RI confronts beaches ravaged by Superstorm Sandy

SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (AP) Jim Szymanski remembers when a parking lot and road, 50 feet of beach grass and a wide expanse of soft sand separated this colony of summer shacks from the pounding Atlantic surf.

Now, waves lick at the first row of cottages at Roy Carpenters Beach following years of erosion and last months Superstorm Sandy, which carried off thousands of tons of sand along Rhode Islands south shore. Now, the cottages closest to the ocean are being moved back. Szymanskis third-row cottage will soon command unobstructed ocean views, a luxury thats likely to be as fleeting as a New England summer.

Front row now, no row tomorrow, said Szymanski, a contractor whos been coming to Roy Carpenters beach since he was a child in the 1960s. In two years am I going to be the one with water hitting the house?

Sandy swept away or carried inland much of the golden sand that is the centerpiece of Rhode Islands south shore, a 45-mile ribbon of humble beach hamlets, secluded bays and upscale resort communities. Now, residents and business owners are wondering if the beaches can be made whole in time for next summer, and whether they are fighting a losing battle against storms and rising sea levels.

Should we retreat? How far? ponders Frank Tassoni, an attorney who owns a cottage in the Matunuck section of South Kingstown. Tassoni wants to see the state combat erosion by installing devices just offshore that trap sand and prevent it from washing away. Were the Ocean State; we cant just remove this part of Rhode Island. Were fighting for a way of life down here.

While theres not yet an official report on the damage Sandy did to Rhode Islands beaches, the toll is obvious.

At Watch Hill in Westerly, several feet of sand washed away, exposing the foundations under beach cabanas and leaving steps that once ended on the beach hanging five feet in the air.

Up the coast at Misquamicut beach, Sandy picked up most of the beach and deposited it chest-high in the communitys main roadway. Crews excavating Misquamicut are dumping the sand in parking lots, creating dunes more than 10 feet tall and turning the seaside community into a stand-in for the Sahara.

In Matunuck, Sandy consumed as much as 50 feet of beach in some spots. Several cottages at Roy Carpenters Beach were destroyed when the sand underneath them was swept away. All that remained to show the location of one former cottage was a water pipe extruding from the sand.

While conceding the state got off easy compared with New Jersey and New York, Gov. Lincoln Chafee said Sandy left an imprint on Rhode islands shoreline that may never fully fade.