I got my OW cert in San Diego, and as I said in my post above, while the initial training dives were shore dives, the OW checkout dives were boat dives. I don't recall being given much, if any, instruction about how to enter and exit the water during those training dives. Besides, that was at a benign beach. Some additional instruction on how to time the wave sets, entering/exiting from a rocky shore, when to don/doff fins, how to set up gear on a sandy beach, etc., would have been welcome. However, since there is already so much to absorb in an OW class, I would have welcomed a PADI Shore Diver specialty. It's no less ridiculous than the PADI Boat Diver specialty. I'll admit that both seem a little excessive, since all one really needs is to ask other divers for advice.
As for the OW course teaching to dive in local conditions, that's certainly a good idea, but I hope OW instructors don't forget that many of their students--perhaps a majority--will end up traveling to other dive destinations. I never dove locally when I lived in San Diego.
