February 23rd, 2010 by Brad Lovell

I am currently searching for a White Gold Wedding ring at Clovelly Beach. The ring was lost Monday Feb 22nd, while Dave was swimming from the steps. (not the beach) The ring has an engraving of a small tear drop on the inside. The inside is polished, while the outside has a dusty look. The ring is quite large, and could have been spotted by scuba divers or snorkelers. If anyone has managed to pick up a ring matching this description, please please contact me ASAP! The return of this ring is incredibly important to Dave as his wife recently passed away. I will continue the search for this ring until it is found.

While searching for Dave’s wedding ring, I managed to find 3 other rings in the process. 2 of them are gold wedding bands, and the other silver. If anyone has lost a ring at Clovelly Beach which looks like the rings in the photos, please contact me so I can organise their return.

February 20th, 2010 by Brad Lovell

Last night I received a call from Jason, who lost his wedding ring while swimming at Red Leaf Beach. Redleaf is a netted harbour beach at Double Bay in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. Jason was not sure of the exact location the ring slipped off his finger, so we both knew this would be a very difficult recovery. I met Jason at Redleaf beach at 6:30 am this morning, and began the underwater search. When unsure of the location the ring slipped off, all I can really do is cover as much surface area as possible before my tank runs out of air, or I start getting too cold. So with my underwater metal detector and 10 meter long rope as a guide, I began a slow search back and forth for Jason’s lost wedding ring. After about 2 hours of searching, things we’re not looking promising. I had recovered the usual coins, bottle caps and a ladies ring…but not Jason’s wedding band. After another conversation with Jason, we decided to shift positions. I only had about another 30minutes left in me due to low air, and drop in body temperature. About another 20 minutes of searching in the new position and almost giving up hope, I fanned out a signal which turned out to be a white gold wedding band. I was praying that this was Jason’s wedding ring! I called him over to have a look, he looked at it for a second and then his face lit up. I had definitely found the right ring. We we’re both mentally prepared for the possibility of not recovering the ring, so as you can imagine we we’re feeling pretty damn good to have it back! Jason, it was a pleasure meeting you… and thank you kindly for a generous reward. This certainly was a lucky day.

February 10th, 2010 by Brad Lovell

Narrabeen Lagoon

I always enjoy a challenge when it comes to metal detecting. Some jobs are simple, and it literally takes me minutes to recover the lost item. But this has been a tough summer for the “Metal Detector Man”! Under water jobs are always difficult for too many reasons and variables to list. Which means my recovery rate for such jobs it low. I always mention this to my customers before starting a new job. I am not trying to talk myself out of business, but I like to be realistic. Here are some jobs below which had disappointing endings..

• Sam was attending a wedding that myself and Layne Beachley had to sneak around to get to a harbour side beach her ring was lost. The word soon spread via the wedding guests that Layne Beachley had lost her engagement ring, and she had hired the metal detector man to try and find it. The following weekend, Sam was at his friends holiday home throwing a ball in waist deep water. After diving for the ball, Sam believes this could have been the point when the ring fell off. I drove up to the central coast (Bonnels Bay) to search for Sam’s lost wedding ring. After a good 3 hour search covering the area with both my metal detectors, we decided to call it quits.
• Jan had this misfortune of losing the keel off her boat in the dirty Parramatta River. Jan knew of the area where she believed the keel to have dropped. Because it was a metal keel, I decided I could try searching for it with my under water metal detector. It wasn’t until I arrived to the spot I realised how bad the conditions we’re. The water was literally brown…with zero visibility. In fact I could not even see my air gauge pushed up against my mask. Anyway, I wasn’t going to let this stop me…I did my usual 360 degree rope search covering a 20 meter diameter. A few big signals but none of them the keel. After a couple of hours searching in darkness I ran out of air. If anyone has an idea or a service which could help Jan recover her 250 kilo keel, please contact me!
• Paula lost her diamond engagement ring at Narrabeen Lagoon. I actually had 2 attempts at this job, but could not perform the search with any sort of efficiency while my underwater detector was in for repairs. My 3rd attempt was a couple of weeks later, armed with my repaired detector. After completing both a north-west, and east west grid search of the area following my ropes, I was not able to find Paula’s engagement ring. If any metal detector guys to manage to find a diamond wedding ring at Narrabeen Lagoon, please contact me. Paula is more than happy to offer a generous reward.

October 21st, 2009 by Brad Lovell

I spent Sunday afternoon trying to find Clayton’s wedding ring at Brisbane Waters, near Woy Woy on the Central Coast. While Clayton was washing his boat, he felt his wedding ring slip off his finger and splash into the water. The water depth was only 1.5/2 meters deep, but unfortunately the bottom was seaweed and mud, and visibility was not all that great. I geared up, and started searching the area where Clayton believed the ring had dropped. To cut a long story short, after 6 hours in the water I came back empty handed. I managed to find lots of rubbish, but no wedding ring. I am not sure exactly what went wrong with this job. Did the ring sink so deep into the mud that my detector couldn’t find it?? Perhaps the ring drifted underneath the boat which I could not access. I have not totally given up on Clayton’s wedding ring. I plan on going back their with my diving friend Matt some day for a second attempt. Clayton, it was great meeting yourself and family. And thank you for leaving me more than you should have! I will contact you again soon for a second try.

March 19th, 2009 by Brad Lovell

I received a phone call from Rick last week. Rick was doing some work on the back of his boat. As he was throwing rubbish from his boat to his dingy, Rick watched helplessly as his gold bracelet fell off his wrist and went flying through the air, and into the water. Unfortunately this bracelet was very special to Rick. It was a gift from his wife over 33 years ago. And Rick also mentioned to me that he had planned on passing the gold bracelet down to his grand son, who seemed to love playing with the bracelet. The bracelet was lost in about 2-3 meters of water, so unfortunately I was unable to help out. But, Rick had already organised a diver, Josh. Josh attempted searching for the lost bracelet without the help of a metal detector. The water where the gold bracelet fell, was very murky, with a mud bottom. Josh had no luck finding the bracelet, and mentioned to Rick that he really needs the help of a metal detector. After a quick search on google for an underwater metal detector, Rick found my website. I met Rick and Josh down at Woodford Bay with my equipment, a beautiful spot near Greenwich and Lane Cove on Sydney’s North Shore. Josh did not have experience with metal detecting, but he is an expert diver. After a quick metal detecting lesson, Josh was under water, searching for Rick’s lost bracelet. After a good 3 hour search, Josh came up empty handed. I still had one plan up my sleeve. My scuba diving friend Matt was available on the weekend, and willing to head down to Woodford bay in an attempt to find Rick’s gold bracelet. Matt is still learning the art of metal detecting, which is actually a lot more complex than one would think. Finding a signal is easy, but digging up what is causing that signal 3 meters under water, with zero visibility is not an easy feat. I was unable to meet Matt and Rick on the weekend, so Matt picked up my metal detecting gear and gave it his best. I am not sure how long the hunt lasted, but unfortunately Matt was unable to find Rick’s bracelet either. So after 3 attempts, the gold bracelet still sits at the bottom of Woodford Bay. I really feel for Rick, who desperately wanted his Bracelet back on his wrist. But I am sure Rick feels a sense of closure knowing he did everything physically possible to retrieve the lost bracelet. I have not given up on Ricks bracelet yet. When I am unable to find a customers lost item, I return in my spare time to continue the search. I am hoping to get back down to Woodford Bay some time in the future to continue searching for Rick’s Gold Bracelet.