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Select Here to View the MDHTALK's February News Brief in Adobe .PDF
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| February 2021 | Metal Detecting Hobby Talk News Brief Volume 11 Number 143 |
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Support The Hobby I would like to point out to the News Brief readers that there are a number of organizations taking on the challenge against various types of legislation dealing with metal detecting and gold prospecting. MDHTALK's recommendation is to visit their website and give strong consideration to joining the fight. In some cases your support may be to send emails and / or write a letter to specific legislators or to provide funds to help with the fight. Here are the organizations and a link to their website. |
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MDHTALK News Pages U.S. & W.W. News U.K. News U.S. Archaeology U.S. Legislation W.W. Meteoritic Other Media MDHTALK Article Links Return Stories MDHTALK Find a Club Read Newsletters FaceBook Clubs MDHTALK Event Calendar February |
What is a News Brief? The news brief provides a brief look into any news event. The intent of the news brief is to provide you, the reader, with news clips on what was taking place in the hobby last month. To read the whole story select the Article Link or go to MDHTALK.org. There are more news stories placed on the MDHTALK website for November the news stories listed in the MDHTALK News Brief are just a portion of all the hobby related news reported the past month. The news Brief is now available in Adobe PDF format, there is a link at the top of this webpage. The news brief is no longer emailed; it is only available on the MDHTALK website and can be downloaded. The Website's featured article for this month is: Metal Detecting the 1733 Treasure Fleet Download the Complete Article to Read 1733 Fleet Brief History: Friday, July 13, 1733 a Spanish Fleet left Havana harbor for a return voyage to Spain. On the evening of the 15th most of the ships had been sunk along the Florida Keys by a hurricane. Four ships made it back to Havanna with one ship proceeded on to Spain and the other ships were sunk by the hurricane in the Florida Keys. The ship wreck survivors gathered in groups throughout the keys and built shelters from ship wreck materials that had came ashore. A ship arrived in Havana and reported seeing many large ships grounded at a place called Head of the Martyrs. Recue Ships with supplies, food, divers and troops sailed to the wreckage site.D Ships that were not refloated were burned in place and savage work on these ships continued for may years. When a final summary of the savalage material was totaled more gold and silver were recovered than was list on the various ships’ manifest. During the 1960s, most of the 1733 wrecks were relocated by modern divers. Today the historical treasure of the 1733 fleet is the opportunity to visit the remains of these ship sites from a long gone era. 1733 Fleet History Web Link , 1733 Fleet - Daniel Frank Sedwick, LLC Website Link Hundreds of ship wreck sailors and passengers made it to shore from the wreck sites, weighted down by gold, silver and emeralds. In many cases dropping rare items along their route to the safety of a key island. These survivors made it to a Keys island along an 80-mile stretch. Metal Detecting the 1733 Fleet Trail should include the following:
Largo Sound to Upper Matecumbe Key Web Link Indian Key to Conch Key Web Link Tom's Harbor to West Bahia Honda Key Web Link Horseshoe Keys to Big Pine Key Web Link Annette Key to Howe Key Web Link Summerland Key to Cudjoe Key to Sugarloaf Key Web Link Pumpkin Key to O'Hara Key Web Link Florida Keys Cams Bahia Honda State Park Cam Marathon Streaming Cam Tranquility Bay Southern Most Cam Fort Zachary Taylor Beach Cam 1733 List of Treasure Fleet Shipwrecks 1- El Pinque, Nuestra Señora del Populo 2- El Infante or the Prince, Nuestra Señora de Balvaneda 3- San Jose y las Animas, San Jose de Las Animas 4- Chaves, Nuestra Senora del Carmen, San Antonio de Padua y las Animas 5- La Capitana, El Rubi Segundo, El Rubí 6- Herrera, or the Figurine, Nuestra Senora de Belem y San Antonio de Padua 7- Tres Puentes, Nuestra