Until we learn to communicate underwater using our voices the way dolphins do or are able to equip all dive masks with voice communication equipment, we have to stick to hand signals to tell people we are diving with anything from “I’m OK.” to “It’s not the water turning bluer! It’s me!”
Thanks to tried and tested hand signals, conversing while diving has been made easy. The more fascinating thing about this - the hand signals are accepted internationally! Imagine the foreign non-English speaker rushing to your aid and saving your life by signaling him that you need to buddy breathe.
Mastering these hand signals can spell disaster from a worry-free diving experience.
So without further delay, below are 10 hand signals every diver should know.
1. By giving a thumbs-up sign, you are saying “Go up / going up.”
2. By giving a thumbs-down sign, you are saying “Go down / going down.”
3. By making a circle with your thumb and index fingers while the other three are pointing up, you are saying “Ok.”
4. When wearing gloves that prevent you from doing #3, you can make a circle using all fingers to say “Ok.”
5. By “cutting your throat” with your hand, you are saying “I’m out of air.”
6. By motioning left and right / wobbling with your hand, you are saying “There’s a small problem.”
7. By waving your arm in a wide arc, you are saying “There’s an emergency.”
8. By joining your index fingers, even repeatedly, you are saying, “Let’s buddy up.”
9. By shrugging your shoulders while you palms are extended, you are saying “I don’t understand.”
10. By exposing your palm with all fingers together, you are saying “Stop.”
More diver hand signals soon!
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