Common Hand Signals for Scuba Diving

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Common Hand Signals for Scuba Diving

While scuba diving, communicating with your diving buddy and the dive group is important. It can be challenging since you are underwater and are limited to using hand signals or tapping on your tank. Although you may be limited, you can still convey your message with these common hand signals for scuba diving. Keep in mind that these signals can vary across the globe, and individuals may make it their own, but these will at least help you get started with the basics.

OK (SURFACE SIGNAL)

  • Close your fist and bring it to the top of your head to make an ‘O’ shape.
  • You use this signal when you are on the surface of the water, and want to let the people on the boat know that you are safe and doing well.

OK (GENERAL SIGNAL)

  • Make an ‘O’ shape with your thumb and pointer finger with the other three fingers out.
  • This ok sign is one of the most basic signs in scuba diving and let’s your buddy know that you are all good. You can also use this sign to check on your buddy and ask if they are OK too. It’s important to use this as the OK sign, because if you use a thumbs up sign, that means you are needing to ascend.

STOP

  • Hold your hand out flat palm facing your diving buddy
  • You can use this signal to tell your buddy to wait until you can move forward with them or need time to adjust something.

LEVEL OFF

  • Make your hand flat and move it back and forth at the same level.
  • When you plan a depth with your diving buddy or group, it’s important to stick with your plan. This will help keep everyone safe and avoid any unnecessary issues or problems underwater. Use this signal to keep your buddy at the level as planned.

LOOK AT ME

  • Cleary point at your eyes with your pointer and middle finger, then point at yourself or at your chest with your pointer finger.
  • You can get your diving buddy’s attention with this signal. You may need to get them to focus on you to point out something fun! You can also tap your tank with a signaling device to get their attention initially.

ASCEND

  • Give a thumbs up sign or point up towards the surface with your thumb.
  • Signaling this sign means you are ready to go up towards the surface or ready to end the dive for some reason. Remember that this does not mean the same as the OK signal.

DESCEND

  • Give the thumbs down sign or point down towards the bottom of the ocean with your thumb.
  • Signaling this sign means you have safely entered the water and are ready to descend or go deeper with your diving buddy.

THREE MINUTE SAFETY STOP

  • Point a finger toward the lowered palm of your hand for each minute of the safety stop (three fingers for the three minutes).
  • A key component of the dive is ensuring you and your buddy take a safety stop before completely going to the surface after a dive. You can use this signal to let your buddy know how long you need for a safety stop.

FOLLOW ME

  • Point at yourself first with your pointer finger and then point with that finger leading the way. If you want your buddy to lead, then point at your buddy with that finger leading the way.
  • Using this scuba hand signal means that you want your buddy to follow you, or if you do it the other way around, you then want to follow your diving buddy.

DISTRESSED DIVER

  • Shake your arm up and down with large strokes. Simply shaking your hand won’t do.
  • If you are in distress at the surface, using this large signal to get the boat’s attention or your diving buddy’s attention is key. Also make sure you know how to identify a diver in distress. Often, a panicked diver will have their mask on their forehead.

PROBLEM

  • Shake your hand back and forth.
  • By making this diving signal, you are telling your diving buddy that you have a problem or something is wrong. This allows them to assess the situation and help you out.

DANGER

  • Create an X with your arms, with closed fists. Point in the direction of the danger with a closed fist.
  • Making an X shows your diving buddy that there is danger nearby. Once they understand, you can point in the direction of the danger. Make sure to plan ahead as best you can with your diving buddy for issues or problems that may arise while scuba diving.

TURN THE DIVE

  • Use your finger to swirl it in a circular motion.
  • You can use this to signal that you are ready to head back toward the origin point or you are ready to turn around and go back.

SHARE THE AIR

  • Take a flat hand and motion back and forth between you and your diving buddy’s mouth.
  • This signal indicates that you need to share their air with them and want to use their alternate air supply. You could be having trouble with an air source or you are out of air.

LOW ON AIR

  • Clench your fist and draw it toward your chest.
  • You tell your diving buddy you are almost out of air by signaling this to them.

OUT OF AIR

  • Make a cut motion across your neck.
  • This is worse case scenario and hopefully you don’t get to this point, but signaling this to your diving buddy means you are completely out of air for some reason and then you need to immediately begin sharing their air.

HOW MUCH AIR DO YOU HAVE

  • Take two fingers and draw them to a flat hand.
  • This signal helps you ask how much air is left for each diver you are with, in order to know when you need to start turning the dive around or heading to a different area before a diver gets low on air. Periodically remind your diving buddy and ask how much air they have left throughout the dive.

I HAVE 1,500 PSI REMAINING (OPTION 1)

  • Take a digit for every 1,000 PSI remaining and draw it on your flat hand. After that, hold up a finger for every 100 PSI left.
  • Divers have different ways of signaling remaining PSI and normally they will let you know how they signal it before the dive. During preparations, make sure you ask if you are unfamiliar with the divemaster or guide.

I HAVE 1,500 PSI REMAINING (OPTION 2)

  • Hold a digit up for each 1,000 remaining PSI and then a digit for each 100 remaining PSI.

COLD

  • Signal by rubbing your hands on your arms.
  • This will let your diving buddy know that you have the chills or are too cold. This should be taken seriously because the lack of proper protection can increase your chance of DCS.

TROUBLE EQUALIZING

  • Clearly point at your ear.
  • When you have problems or too much pressure descending, you need to let your diving buddy know. This signal will tell them what is going on. You should ascend a little and try clearing again.

NARCOSIS

  • Point to your temple and make a swirling motion with your hand.
  • There is no reason to panic, but if you start feeling symptoms of nitrogen narcosis, let your buddy know with this signal immediately and they can help keep you out.

SEA LIFE SIGNALS

There is plenty of sea life out there to admire during your dive and communicating this with your diving buddy can be easy with these following common hand signals.

EEL

  • Make a motion with your hand that resembles a mouth speaking by repeatedly opening and closing your hand with your thumb and four other fingers

RAY

  • Stretch your arms out by each side of you and flap them up and down like wings.

CRAB

  • Make a motion with each of your hands off to each side of you, that resembles a mouth speaking by repeatedly opening and closing your hand with your thumb and four other fingers

SHARK

  • Place your flat hand against your forehead with the thumb touching your forehead and your other fingers away from your forehead. This signal makes it look like you have a fin coming out of your forehead.

TURTLE

  • Place one flat hand over your other flat hand with your thumbs out on each side. Move your thumbs around in a circular motion. This signal is supposed to resemble a turtle with the moving flippers.

Knowing these scuba diving hand signals will give you the confidence to communicate to your diving buddy when going on your next scuba dive. Plan ahead and make sure you agree on these common hand signals with your diving buddy before your dive.