Senora de Belem y San Juan Bautista, Nuestra Se?ra de los Dolores Y Santa Isabel (aka:El Nuevo Londres) 8- San Pedro 9- El Terri, San Felipe, (aka: Lerri, Herri or Tyrri) 10- San Francisco or Craig Wreck or Cayo Vivoras, San Francisco de Asis 11- La Almiranta, El Gallo Indiana (aka: Cannonball Wreck) Almiranta Nuestra Senora de Balvaneda 12- Las Augustias, Nuestra Senora de las Augustias y San Raphael (aka: San Rafeal, El Charanguero Grande) 13- El Sueco de Arizón, Nuestra Senora del Rosario, San Antonio y San Vicente Ferrer May Not be the Correct Wreck for this Site 14- San Ignacio, Sumey de San Ignacio Wreck Site Not Found 15- San Fernando, Nuestra Senora de Los Reyes, San Fernando y San Francisco de Paula 16- El Floridana Refitted and Sailed back to Havana 17- Nuestra Senora del Rosario y Santo Domingo (Murgie) 18- El Gran Poder de Dios y Santa Ana, aka: (Poder) 19- Balandra (aka: La Balandra, El Santander). 20- Nuestra Señora del Rosario, San Francisco Javier y San Antonio de Padua Sailed on to Cadiz 21- El Africa, Senor San Joseph Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in 1990. The removal of artifacts from any of the sites is prohibited today. 1 - Always Fill all holes dug since many people use the beach for other recreational purposes. 2 - Always remove and carry out all trash dug. 3 - Never metal detect the beach dunes and grass area its illegal. 4 - Never metal detect in leased waters its illegal. 5 - Never Trespass on Private Property without Permission. 6 - Never metal detect in National Parks, National Beaches and the 1733 ship sites in the Keys National Marine Sanctuary it is illegal 1733 Fleet Trail Table of Contents Page 1: Article Cover Page 2: Table of Contents Page 3: 1733 Fleet Brief History Page 4: List of 1733 Fleet Ships Page 5: 1733 Fleet Treasure Trail Page 6: 1733 Spanish Treasure Fleet Shipwreck Historical Sites Page 7: 1733 Treasure Fleet Website Links Page 8: 1733 Spanish Treasure Fleet Shipwreck Site Locations (Yellow Pins) Page 9: 1733 Spanish Treasure Fleet Shipwreck Sites less the El Pinque, Nuestra Señora del Populo Wreck Pages 10 - 12: 1733 Ship Wreck - Populo, El Pinque, Nuestra Señora del Populo Page 13: 1733 Fleet Wreck Sites Cluster One Map Pages 14 - 16: 1733 Fleet Wreck- El Infante or the Prince Nuestra Señora de Balvaneda Pages 17 - 19: 1733 Fleet Wreck- San Jose y las Animas, San Jose de Las Animas Pages 20 - 22: 1733 Fleet Wreck- Chaves Nuestra Senora del Carmen, San Antonio de Padua y las Animas Pages 23 - 24: 1733 Fleet Wreck- El Rubi Segundo, La Capitana El Rubí, lead vessel of the fleet Page 25: 1733 Fleet Wreck Sites Cluster Two Map Pages 26 - 28: 1733 Fleet Wreck- Tres Puentes Nuestra Senora de Belem y San Juan Bautista Nuestra Senora de los Dolores Y Santa Isabel (aka: El Nuevo Londres) Pages 29 - 31: 1733 Fleet Wreck- Herrera, or the Figurine Nuestra Senora de Belem y San Antonio de Padua Page 32: 1733 Fleet Wreck Sites Cluster Three Map Pages 33 - 37: 1733 Fleet Wreck- San Pedro Pages 38 - 40: 1733 Fleet Wreck- San Felipe, El Terri (also spelled Lerri, Herri or Tyrri) Page 41: 1733 Fleet Wreck Site Cluster Four Map Pages 42 - 45: 1733 Fleet Wreck- San Francisco or Craig Wreck or Cayo Vivoras, San Francisco de Asis Nuestra Señora del Rosario San Francisco Javier y San Antonio de Padua Pages 46 - 48: 1733 Fleet Wreck- El Gallo Indiano , La Almiranta, rear guard of the fleet (aka: Cannonball Wreck) Almiranta Nuestra Senora de Balvaneda Pages 49 - 52: 1733 Fleet Wreck- Nuestra Senora de Las Augustias y San Raphael (aka: San Rafael or El Charanguero Grande) Pages 53 - 55: 1733 Fleet Wreck- El Sueco de Arizón Nuestra Senora del Rosario San Antonio y San Vicente Ferrer Pages 56 - 60: 1733 Fleet Wreck- San Ignacio Sumey de San Ignacio Pages 61 - 63: Appendix A 1733 Ship Wreck Sites Not Found or Returned Pages 64 - 68: Appendix B Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Page 68: Appendix C: Keys Parks Pages 69 - 70: Appendix D: Finds on land near the Wreck Site: El Terri  |
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General U.S. and World Wide Hobby News
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Other News Sources
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Metal Detecting & Gold Prospecting Events.
