I got back my Sand Shark on Wednesday from Tesoro and wanted to take it out for a spin since it is expected to be rough this weekend. (A big thank you to Rusty and Vince at Tesoro for taking care of me with their great service! ) The weather has just been amazing for most of this week and I decided to get back out there again yesterday. I left work just a tad early and went to Miami Beach. I was in the water at 2:30 and within 5 minutes I got my 1st target. I look in the scoop and LO & BEHOLD I couldn’t believe that my 1st target was a gold ring!!! THAT was a definite first for me! What’s a pirate to do except work on the second? The rest of the 4½ hour hunt was anticlimactic – very few targets and sanded in conditions. What was funny is that I saw no other pirates out there. I don’t know if I’ve ever had a hunt on South Beach where I didn’t see any others. When I got home I read some nice markings in the ring “Vivara”, “18K” along with a marriage date written in Latin American/European way (day/month/year) and “Lorena”. After some quick work on the internet “Vivara” is a Brazilian jewelry company and that ring is from their “Valentine” collection and it sells for BR$ 2,690 ($795 US). Maybe I can get over the $250 melt? About half way through my hunt I saw a large group congregate near the shore. They were pointing and had their cell phones out recording. A couple of them started to wave at me as if I was in danger. After some time, I finally saw the HUGE Manta Ray that they were looking at. I knew it would be harmless to me but I still kept my eyes on him as he passed me by and headed out into open water. That was by far the biggest ray I have ever seen detecting. I was glad to have my SS back and to have had a very successful hunt with it on its 1st outing back from repairs.