Despite rainstorms on a weekly basis, officials are expecting another strong beach season on the North Shore this summer.
"We have gotten a lot of rain, which happens," said Matt James, a lifeguard at Ipswich's Crane Beach. "Everything else has been great."
While weather can put a damper on beach days, high gas prices may actually be a positive thing for beaches, as more people are expected to stay local and visit nearby beaches. However, an increase in people can lead to bigger problems in beach upkeep.
Gas prices have put a constraint on Jackie Kellihe's and Igor Atroschemk's beach travels this year, as they both drive up from Boston.
"Last year, we came about once a week, but that is not the case this year," Kellihe said while sitting at Crane Beach yesterday. "It's quieter here, and there aren't many places around you can go to without a residence pass."
The hot spot in Ipswich seemed to be in tip-top shape with only a little trash in the sand and wrack — twigs and brush — collected in neat piles.
When the temperature is over 85 degrees, Crane Beach can expect anywhere from 6,000 to 8,000 visitors, who have eight on-duty lifeguards watching over them during the week and 12 to 15 on weekends. The cleanup policy is trash cans throughout the beach, and it seems to be working well.
"The only issue we had this year was in early June when the monthly high tide left a lot of wrack, so we had to rake that up," said Peter Pinciaro, the general manager of the Crane Estate.
Matt Casparius of the Manchester Recreation Department agrees that although there have been some bumps this season, things are not as bad as they seem.
"It hasn't been a bad beach season," he said. "I would say we are doing about as well as we did last year."
Singing Beach in Manchester implemented a "carry-in, carry-out" policy for the first time this year, which requires beachgoers to carry their own garbage and recyclables off the beach. As a result, the number of trash cans on the half-mile stretch of beach has decreased from 20 to five.
"I think it's going to work," Casparius said. "In the end, assuming it works, it will help the beach get cleaner."
That same policy does not seem to be working well for Dane Street Beach in Beverly, which had trash strewn all across the sand and grass. That, however, does not stop people from spending a day in the sun.
"The weather has been unpredictable," said Dennis Glennon of Danvers. "But it's close, and it's a nice mix of families."
Salem has taken a more modern, high-tech approach to the trash problem by using solar-powered trash compactors on the beaches. These futuristic trash cans allow more trash to be collected, and the city is hoping to add to the nine compactors it already has.
Barbara Warren, executive director of the Salem Sound Coastwatch, is a big fan of the new barrels.
"They compact the trash and also prevent it from escaping," she said. "And even if people put their trash in the compactor, squirrels and gulls can't get it out."
