And if so, did they ever comment on the difference between the beaches available in their colonies compared to the ones back in Europe, specifically from a leisure standpoint?
Please see the answer from /u/sunagainstgold here.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/omewir/comment/h5ldxmy/
/u/DGBD hosted an episode of the AskHistorians Podcast about the history of going to the beach.
/u/mynameisrevan has previously answered Is beach attractiveness a recent phenomenon?
More answers remain to be written about your specific question