Hand Signals Top 10

[Tigerman]

Heresy.. nudibranch...

 

[Scared Silly]

My favorite and often quite important:

Place hand forehead as one would when shielding their eyes from the sun when looking for something.
Flip the bird.
Cup hands together for the shape of the hull of a boat.

 

[AfterDark]

That is one skill solo diving erodes. I'll admit if I needed to comm underwater I'd probably reach for the slate. Last year in NC I needed direction back to the anchor line I don't know how that other diver figured out what the heck I was asking him but he understood enough to get me back to the line! I had 4 minutes of NDL time left and was getting ready to make a free ascent.

CT-Rich, good post we should practice some signals next time we get together.

 

[Ricky B]

Any hand signal to indicate "yes"? (not a nod of the head)

 

[uncfnp]

Solo may erode hand signals but always having the same partner/dive buddy makes them evolve. We have developed a fairly complex underwater language that I use and he mostly ignores.

 

[chillyinCanada]

To indicate yes, take your thumb tip and put it to your index fingertip making a circle.

---------- Post added April 30th, 2014 at 08:24 PM ----------

Heresy.. nudibranch...

Doh! I always just hug myself and then do a happy dance.

Glad you cleared that up for me, Tigerman. My next guess was going to be "legs up in the air".

 

[lowviz]

...//...

Slow down (hand flat, slowly moving downward)
Hold (clenched fist)
Move up (flat hand makes a sideways "U" shape from bottom to top)
Move down (same in a down direction)
Level off
Question
C'mere (beckoning motion)
That way (flat hand vertical indicating direction)
Turn (index finger vertical and circling)
Boat (cupped hands, often preceded by "Question")

Wow, "Cold" didn't make your top ten! You must have finally found the Golden Fleece...

 

[NAM001]

http://www.angelfire.com/nj4/divers/CommonHandSignalsforScubaDiving.pdf

 

[TONY CHANEY]

try this link: Dayo Scuba - Orlando Florida - Cyber Cafe - Year Round Diving & Training - Scuba Diving Communications - Underwater, Surface & Light Signals

 

[Peter_C]

During a dive on a remote part of the North Coast of California team member #1 turns to me and gives me the shark signal. I hold my two fingers apart sardine sized on one hand and then spread both hands, so it is a question of large or small shark?? He hits me back with a double BIG! So I turn to our team mate #3 and give the shark signal and show BIG. He moves closer to the rocks. We end the dive uneventfully, get to the surface and as we are taking our gear off to get back into the boat, my first question is to teammate #1 "What kind of shark did you see?". He replies "A leopard shark". Grrrr...that is not a BIG shark but a little shark. So we came up with the hand signal of shark followed by signing "Looser" "L" on the forehead, for leopard shark. Teammate #3 also named the reef "Big Shark Reef".