Eight beaches in Hawai'i considered 'healthiest'

By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer

When "Dr. Beach" ranks the nation's beautiful shorelines, it's practically a given that Hawai'i will have some of the best.

But now the Florida meteorologist, Stephen Leatherman, also has certified "healthy beaches," and guess what? Eight are in Hawai'i.

Leatherman, the director of Florida International University's Laboratory for Coastal Research, listed 40 beaches nationwide based on water quality, public amenities, safety, litter control and environmental stewardship.

Leatherman chose beaches from every island except Moloka'i and Kaua'i.

The Hawai'i beaches named were: Hapuna and Kauna'oa beaches on the Big Island; Hulopo'e Beach on Lana'i; Ka'anapali and Wailea beaches and Kapalua Bay on Maui; and Kailua and Lanikai on O'ahu.

The list is part of the National Healthy Beaches Campaign and will become an annual project, he said.

"This is very strongly on the environmental criteria," he said today. "This is not a beauty contest at all. They are beautiful but they are also clean, too."

He said he was working off a list of nominations and just didn't have time to consider the Garden Island, where beautiful beaches often make it on his annual best beaches list.

"And I like Kaua'i," he said. "There are some in Kaua'i that would qualify."

Evidently, some folks on Kaua'i feel the same way.

"We have already had some e-mail from people there saying, 'Hey what happened?' " Leatherman said.

But over at the Kaua'i Visitors Bureau, Executive Director Sue Kanoho doesn't feel too snubbed, given that the island wasn't even considered.

"We have beautiful beaches and we have never had a complaint about water quality," she said. "It's just a matter of opinion."

Still, the island has had its share of drownings — about 10 to 12 a year, including one just yesterday at Makua Beach, she said. Kaua'i County officials have increased the number of lifeguards, and that should help with any Dr. Beach certification, should he consider the island, Kanoho said.

"That's an increase in amenities," she said.

A lot of beaches in Hawai'i would not qualify for the list, in part because of safety reasons. Leatherman's prime example is the back-breaking shorebreak at Sandy's Beach.

"It's a very beautiful beach, but it is a very dangerous beach," he said. "I've put my feet in it and that is as far as I will go."