Was just up your way a couple weeks ago. Some nice shore dives in Saanich Inlet. Wanted to go do McKenzie Bight, because I had read that it's an awesome dive site. But we walked the trail down from the parking area without gear, looked at the entry, and decided that we just didn't want to work that hard. Ended up down the road at Willis Point, which is a pretty nice wall ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
McKenzie Bight is nice.
I can see why you "boat divers" wouldn't make that hike with gear!
[ joke...not snark... ]
It's basically the same as Willis Point, that wall just extends around. Oddly, just that little distance around the bend can have better viz at one end or other.
Re: OP - shore vs boat
Kind'a funny seeing Willis Pt brought up. Whilst I agree in-general boat diving (say for greater # of dives sites) is easier.
It all depends on the site/access.
Willis Pt, you just dived is a great example. It's a very short walk (I've hiked my gear much further from parking lot, down dock, to boat). And... the same distance you "swim", say 50ft away from shore & drop-down is shorter than a lot of boats I've jumped off back & swam to front & anchor-line. And you've got a 130ft+ wall!
Seriously, not arguing a majority of dive sites are "easier" from shore...and not talking Maui (OP?) or elsewhere Hawaii (done 3-4 trips to Oahu, mostly boat dives there, few from shore) but it really just shows that it depends on sites.
Another we have here local is Ogden Pt. You can toss a snorkel from your parked car to the beach entry & see some great sea-life.
We just got back from Bonaire. ~30 dives that week & felt silly that I did 1/4 of 'em from a boat. Would'a been much more convenient & better dives (& easier) from shore.
So some people are blessed with blessed with very convenient/easy shore diving. It can actually be easier/more convenient/etc.
I realize this is the exception & not the norm.
But... OP Hawaii post aside - I'd say the answer to "anyone prefer shore?" (for me is) "depends on the shore dive location".
Full disclosure - my 1st 1000-1500 dives were probably 90% from shore. I was weaned on shore diving & dived for years before I realized you could dive from a boat.
I also own a boat, & have dived off friends' boats, as well as quite a few charters & live-aboards diving.
So I also think just saying "boat vs shore" is too broad, shore location aside, as boat diving comes in many flavors - your own ("hole in water you throw money into"), a buddy's, day-trip charter, live-aboard, etc. All have pluses & minuses just amongst the type of boat diving you're talking about.
Boat in general (mostly charters) diving downsides (charters specifically):
On their schedule, I've seen injuries from shore dives & injuries on crowded boats, crowds (mass of divers dive bombing me), controlling bottom time, ending dive because of divers I'm not even diving with, mechanical problems, my big bag of "every spare part imaginable" way back in the parking lot instead of a surface swim away ("save a dive"), schlepping gear (yes, piers can be longer than many shore entries, I've come up after long/tiring shore dives & just left my gear @ waters edge til I came back after rest w/my next tank... charter boats, when you're done I find want you off), sites you can't get to by boat (yes, plenty exist), sites you'd be insane to get to by boat (risks/fuel cost/inconvenience), getting baked/sunburnt on the trek to the site (yes, some boats are covered, but still always more "surface time", otherwise - why not shore dive it?), being forced into "insta-buddy" situation (worse 2x buddies) vs no buddy=relaxing solo.
[ Note: I never mentioned cost ... ]
Did I mention being stuck with crowds and an unknown insta-buddy? (yes, I did...but worth repeating) I feel much safer and more relaxed (important for me when diving) when diving solo than paired with someone I don't know and/or dodging a crowd of divers. I've thought I was far away from others & been tank bombed by people with no bouyancy...that hasn't happened to me whilst shore diving with known buddies.
Recent story -
Boat (charter) diving last weekend, off another great Vancouver Island dive site (yes, can't get to it from shore w/o one hell of surface swim<g>), Race Rocks. One poor guy was so excited to dive outside of work (DM from local shop) that he forgot his hood & weights (another forgot a mask) - well, guess what... I had extra weights & mask sitting in my "spare parts" box in my vehicle. If we'd been shore diving I could'a waltz back to my car (admittedly, waltzing is inelegant when wearing a drysuit) & handed out loaner gear. As it was 2x divers on the boat lost their dives.
Anyhow... again not arguing one is better than other - incomparable and no absolute answer (regardless of cost).
The only type of boat diving I would say near universally beats most shore diving, yet has own drawbacks (above), is via live-aboard:
set up my gear once, flop over/in and hand my gear up when getting out, multiple dives with minimal effort
From my experience, admittedly fortunate to have easy & close & great shore diving locations, shore diving can be just as good/better than boat diving across categories.
Yes, boat diving can also be better, again depending on site/other logistics.
Happy bubbling!
Doug
