* Astronomy

Its Monday, 5:00 a.m. at Mission Beach. Russ Gish and his son Lance have already been here an hour, sweeping the sand with a contraption that looks like a skinny, upright vacuum cleaner with a coil at the end. Theyre treasure hunters, looking for things metal things to be exact that were left the day before, or even a few years ago. If theyre lucky, theyll find some coins, maybe some cheap jewellery. If theyre really lucky, if some beachgoer was flagrantly careless or stone drunk, perhaps the haul might be a platinum ring or a Rolex watch.

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