Lost Ring in the Waves! – Found!!!
Yesterday afternoon I was wrapping up a nice weekend when I got a call from Marcus. He was out at Pensacola Beach and had dropped his large, solid gold class ring out in the Gulf while throwing football with his friend. This is a problem anytime but it was made bigger because Marcus said that he was between 4.5-5.5 feet deep. This is about my limit without scuba diving because it is so hard to set the scoop in deep water when you keep floating off in the current and waves. Marcus had a really good mark where he was though and seemed like a very nice guy so I decided to give it a try. My wife decided to tag along and she is always good luck. When we got there and walked out to the west side of the pier where the surfers go, we met Marcus and recapped where he thought he had dropped it. He had counted seven pilings of the pier out and had marked about 200ft west with his chairs. I had a good starting point as I waded out. I noticed that the water was just gorgeous and it was so clear I could easily see the shells on the bottom. As I made my way to the 7th piling I started to worry a bit because I was taking quite a few large swells that were well over my head. I got set and started my grid trying my best to stay online. I tweaked my machine a bit for the conditions and as soon as I put it back to the sand I heard a screaming gold tone. I knew that had to be his big gold ring and tried to set my feet to scoop it. I started to panic as I kept getting pushed off the spot and I worried I would lose the mark. As soon as I heard it again I put my scoop down and tried to push down. That didn’t work as the next wave rolled me inshore. I made my way back out and heard it again and told myself to relax. Marcus had given me great directions and this ring was so large that I knew I would find it again so I took my time. I waited for a lull in the waves and then set the tip of the scoop where I knew I wouldn’t scratch the ring. I looked up to double check that I had time between the next incoming wave. I blew all the air out of my lungs to make myself as heavy as possible and jumped up to forcefully land on the scoop driving it into the sand. I fell backwards to lift up the scoop under where I hoped Marcus’ ring would be just as the next wave put me under water again. I held on for dear life and as I came up I didn’t even need to look down into the scoop. I could see that big gold ring shining through the holes in the side. 😃👍 I left the ring in the scoop and concentrated on keeping it out of the waves as I half body surfed and half tumbled my way to shore. It had been less than 10 minutes but I was worn out. My wife gave me the “did you find it shrug” but I was scared to let go of anything until I got to about knee deep water. I finally gave them all a thumbs up and a huge smile and Marcus came running in disbelief. He pulled his ring out of the scoop and said “that’s amazing, you are the man!” That made it all worth it. Congratulations on getting your ring back Marcus. I’m so glad I could help!
Marta called and said her husband Travis had just lost his wedding ring in the sand. They were at the volley ball courts in Point Pleasant Beach when it flew off. We made arrangements to meet on court 18, I also had her request to shut down that one court so the ring wouldn’t go any deeper. When I arrived Travis showed me where he thought it had came off, and in just a few swings the ring was in the scoop. It took longer to find the court they were on than the recovery itself. I love the expressions when an item is returned.
Andrew called asking about locating his wedding ring he lost in the bay the night before. We talked for a while and he was positive of the location the ring popped of while catching a football. He said it was in chest deep water, and he had pictures of exactly when it came off. I met him at the house a few hours later, got my gear together, and we walked out to the spot. Well, the water was quite rougher and deeper than it was the prior evening, but we continued the search with no luck, as he stood in the exact spot he said it flew off. After 2 hours we threw in the towel, and decided to resume searching in the morning at low tide. I brought my weight belt to hold me down, and a buoy to mark the spot. After about an hour I got a strong signal that turned out to be his ring. Turns out it was closer to chin/shoulder deep where it was lost, and low tide with no boat traffic allowed me to get his ring in my scoop in roughly 5′ of water. Definitely one of the more challenging recoveries, due to the water depth, and not being able to see my equipment on the bottom. Andrew and his wife were totally amazed. 
