2009 Sea Glass Challenge Kick-off

It finally came on April 18!

It started off sunny and cold -- with wind. See the video clip (sorry for the rough editing). Then it turned raw when the clouds came in. Tough day for exposed fingers!

The sea glass hunting was amazing. We found 80 pieces of wildly varying sizes (six people). That's double last seasons entire haul! Additionally, there were pieces that the Rules Committee did not accept (too sharp, not "frosted" enough, etc.). Pretty great day in that regard.

While I think there was something to the "winter theory" (get to the winter's deposit before the summer hoards), I think the two usual factors had more to do with it. The geology of the beach that day was unique and the hydrology was just like our best days from last summer. The pebble fields were unlike any I've seen at the beach in my 42 years of going. Also, the waves were the perfect force for washing mid-sized things up and down the strand without burrying them under sand.

The word is we'll be going for another "pre-summer" day soon. We'll see if that day's catch sheds any further light on the winter theory.

Season starts soon!

Not sure if we'll kick off 2009 this coming Saturday or maybe the following. Our hope is that we'll get to the winter's deposit of sea glass before the hoards of sun worshipers. Though, as I've said, I think it really depends of the geology and hydrology of the beach on any given day. We'll see.

Treasure from 2008

As I've mentioned, at our beach, sea glass isn't everywhere. This is the entire haul for 2008: 2 vacation days and 6 other Saturdays or Sundays. You can see both the quantity and size (dime in both images for scale) -- not that much. Interestingly, the take on any given day depends on the geology of the beach and the tide that day. Some days we find just a few pieces. On our second to last day in 2008, we doubled our catch (20 pieces in one day).

The shell shows you the 1-point spiral shells that count for Dad's Sea Glass Challenge.

Welcome

TreasureGlass is all about the magic of discovery. Some things may be small and insignificant, but their rarity and uniqueness render unto them the qualities of treasure. And when they glow in the sun’s light, it’s a special reward. Such are the jewels we commonly refer to as “sea glass”.

Your appreciation for sea glass probably depends on the beach you know and love. At a city beach or a sheltered cove, the glass may be sharp and a nuisance or danger. At others, the smooth and frosted fragments may be so plentiful as to be mundane. At the beach we frequent (where, before eminent domain claimed property, my great grandmother owned two homes) the elements are just right for magic on a summer afternoon: rough enough surf that smoothes the pieces, an especially wide beach at low tide, a quantity of glass that makes finding it special, but not discouraging.

To keep J and G occupied, I even created a bit of a game around TreasureGlass: Dad’s Sea Glass Challenge. It’s a points based game that adds another dimension to sea glass hunting:

Clear, green, and brown glass: 1 point per piece
Blue glass (now extremely rare at our beach): 5 points per piece
Glass ring (if we ever find one, I expect it to be from the thick part at the top of an old Coke bottle): 10 points
And for G, special shells, where the internal spiral is partially exposed, count for one point.

The most points for the season wins. The 2009 season kicks off soon. I don’t know what the winner gets, since I won last year. This is more about the finding, than the winning. At least it is for me.

Check back for stories, updates, and pictures of what we collect.

Welcome to TreasureGlass!