Another Florida Beach Tops Dr. Beach 2011 Best Beaches List

Published by nora | Filed under Buyer / Seller Tips, Miscellaneous, Real Estate

Florida can expect more visitors this spring break and summer, as the great media attention captured by Siesta Beach in Sarasota, Florida as Number 1 on Dr. Beach’s annual Top Ten Beaches list will no doubt help other Florida beaches.

Siesta Beach claims that its sand is the whitest and finest in the world and many agree because its sand is almost pure quartz crystal. The water is clear and clean, and it beautifully reflects the blue color. The beach is also children-friendly and therefore family-friendly as its slope towards the waters is gradual and its waves are measured in inches.

The beach park offers bathrooms and showers, picnic tables, snack bars, shade trees and parking areas. It also promotes healthy living and green living as it’s a smoke-free beach.

Since Dr. Beach began rating and ranking beaches professionally in 1991, Florida has captured seven Number 1 rankings:

• 1992  –  Bahia Honda State Park, Florida Keys
• 1994  –  Grayton Beach State Park, Florida Panhandle
• 1995  –  St. Andrews State Park, Panama City
• 2002  –  St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, Port St. Joe
• 2005  –  Fort DeSoto Park – North Beach St Petersburg
• 2008  –  Caladesi Island State Park, Dunedin/Clearwater
• 2011  –  Siesta Beach, Sarasota

The person many fondly calls Dr. Beach is environmentalist and geoscientist Stephen Leatherman, director of the Florida International University Laboratory for Coastal Research. He has also worked for the University of Maryland, University of Massachusetts and Boston University and has written books, including “Sea Level Rise: Causes and Consequences,” “Barrier Island Handbook” and “America’s Best Beaches.” He also co-produced and hosted the 1992 award-winning film “Vanishing Lands.”

Leatherman started rating beaches using a well-researched set of 50 criteria in 1991 after the media used his on-the-spot answer to a reporter’s question about the best beaches in 1989. His criteria was designed to find the best beaches for swimming, walking, sports, scenery and other recreational activities.

Among the 50 criteria used by Leatherman to come up with a list of the best beaches are the following:

• Sand softness
• Color of sand
• Beach width at low tide
• Water temperature
• Number of sunny days
• Slope of the beach
• Rip currents
• Size of breaking waves
• Views and vistas
• Facilities such as chairs, bars and showers
• Public safety
• Lifeguards
• Wind speeds

The other Florida beaches included in the 2011 Top Ten Beaches list are:

• Rank 6  –  St. George Island State Park in the Florida Panhandle
• Rank 10  –  Cape Florida State Park in Key Biscayne

The Siesta Beach is about an hour’s drive from Tampa, where there are also a lot of beautiful beaches.  Contact Tampa4U for information on Tampa real estate.