Beachcombing for Sea Glass

Hunting for sea glass was once just a fun little hobby. It was mostly shared by the locals of the area and a few lovers of the sea. Those days of rental houses with decorative jars filled with sea glass are gone. Sea glass is becoming a highly sought after commodity. People want to buy sea glass for handmade jewelry, to create mosaics and for their own homemade sun catchers. A piece of one of the rare colors can often command up to $50 and above on the open market and the price tags on some pieces of sea glass jewelry are staggering.

Obttaining sea glass is free. You don't have to go to a store or shop online to aquire it. One simply needs to go to the beach in hopes of finding a piece that was left behind by the tide. Sea glass is quite simply, discarded glass that found it's way into the ocean. It washes up on the beach and waits for you or the tide to claim it. Howerever, when you can easily sell it online for a few dollars, or more if you're lucky, it isn't quite as easy as it sounds.

The main reason finding sea glass to be tough is because there is a lot of competition. The demand for sea glass is at an all-time high. The next time you are on the beach, just sit and watch for awhile. You will quickly be able to spot the people looking for one of these ocean gems. And you will probably be surprised when you realize that there are many folks of all ages looking for or waiting for a piece to wash up.

It makes a lot of sense to search for beach glass in the winter. The tourists that only go to the beach to visit are gone. They are now sitting in their homes, sipping hot cups of coffee. They will be back when it's warm, searching with the masses.

Searching in the winter doesn't have much to do about crowded beaches however. It is true that the fewer people walking the beach increases one's chance of finding an ocean gem that has washed up. But the real reason the winter offers more opportunities was learned in science class when we were in school.

Science class taught students that the sun is closer to the earth during the months of December and January. When close to the planet, the sun causes changes in gravitation, which ultimately causes changes in the ocean's tides. The results are severe high and low tides. The more severe the tide, the greater the chance of it exposing sea glass.

In his book "Pure Sea Glass", sea glass expert Richard LaMotte discusses the rare occurance of "perigean spring tides". According to LaMotte, these rare tides only occur 3 to 4 times each year and they offer sea glass enthusiasts a great opportunity of finding larger than normal quantities of sea glass. Normally the months of November and December offer the sea glass hunter a few choice days in which to scour the beach in hopes of finding some hidden gems...gems that will disappear back in the surf when the tides return to normal.

Tonight, Decemeber 12th brings us a New Moon. This new moon is closer to the planet than normal and as we also learned in school, the moon controls the tides. This new moon coincides with the sun being at a closer than normal distance to the planet and that should equal a very interesting tide... a perigean spring tide.

With the extremely strong winds that the east coast has had over the last several days and the impending storm the west coast of the US is about to face, all of the factors needed are in place this weekend for prime beachcombing conditions on both coasts of the US. The severe. high and low tides will expose sea glass buried in the sand and also expose more of the surf line for beachcombers to pluck sea glass that is normally not exposed.

A word of warning however. When going to the beach in the middle of winter, please err on the side of caution. The ocean and the winter weather are both unforgiving. Most beaches are totally deserted at this time of the year. Rememeber there are no lifeguards sitting there to save you should you get in trouble, they left their place on the beach months ago. When you feel fatigued, it's time to pack it in and head back to the warmth of your home or vehicle.

The sea leaves us these beautiful gems and it also comes back to reclaim many of the treasures it leaves behind. Don't let the sea try to claim you during an unsuspecting moment. Never, ever turn your back on the sea!

The thrill of the hunt is upon sea glass enthusiasts. If you hear a crazy person screaming on the beach tomorrow, it'll probably be me...holding a once elusive yellow or orange gem in my hands, yelling for joy! Enjoy the hunt!