One reason not to put the stern towards shore was the presence of a self-steering. This meant you had to stay away quite a distance from shore and it would not be possible to step on it, but would have to use a dinghy to row ashore. Putting the bow towards the shore often made it possible to just jump on shore with a rope and tie it to a proper attaching point. I've done this in the Med, but also in Sweden and Finland.