Now is the time to start planning and getting your club's 2022/23 hunt information on the web. The sooner it is out and available to the metal detecting community the greater the chance for people to see it and give your event some consideration. Add Your Event Information Here Check out your event before going it may have been postponed or canceled. |
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Can I take that home? How to shell safely without running afoul of the law in Southwest Florida Amy Bennett Williams, Fort Myers News-Press |
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It’s a common scene along the Gulf coast: A stooped beachgoer straightens up,
shell in palm, wondering, ‘What’s this?” Sometimes, the mollusk in question is still alive – maybe a fighting conch, a periwinkle or a lightning whelk. If luck is with the critter, the observer will gently replace the shell below the waterline, so it can live to delight another day. And if the beachgoer is in Lee County, he or she has also dodged a potential $500 fine and 60-day jail term for violating the county's live shell rules. Southwest Florida does treasure its shells. Mollusks are fundamental to this region – ecologically, economically and historically. Deeply linked to the $5 billion tourism industry in Lee and Collier counties, shelled creatures also filter water and are key to the food web topped by gamefish. Fossil shells make up many of the roadbeds that crisscross the region and the ancient Calusa people lived on mounds they built of empty shells. More: Like clean water? Thank the barnacle, a humble creature with a few extraordinary secrets More: See the giant Pacific octopus at Sanibel Island's shell museum Sanibel Island led the way in protecting them as a natural asset, enacting a citywide ban on live shelling in 1995. Lee County followed suit in 2002. Yet all too often, says Florida native Jason Cutler, pretty shells are simply tucked into bags and hauled off. Whether it’s ignorance of the area’s rules about taking live shells or apathy about the environmental consequences, he has seen far too many people plucking live shells from area beaches. Recently in Naples’ Lowdermilk Park, “I watched a man and his wife searching for something. I could hear him say to her ‘What do you think that is inside the shell?’ I asked if I could see it and I told him that was a fighting conch and that he was alive (and) not to take it or he’ll die.” The man had taken about a dozen that by then were “dried out in the sand by his towel.” Cutler, a Florida native, gave the man a crash course in marine ecology, and won a convert to the conservation cause. But he sees a sore need for more publicity. “Someone’s got to start educating people … What we have left is fighting for their lives. These people are literally taking these poor defenseless living sea creatures.” Plus, he points out, once those creatures are no longer living, they’re apt to get tossed as soon as they start to smell. Decomposing mollusks are pungent, to say the least, and they’ll most likely end up in trash cans along 1-75 or U.S. 41, Cutler says. “They’ll throw them out when they realize the smell – it’s awful.” So, in the name of education, here’s a primer on the do's and don’ts of shelling Southwest Florida beaches. What's the shell? Check to see if the shell you’ve collected has a living occupant – either the soft-bodied creature that made the shell or something else like a hermit crab or barnacle that may have taken up residence in the discard. The shells on our beaches come in three basic types. The hinged, double-shelled creatures like clams are bivalves. Gastropods (the word means “stomach foot”) are single-shelled, snail-like creatures, such as fighting conchs. And symmetrical creatures like sand dollars, sea stars and urchins are echinoderms (literally “spiny skin”) . Ways to detect life in each vary. “It’s easy to tell if a bivalve – something like a scallop or the coquinas that we find a lot in the swash zone – if both of the shells are still attached and if the creature is closed tight and shut,” said Shannon Stainken, youth education director of the Sanibel Sea School. “And with a snail, sometimes you might see its body, which we call its foot, out. If it’s closed up inside, most (but not all) snails have something called an operculum, which is like a trap door that looks almost like a brown leaf or a piece of wood and it’s hard to the touch.” If the snail has one, there’s more than likely a living resident, she says. Neither sort of mollusk can survive being removed from their shells. “There’s a common misconception of visitors and even residents that they can, but they can never be removed and live.” With echinoderms, look for the prickled pelts that lend them their names, though don’t expect them all to be spiky: a live sand dollar looks like its covered in brushy fur while a sea star will have soft, nubbly tube feet that may be moving on close inspection. “It’s really important when shelling to look very closely and take a long time to observe the shell – to be really mindful and take your time,” Stainken says. In Lee County, most live shelling is against the law, period. Exceptions are oysters, hard clams (quahogs), sunray venus clams and coquinas, but you need to observe seasonal closures, know bag limits and have a Florida recreational saltwater fishing license, even when shelling from shore, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. (See FWC’s shoreline fishing FAQs for more information. In Collier County except on Marco Island, state laws apply, which require anyone harvesting live shellfish to have a recreational saltwater fishing license, even when taking live shellfish from the beach. On Marco, however, live shelling is prohibited, as it in in many of the region’s state parks, like Collier County’s Delnor-Wiggins Pass; it’s best to check with your park first. Bottom line, says Jose Leal, curator at the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum: “There’s no need for people to pick up live shells when you have the ones that are empty, that have fulfilled their role in nature and have now been left behind.” Unlike many other worrisomely finite natural resources, Leal says cast-off shells are in no danger of disappearing, nor do visitors removing a handful of souvenirs threaten the structural integrity of area beaches. “You have to remember that the source for shells that show up and are pushed onto the beach, those animals are living underwater on the continental shelf in Florida (and) the part of the continent that is submerged is exactly the same width as the state of Florida underwater, so you have a lot of stuff living there,” he said. “As long as their environment is OK, if the water doesn’t contain pollutants, you have oxygen for the animals to breathe and nature is running its course, as long as that’s happening, those shells will keep coming.” |
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