Need a hand signal for "Wow"

[PavoDive]

Why only use hand signals??

When I'm diving with my wife and we need to say Mega-super-cool or something about that level, we start grunting or "whale singing" (I must warn you, though: I'm not Dory and I can't speak whale!). At the beginning we couldn't make much noise, but with a little practice you can make your buddy hear you.
The "coolness level" determines the frequency and pitch of the grunts, the whale singin reserved for the veeeery best.

On a side note, I once had two ladies that were teachers in a school for the deaf (or whatever politically correct euphemism it is called), and after the first OW dive they decided to stop that underwater hand-blabbling. As the signature of somebody in this board says, "...[being underwater] ...is so silent, you're like a thought"

G.P.

 

[piikki]

So I need signs for:
crab
grouper
you just missed the sennet AGAIN!
cunner
tataug
butterfly fish

I recall seeing at least some of these critters on:
http://www.oxforddivecentre.com/signals/signals/html#Marine

Start training your regular buddies

 

[riddler]

There is one . . .
Sea Signs gives the sign for "WOW!!!" as:
the right hand is held above the shoulder with the wrist bent at 90 degrees.
The open fingers are pointed toward the head.
Move the hand at the wrist to and fro (kind of like the old "hot stuff" hand signal)

I've seen the sea-signs brochure that promotes this, but I've never seen it used underwater. In skydiving, we use this sign to tell people to relax.

Underwater, I've seen several local DMs in the carribean use the "hang-loose" sign to say wow.

 

[Ian T]

Not to hijack the thread or anything but sign language uw is pretty cool...my wife's sister is deaf - she's fluent...i'm learning, but pretty nifty...
really useful when she re-started diving and asked me to identify the diff fish...

Not too fond of it when she reminds me what grocery we need to pick up on the way home though.....

 

[FOUNDATIONER]

I just pop the reg outta my mouth and say WOW! :jawsdown:

 

[jwjkswanson]

I can't open Diver0001's 'hang loose' sign at the computer I am right now. It might be the same as our 'cool'
which is the very youthful (hopefully not gangish) right hand up with thumb, index and pinkie straigh up and rest of the fingers bent towards palm.

Does this sign have any other meanings? It seems to be widely understood?

That sign means "I love you" in Sign language.

 

[jwjkswanson]

It means "I love you" in sign language.

 

[Shaka Doug]

I'm glad that a lot of you mentioned the "Shaka". The "Shaka" means a lot of things, mostly "It's All Good", "Hangin' Loose", "Cool", "Great!", "Fun", "Having a Good Time", "Aloha", "Mahalo" and much, much more. It's a perfect sign for divers to express thier appreciation and excitement, like when they want to say "WOW!!!" For the really stoked diver, I recommend the "Super Shaka". That's two shakas linked end to end (pinky to thumb). Try it! You'll know what I mean!

 

[lmorin]

..... I think I'll go back to making the OK sign, nodding, and trying to emit excited body language

My wife and I use the OK sign with a double pump (or more--# proportional to the size of the WOW) of the hand toward the viewer. Works well. Haven't seen a whale shark yet. That might give us wower's elbow.

 

[PuyallupCoug]

I usually just use both hands at the same time to give the "Ok" signal

My buddy and I both know that means "i'm having a kick-a$$ time"