The five sisters are five detached and segmented breakwaters located offshore of Winthrop Beach - on the exposed Atlantic Ocean side of the peninsula. There's a long history here, one that I have not tracked down, but it's apparent that they have been relatively successful at building, or preserving, a beach in their lee (this site warrants checking out in Google Earth). But the beach vanishes to the north, exposing old groins and leaving evidence of a trail of seawall failures. This was probably an exciting place during the February 1978 storm.
It would be easy to make the case for finishing what was started at this beach, although doing so would be very expensive (and the costs would probably not be born proportionately by the beneficiaries of the project). I also don't have any idea what the environmental and public trust issues are on this coast that might be an obstacle to dumping several hundred thousand tons of rock and dredged sediment into viable marine habitat.
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The struggle to renourish Winthrop Beach has lasted over ten years with no immediate solution in sight.
The complicating factors are the location and orientation of the beach and the logistical limitations in sourcing and delivering 500,000 cubic yards of a sand and gravel borrow.
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