Hurricane Irma

[huntsman53]

Plantation Key is a mess. Key Largo had a low directly over, caused the water to go out leaving the ocean floor exposed for a while. Right now the Tampa area has experienced a like tsunami effect where the water goes out, even leaving the river manatees high and dry. After the eye passes, the water will come back faster than it went plus bringing extra mega-gallons with it.

I hope the Manatees can survive until the water returns or they get help!


Frank

 

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[Urban Legend]

Plantation Key is a mess. Key Largo had a low directly over, caused the water to go out leaving the ocean floor exposed for a while. Right now the Tampa area has experienced a like tsunami effect where the water goes out, even leaving the river manatees high and dry. After the eye passes, the water will come back faster than it went plus bringing extra mega-gallons with it.

The water is down about 5 ft below normal tide level in Tampa Bay....
Lots of stupid barefoot people on TV ...walking in the mud..
Naples was about the same.....but all that water came back in 18 minutes...
Now they're nearing 8 to 10 ft of surge..
Winds sustained about 40 in Tampa ...and climbing.... not gonna get much sleep tonight..

 

[The Rebel]

Saw that on the news this am. Seems the FSA (Free Sh-t Army) is out in full force. Really pisses me off.

I hope they catch the criminals and drop them inside the eye of Irma in a life raft.


Frank

 

[Red_desert]

The water is down about 5 ft below normal tide level in Tampa Bay....
Lots of stupid barefoot people on TV ...walking in the mud..
Naples was about the same.....but all that water came back in 18 minutes...
Now they're nearing 8 to 10 ft of surge..
Winds sustained about 40 in Tampa ...and climbing.... not gonna get much sleep tonight..

Hardly enough time to run with a GPS to get coords for the exposed wrecks (if any). I suppose a good telescope or binoculars to scan would be safer.

 

[Urban Legend]

Power off at 7:30....its a bit too windy to put the generator on the porch ..
Getting some big wind....electric transformers shorting out like fireworks.

 

[Boatlode]

So has anybody found anything after the storm? The fake finds in the other thread got my blood pumping.

 

[Blak bart]

I got 2 large horse bridle rosettes nested together and a small strap keeper. They are all made of brass and were possibly silver plated. The strap keeper is ornate with floret in the center. Found them at my Cobb spot which is a survivor camp for 1733 fleet disaster. I have found the remains of several bridles mixed with coins here in the past,so this is a good sign. I'm still struggling with Internet down here so ill post a couple pics tonight at my neighbors house. Going to another spot bottling and treasure hunting today.

 

[PhipsFolly]

What were the fake finds from the other post? I guess I missed that one... were they in the 1715 Fleet thread or about 1733 Fleet stuff?

Nice work Blak Bart... I have lived in the Keys on and off and miss it tremendously... I was there a total of 5 years and did a little hunting but never had enough time to really "dig in"... congrats on your continued success with the 1733 Fleet goodies and glad to hear you made it through Irma... [emoji106]🏻

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

What were the fake finds from the other post? I guess I missed that one... were they in the 1715 Fleet thread or about 1733 Fleet stuff?

Nice work Blak Bart... I have lived in the Keys on and off and miss it tremendously... I was there a total of 5 years and did a little hunting but never had enough time to really "dig in"... congrats on your continued success with the 1733 Fleet goodies and glad to hear you made it through Irma... [emoji106]🏻

Coin posted was found 2 years earlier by someone else.

January 20, 2017 A New Beginning!

 

[Blak bart]

View attachment 1497779
View attachment 1497780
2 horse bridle rosettes nested together. I believe these were made in the new world and were being transported back to spain as gifts for nobility. This is just 2 more examples of these bit bosses or bridle rosettes as I have found at least a half dozen over the last year and a half. View attachment 1497787
View attachment 1497788 these were a great mystery when I first started finding them, and the likes of carl fismar and marty meylach were both un able to tell me what they were and both had never seen anything on the 1733 wrecks like them before. Then one day not long ago there they were on the net listed as colonial era bridle rosettes. I found another pair nested like this with buckles inside too. This tells me they were packed for shipping. Here is the small strap keeper with floret. View attachment 1497802
View attachment 1497804. Here is an I dentical strap keeper cleaned up a bit and made of solid silver. Here are some other bridle parts ive found in the last year and a half. It could be one large and intricate carriage harness. Whatever the case some of the pieces were for some one special. There pretty ornate and as far as I know these are the only ones to be found in association with the 1733 fleet. View attachment 1497814View attachment 1497818View attachment 1497820View attachment 1497821 so for me to get a few more pieces to add to the collection is great. Its been a great year and a half for this spot and this hurricane is a game changer for treasure hunting all over the keys. Unfortunately any mag hunts for "el angel bueno" are over this season until next spring. I will solo hunt and do some snooping on my own for now, and hope to find some coins soon. Im working on saving as many big dollar mahogany trees that have fallen and already have salvaged a single log thats worth some real big dollars. the heart wood glows after waxing on the really good mahogany. When the gutiar makers and boat builders see this stuff sliced they will go nuts. This post was grueling and took over an hour on spotty internet and wifi. My neighborhood took a beating and ive been busy with cleanup. Lost my kitchen to a broken pipe during the storm, so no kitchen right now. At least we will get the kitchen we always wanted now. Sure does suck though, its gonna take awhile. Anyway we are still getting back off the floor right now, and I have a lot of stories to tell but until we get back up and running ill have to keep it to one post a week. Going to a special spot with another tnet friend this week. We are both fired up and hope to find some coinage. Stuff will be found by many for years to come from this storm. It has changed everything down here. Happy hunting and good luck to all

 

[Blak bart]

Sorry guys you will have to open the attachments to see the pics. Just cant get good wifi down here and nothing wants to work for me. Sorry !!

