Of the 57 houses and cottages on Smith's Point, the ocean has unmercifully harassed 15 of them over the last five years.  Smith's Point Association President Tom Erichsen estimates that the beaches from the west end of Millie's Bridge to the south end of Massachusetts Avenue have lost around 50 feet a year in that time.

The sea's inland advance has forced one house to be relocated, with five other property owners filing for permits to do the same; has prompted the demolition of two more houses; put five more in imminent danger of encroaching storm waves and exposed half of another house's foundation. These houses - including Erichsen's own home at 34 Rhode Island Ave. - sit anywhere from zero feet to 250 feet from the beach.  "We've spent 23 years on Smith's Point, and I'm familiar with the neighborhood and with knowing people and the kids growing up there; it's devastating," said Erichsen. "This is something you don't prepare for, this is something you have to deal with. I can't speak for the other neighbors, but again they feel basically the same way. We were all aware that the south shore did erode, but the rate of erosion in the last five years has been more than we could ever imagine."

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