Bay Area Ring Finders: Brendon Chapman… Metal Detecting Service/Call ASAP 925-580-2590
The sun had set 30 minutes earlier and the fog meant no moonlight would be available. The tide was going out of the San Francisco Bay at a rapid clip. The water temperature was approximately 53 degrees and the ambient air was about 55 degrees. I dressed in my farmer john wetsuit and fired up the Equinox 800 knowing that this recovery was possible, but would likely be difficult.
Earlier in the evening, Ben contacted me stating that he had lost his heirloom gold wedding band at a private beach club while performing a « plunge » in the bay. He could narrow the search to a 10×10 foot area of water about waist deep. The request was made for immediate mobilization for a recovery effort.
After meeting Ben at the Aquatic Park, he escorted me to the beach location… a beautiful little private section of the beach along docks housing historical ships for the maritime museum. An aesthetically pleasing and adventurous treasure hunt was now under way.
I entered the water for a hasty search of the area and made 4 passes from the top of the beach to chin deep water. The only light was provided by the headlamp I donned on my head. The water was void of any targets. I had to test the coil against the sand scoop to be sure it was functioning proper.
On the 5th pass I hit a jumpy 16-17-21 target in chest deep water, the only thing I had detected in 30 minutes of searching. It would take several attempts to collect the object in the sand scoop, but upon inspection…a ring, a gold band…WE HAD MADE THE RECOVERY!!!
If I’m being honest, this was one of my proudest recoveries. I felt the part of a true treasure hunter searching cold water, in the dark, beneath the tall ships of the maritime museum. The owner of the ring, Ben was both astounded and grateful that the ring he once thought lost was back in its rightful place on his finger.
Thank you Ben for entrusting me with the recovery of your very precious ring. It was a pleasure to assist you.
Ben was ecstatic to have his 10k heirloom wedding band back on his hand!
Bens 10k Gold Heirloom Wedding Band.
Night Shot of the search area.
Search Area without supplemental lighting.
As seen with headlamp.
Bay Area Ring Finders: Brendon Chapman… Metal Detecting Service/Call ASAP 925-580-2590
Where do I begin…I am the grateful fellow pictured above.
New to the Bay Area, my wife and I dove in with both feet (literally) into everything SF, hoping to soak up as much of the city and the experience of living in California as we could, having moved from Canada where temperatures are decidedly colder and swimming in the ocean is not a year round possibility.
It was one such jaunt that led me to calling Brendon. I had taken two strokes in the water when I felt the otherwise tight ring slip off my finger and devastation came over me. My wife and I looked down in the murky water with horror knowing what had happened while I stayed firmly planted so as to not lose my place. Friends and strangers came to our aid, shuffling their feet in the sand, hoping to touch it with their toes but nothing came of it.
I took a shower shortly after as I had begun to feel hypothermic after ~40 minutes of searching, all the while staring down at the indent on my finger where the ring had been only an hour prior. My dad’s ring. Only one week removed from celebrating our first anniversary. Devastated.
In a last ditch effort, I called a « Ring Finder » who referred me to Brendon. When he answered, immediately his quiet confidence gave me hope. Less than an hour later he was there with his equipment, telling me he would forgo his wetsuit to « save time » as we were quickly losing light.
He spent a cold 30 minutes in the water until he was successful. I will never forget him or be able to thank him enough. I know he is an amazing person by the few moments I shared with him and I will tell the story for the rest of my life.
I told Brendon that I learned my lesson through all of this — that I can be as reckless as I want with the ring, knowing he will always be able to find it for me, but, of course, the real lesson is to cherish the things that matter to us and to be thankful for people like Brendon!