Memorial Day: America’s Beaches Battle For #1

(Mellow Wanderer) Memorial Day kicks off the unofficial start of summer with long beach walks, sculpting sand castles, catching waves and slumbering under an umbrella with a steamy summer novel. For the best places to get sand between your toes, just page Dr. Beach.

 Dr. Stephen Leatherman, “Dr. Beach,” directs the Laboratory for Coastal Research at Florida International University. He’s logged more beach miles than a sand crab. Just before Memorial Day weekend, Leatherman releases his annual America’s Best Beaches list.

Beach friendly communities anxiously await his top choice every year, finger on the PR trigger, ready to shout “WE’RE #1!” Whoever gets the top spot on Leatherman’s list claims bragging rights forever, cause once you’re declared #1, that beach stays on Dr Beach’s Hall of Fame  list. However, beaches can be booted off the list, according to Dr. Beach, if caretakers let quality slip. And he’ll know, too. Leatherman incorporates significant science when he evaluates every beach. Check it out. This dude is serious about sand and surf!

In advance of Leatherman’s 2015 top pick, let’s break down his previous lists and try and predict how the good doctor will go.

Duke Kahanamoku Beach in Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii took Dr. Beach’s #1 spot in 2014. Barefoot Beach in Bonita Springs, Florida came in second place.

Logic tells you Barefoot would take the top spot this year, but hold onto your flip-flops, beach bums! Hawaii and Florida have traditionally pulverized the competition like a wave rolling over a sand castle; No other state even comes close to having more #1 beaches than those two. So, I am going against conventional wisdom–maybe even Vegas odds– and betting on a dark horse: Beachwalker Park on Kiawah Island, on the outskirts of Charleston, South Carolina. Beachwalker came in 9th on last year’s list. Plus, the Carolinas are about due to represent at #1. Cape Hatteras, on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, checked-in at #6 on 2014’s list and could make a run at #1, and that’s most likely to happen.

We’ll see. So here’s my prediction: Beachwalker (1), Cape Hatteras (2), Bonita (3). They’ll be doing the shag at #1 on the South Carolina coast this summer! Bet the house on it. If I lose, guess I’ll be living on the beach with a roll-up blanket. Stay tuned for the results.