Tales from the Logbook--Demonstrating Diver Hand Signals

In the summer of 2019, the education staff at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward worked with the habitat maintenance divers to develop an education program for the visitors.  The program emphasized the basics of scuba diving, the equipment divers used and how we communicated underwater using hand signals.  The five- to ten-minute program started just before the divers entered the water.  The narrator encouraged the youngsters to sit up close to the floor to ceiling window, with the adults near the back of the crowd. 

By the time we descended to the habitat’s floor, the program was well underwater.  The interpreter motioned the diver cleaning the window that communication would be demonstrated using hand signals that divers commonly use such as “up,” “down,” and “turn around.”  As I cleaned the windows rather than vacuum with the siphon, it fell to me to do the demonstration.  The interpreter had the crowd do the signal and I responded with the appropriate move.  Thumb up, ascend; thumb down, descend; and so on.  Sometimes the hand signal for “shark” would be indicated and I would feign fear and look nervously around the habitat.  The crowd loved it, especially the youngsters. 

At the end of the demonstration, guests would inevitably line up for photos with the diver.  On more than one occasion, I motioned for a group to gather in front of the window, as I reached into my dry suit’s external cargo pocket and produced an underwater camera like I was going to take their photograph.  After all the photos were done, I waved goodbye and started cleaning the window.  The demo then ended and the crowd dissipated. 

Every so often a youngster would linger or return and start flashing some of the hand signals.  I always took the time to execute the move indicated.

The interpretive program only lasted the one summer.  The following summer (2020) was at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.  The Center was open, but only at a greatly reduced capacity and following the “stand at least six foot apart” guidelines.  Out of concern for our guests’ wellbeing, the program was suspended.  When the pandemic was over, the demonstration did not return.