Cape beach #5 on national list

Looking for a prestige place to take a dip this weekend? How about a nationally-ranked sandy seaside spot like Coast Guard Beach on Cape Cod, which just placed fifth on this year's America's top 10 beaches survey.

The list is compiled by a chap who bills himself as Dr. Beach.

In real life, his name is Stephen P. Leatherman, and he is a professor of environmental studies at Florida International University with an academic resume that includes stints at Boston University and the University of Massachusetts.

This year's top ranked beach? Ocracoke Lifeguarded Beach on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

Caladesi Island State Park in Dunedin and Clearwater, Fla., was second, and placing third and fourth respectively were Coopers Beach in Southampton, N.Y., and Hanalei Bay in Kauai, Hawaii, he said.

In issuing annual lists since 1991, Leatherman has compiled a raft of criteria for rating beaches: from sand quality and water temperature to absence of red tides, bad smells, and mosquitoes; his goal, he said, is to inspire people to take better care of a precious natural resource.

Damage from a recent hurricane can knock a beach off the top 10 list, and improved conservation efforts can move a beach up in the standings, Leatherman said.

Beaches in Florida occupy three of the spots on this year's top 10 list, and a Californian might squawk that Coronado Beach in San Diego is California's only 2007 honoree.

So is Dr. Beach a homer? No way, he said.

His list is about "swimming beaches," not surfing beaches, he said, and the waves that surfers crave are not ideal for the devotee of the backstroke and the Australian crawl.

A shortage of sharks and people can also propel a beach to high places on Dr. Beach's list; too many people can detract from the beach experience, he said.

California beaches "can be loved to death," Leatherman said. "My beaches are not the most popular beaches."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)