 

[Salvor6]

Couldn't open any of the attachments. Good luck down there Bart.

 

[liverock]

Islamorada was a mess....

---

Went down to help out when they opened US-1 to non-residents last week. Took 1-75 from Tampa down, and if I passed one power truck I passed a couple thousand....heading back north. They were from all over the US and on their way home.

Spotty damage until you get into Key Largo and then was evident of the storms power. Surge is what really accounted for the piles of everything on the sides of the road. The damage was incredible, and loss of property and everyday living items massive.

Clean up is coming along nicely but the amount of STUFF is pretty mind boggling. Mangrove Mikes was open for breakfast again, as was Whale Harbor buffet in Islamorada, which was very good, and they have reduced the price to $20 to get folks out again. Had a great selection considering what they had just been through. Our waiter you could tell was stressed out....but back at work after two weeks of none. We left him a $55 tip on a $40 dollar tab, and the first smile that had seen from a local.

All the locals have 'that look' of going through and trying to restart their lives again after Irma. They will be back, but it is a tough road ahead for them. Took a drive down to Marathon on Saturday, and the 'stuff' is mountains on the sides of the road. The surge was massive there, folks pretty much lost everything on the ocean side, and pretty bad on the bayside also. There was a hundred power trucks there working on the power, as the damage to the grid was incredible.

They have set up staging points for all the 'stuff' and are sorting it all and hauling it out truck load by truck load. In islamorada there was literally hundreds of stoves-freezers-refrigerators and other appliances on the old road. The freezers with bait still in them were easy to smell from 1/4 mile away.

Power-internet-water is back in Islamorada, but water has to be boiled for use. Further south, very limited cell service, Marathon on. We bailed out yesterday morning and came back to Tampa,

You don't really appreciate what you have until you see something like this. They will be back, but is going to be a long road for them.

 

[stevemc]

Blak Bart, how did you do? Much damage? I know the lower keys is real messed up. You good? Need help?

 

[Blak bart]

We're good Stevemc. Thanks for the concern and offer of help. I had damage to my kitchen, but for the first time it looks like my insurance is gonna come through for me. It's been a slow grind cleaning up but a lot of side money is being made by those who don't mind the work. I'm fortunate compared to others. Having grown up on an island I was smart enough to buy a house on the highest land in key largo. That may be one of the best decisions in my life. I'm in what's called an X zone. If you are in an X zone, you are on high enough land that you are not even required to have flood insurance. I used to be nested in a tropical hardwood hammock, and you could barley see my house. Now there are very few trees left in my yard. Just 6 Areca palms. The pile of trees in my yard was as high and as long as my house. The landscape is changed forever !! I'm hunting for fallen giants right now and will focus on harvesting the hurricane toppled trees that hold value as lumber. I've got a massive 94cc 36 inch bar chainsaw being shipped to me now. My new nick name is chip,because I leave a trail of wood chips everywhere I go. To many big dollar mahoganies laying around to harvest before I can search for Spanish treasure. When all this tree cutting slows down then ill get back in the water. Stay safe in your cleanup process everyone, and hope everyone gets back to a normal routine. Happy hunting everyone. Many a good pirate was a logwood cutter first just following tradition. Lol !!

 

[Blak bart]

There are 2 bridle rosettes stuck together. One nested inside the other like bowls.
Heres what the other little decorative piece looks like when cleaned.
Oddly the cleaned up one is the only one thats pure silver.
Here is the rest of the collection that was recovered over the last year and a half.
Some of it is pretty ornate and ive tried to figure out how they were arranged.



Good old irma added 3 more pieces and ive only been out hunting twice.i usally find a coin or two when these pieces show up so wish me luck.

 

[Blak bart]

Got one today.

Funky rectangular shaped one. Dated 1730. Oops 1732 !!

 

[Blak bart]

View attachment 1504167
View attachment 1504166
Love the ones that come from the dunes, they stay nice and dry most of the time. Not to much sulfide. Clean up nice.

 

[KEYSHUNTER]

I'm so wishing that I was not working 8 days a week,but cant turn it down at the moment,so many pools!!!!saw the wash outs bet the bayside has something to give...

 

[zepher]

Nice cob! Black Bart. I Got a new battery for my detector and want to hit the beach... Maria carved up the Dune pretty good after Irma... any tips? Did you find it in dark sand?