me when I say I have eaten my share of it over the years. Had a friend that tried to actually eat a real one and he said it did not taste any better.
 
Planing on some vacation time in Flordia this summer.

Sounds like Flordia has way to many rules detecting wise , I will have to seewhere we will be stopping to make sure it is legal.:laughing:
 
Most of us here in FL don't even mess with the 1715 fleet lease laws. How the enforcement person wants to interpret the law is anybody's guess, either way it's going to wind up in court and not worth it. If it's lobster season, probably no questions asked, but there is so much coast line, why even mess with it. If you found a coin while lobster diving would you pick it up? All of us that live here have heard horror stories, are all of them true?, probably not, but why test the waters ;)?

Agreed....:yes: (Good to see you posting Chuck)
 
Maybe it would be easier to post signs saying it is legal to detect from here to here on the beaches , might be easier than posting all the places that it is not allowed. :laughing:
 
Now, I personally emailed everyone I could find in state regulations offices that claimed to govern metal detecting on beaches. As long as you do not pass the dunes and remain within the shallows in areas where your COUNTY allows public beach accesses your fine. But once you go beyond the shallows, you MUST have a state or federal permit. Florida says that you can dive but you cannot disturb the sediment (huh?) without a permit. I guess if you can see it? But why would you need a detector? They were so confusing and they couldn't get there own laws straight.
 
Back
Top Bottom