'Dr. Beach' diagnoses best coastal spots

By John-Thor Dahlburg
Los Angeles Times

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"It's a 3.5 in terms of color. Not pure white, but an off-white, light in color," declared the barefoot professor from Florida International University as he ambled along the shoreline at Crandon Park, a public beach near Miami. "In terms of softness, it's pretty soft, but there are all these cobbles and pebbles. That takes away from the score."

Leatherman, a coastal scientist who has taken the tongue-in-cheek alias "Dr. Beach," has gained national attention through his proposition that America's beaches — like wines, restaurants, golf holes, cars or places to live — can be rated with scientific objectivity and mathematical precision, then ranked to sift out the best.

Every Memorial Day weekend, Leatherman issues his list of 10 top family beaches in the United States, a group that he maintains guarantees "a memorable summer vacation."

Best beaches Some of Stephen Leatherman's favorite U.S. beaches: • Best wilderness beach: Shishi Beach, Olympic National Park, Wash. • Best surfing beach: Huntington Beach, Calif. • Best beach for walking: Kiawah Island, S.C. • Best people-watching beach: Venice Beach, Calif. • Best overall beach: Kapalua Bay Beach, Maui, Hawaii

Some in the tourism industry say that making it onto this increasingly cited list is akin to having a stock touted in the columns of The Wall Street Journal or a vintage lauded by Wine Spectator.

In 2002, Dr. Beach proclaimed Port St. Joseph Memorial State Park in Florida's Panhandle — with its fine, sugar-white sand and high dunes — to be America's finest.

"As the publicity went from Buffalo to Baton Rouge, many people made side trips to visit, mentioning the ranking we'd received," said Anne Harvey, park manager. "There are now 185,000 visitors a year, which is an increase of 100 percent over the past eight years. (Leatherman) certainly had an impact on us."

"Absolutely it helps," said Carolyn McCormick of North Carolina's Outer Banks Visitors Bureau. "People rely on books and magazine articles and the recommendations of other people when they travel, and many people rely on those lists."

Leatherman employs a five-point grading scale and 50 distinct criteria, from width at low tide and sand quality to smell, lifeguards and crowds.

"I've been to all the beaches in the U.S. once, and some many times," said Leatherman, 56, who received a doctorate in environmental sciences from the University of Virginia and is director of Florida International University's laboratory for coastal research. On average, he visits 100 beaches each year and tries to see all likely candidates for the top 10.

All the No. 1 picks since Leatherman began his annual rankings in 1991 have been in Hawaii or Florida, where the professor finds the warm, clean and clear waters especially welcoming for ocean bathing. Last year's national winner was Kaanapali Beach on Maui. Once a beach is proclaimed No. 1, it is retired from the competition.

Although they have never been his top selections, Leatherman does like Santa Rosa, Calif., for its seaside amusement park and Venice Beach, Calif., for its unrivaled "funky" diversity of people.

The worst public beach in the United States, in Leatherman's opinion, is also in California: Border Field State Park in San Diego. Raw sewage pumped into the ocean from neighboring Mexico fouls the coastal waters so badly that the beach often is closed to swimmers. There are no lifeguards. However, it is an excellent place for horseback riding, Leatherman said.

Leatherman doesn't live on the beach, but in an inland Miami suburb where the public schools are good. He doesn't particularly like lazing on the beach, instead enjoying more active pastimes such as boogie boarding, snorkeling and beachcombing.

Leatherman has either written or edited 16 books, including "Dr. Beach's Survival Guide: What You Need to Know About Sharks, Rip Currents & More Before Going in the Water"; penned more than 200 scientific journal articles and technical reports; spoken at more than 100 national and international scientific conferences; and given expert testimony before Congress.

"My hat is off to him because he has been able to take his science and melt it down to what the average person is looking for in terms of a beach vacation," McCormick said. "Most people seeking a beach are seeking the same things Dr. Beach is looking for."

In his academic guise, Leatherman is working on a mapping project using a high-tech airborne laser — he calls it his "million-dollar toy" — to construct three-dimensional images of beaches that are accurate to within inches, to better measure the impact of storms and erosion and determine whether artificial beach replenishment is needed.

"We need to better understand how beaches are changing," Leatherman said. "The economic implications are huge. Usually for a beachfront community, how the beach goes, so goes the economy."

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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