Main Beach ranked fourth best in nation
Steven Leatherman, the Florida International University professor better known as "Dr. Beach," ranked Main Beach in East Hampton the fourth-best beach in the United States. (March 2, 2011 ) Credit: Newsday / J. Conrad Williams Jr.
Main Beach in East Hampton is moving up.
An annual ranking being released Friday of the best beaches in the United States puts Main Beach at No. 4. Last year, it climbed to No. 5 after spending two years at No. 6.
The rankings are issued each year by Steven Leatherman, the Florida International University professor better known as "Dr. Beach." He ranks beaches on 50 criteria, including the look and feel of the sand, water quality, weather, facilities and crowds.
But what happened to Southampton's Coopers Beach, which last year ranked No. 1?
It turns out that Leatherman doesn't consider No. 1's for the next year's list. And he insists that eliminating each year's national winner from consideration in future surveys hasn't diluted the quality of his annual rankings.
This year's top ranking went to Siesta Beach, in Sarasota, Fla. Leatherman, director of FIU's Laboratory for Coastal Research, told The Associated Press that Siesta Beach is 40 acres of almost pure quartz crystal.
This year's runner-up is San Diego's Coronado Beach, and No. 3 goes to Kahanamoku Beach in Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Rounding out the list are No. 5, Cape Hatteras in North Carolina; No. 6, St. George Island State Park, Florida Panhandle; No. 7, Beachwalker Park, Kiawah Island, S.C.; No. 8, Coast Guard Beach, Cape Cod, Mass.; No. 9, Waimanalo Bay Beach Park, Oahu, Hawaii; and No. 10, Cape Florida State Park near Miami.
