Super Bowl Sunday, 1989, a Nor'easter washed away our sand dunes. The concrete stairs leading down to the beach were damaged beyond repair. They were replaced with wooden stairs.

When counting from the top of the seawall to the beach, the new stairs had 17 steps. At 8 inches per step, that's a vertical distance of 11 feet from the top of the seawall to the beach.

Between Super Bowl Sunday, 1989, and the Summer of 2004, the height of the sand increased to where only 6 steps were visible. We had gained 7 feet of sand over a period of 15 years.

Then in August-September 2004, a series of hurricanes (Charlie, Frances, and Jeanne) destroyed the seawall and the stairs. We lost our 7 feet of sand.

The seawall was replaced and new stairs were constructed. The new stairs again have 17 steps from the top of the seawall to the beach.

As of today, the sand height has increased to a level where 12 steps are visible.

We have gained 3 feet of sand since Super Bowl Sunday, 1989.