In Reply to: Here is what they do posted by Jeff Shaw on October 25, 2006 at 16:56:06:

I would agree that you should not be forced to do something you are not prepared for or want to do. But I see two issues.

One is that some divers, after becomming certified, might very well attempt a beach dive without benefit of further training. Our beaches are attractive Sirenes of potential disater for the unprepared.

The other is more of a worst case scenario - what if someone who never beach dove were separated from the boat and needed to do a beach exit or washup? Would they be confident to do so expeditiously and safely? Then again, this is a stretch (but it does fit this thread, as it began with the issue of roll calls on boats).

However getting a watered down version of a 'shore dive' just to meet the minimum requirement wouldn't matter much for either situation. It may be worse than no training at all as one may think they are a "beach diver" and go straight from Shaw's Cove to Point Dume. Then again, trying to do a training beach dive in conditions that would only thrill hardcore surfers doesn't make any sense either (I've watched from shore when classes tried to do dives in conditions I wouldn't bother suiting up for.)

One question that bothers me ... why does PADI offer a Boat Diving Specialty, but no Beach Diving Specialty? I'll leave on this last thought....