I've got one or two suggestions which haven't been posted yet. Nobody's mentioned open heeled fins and booties yet, you'd think that's a given but I'm surprised how many people are doing shore dives in full foot fins.
Now to the entries. Fins off, mask on as soon as you have water available to rinse your spit/defog. Easy entry? Don the BC and put in the regulator and go, fins go on or off in waist height water.
If rough water or shallow, uneven and rocky and balance is a big issue, inflate the BC and float it tank down and pull it out to deeper water behind you 'til you are about waist height and beyond the major break and then surface don the BC. This works great when you are shorediving with divers who are small, weak or elderly and have a tough time negotiating entries and exits with 50-60 pounds on their backs. Reverse the order for exits, make sure you are shallow enough when taking off fins to keep in contact with the bottom, but not so shallow you get clobbered by waves.
Another great trick for those who want to wear their BCs througout the entry/exit - Duckwalk. Once you hit 18 inches or so of water, either duckwalk leaning forward or just fall forward with your BC partially inflated and push yourself with your feet the direction you want to go rather than standing tall and repeatedly falling and risking hitting your head on a rock or trying to swim against the surge. On the exit I start duckwalking as soon as I take my fins off in 3 or 4 feet of water and only stand when I'm real shallow. I can negotiate 30 feet of 2-3 feet deep surge zone in about 6-7 seconds doing this without fighting at all and since one foot is pretty much always on the ground I've got pretty good control.
On exits, especially so, watch the waves coming in behind you any time you are standing. You may have to turn sideways and brace your feet so you don't go for a roll.
I don't know what the Lahaina coastline is like, but this works great here in Kona where we have a fair amount of lava and coral to deal with in some spots. As you said, much more than 2 feet of surf you might as well find another spot or sit back and watch the ocean.
later,
Steve
kidspot:
Having done about 30 entries/exists through surf now, with few being "graceful" I was wondering what advice folks had for safely/simply entering and exiting through surf? By surf I mean 1-2 ft. waves - over that and I find another location. . . My usual entry is . . . lull in the sets so go fast and get past the waves - not too bad usually. Usual exit is . . . here comes a wave, let's imitate a beached whale being rolled up on the sand - lol
Ideas? Anyone able to do an "elegant" exit especially?
Thanks ahead of time,
Tim
P.S. I shore dive mostly the Lahaina coastline.