Does anyone else give the okay sign?

[RJP]

Always.

It should be a reflex to give it yourself - assuming of course you actually are OK - as well as to look for it from other divers.

 

[Tigerman]

Always.

It should be a reflex to give it yourself - assuming of course you actually are OK - as well as to look for it from other divers.

If i stand on shore and see divers come up, I actually ask for it if they dont show it.. Especially if only one diver emerge from the water..

 

[JohnnyH]

To those who say that the act of entering the water is their "OK" signal, I hope to see you change your mind, as this assumption can get you in serious trouble.

Without going into the obvious fact that the dive boat can make no assumptions as to the readiness or competency of divers entering the water, there are an infinite number of issues that can occur between your being okay as you step off the boat and the moment when you enter the water.

I skydive as well as scuba dive and there are a tremendous number of parallels between the two sports, with the exception that scuba diving is much more dangerous. Regardless, training and rote are essential (rather than trusting on dumb luck)

By turning back to the boat and signalling the okay signal (for me it's a one-handed knuckle to the head), you're creating a pause that allows you to break the tunnel focus of "getting in and getting down". Even if the DM or Capt on the boat doesn't see you, you've given yourself a mental pause and you'd be amazed how powerful that pause can be.

What are you taught to do when confronted by an emergency? Stop (Pause - it only takes a moment) and evaluate.

Who cares if it's not what other people on the boat are doing or if you feel it's not cool - really, who cares? Hell, I feed sharks for a living, jump out of planes and technical dive, but I wear a seat-belt when I drive two blocks, and you will always see me look back to the boat and knuckle the top of my head after I enter the water.

(Okay - so there's one exception - when the dive requires that you enter negative - but then the pause happens just under the surface with my buddy. It's just like the S-drills you do at the beginning of a tech dive)

 

[pupdiver]

I always give the OK before I go down and after I come up. I would say at least half the divers I see do it here in California.

I don't understand the thought that entering the water constitutes being OK. Being OK on the boat is different than being OK once you have splashed into the water.

It certainly doesn't hurt anything to give the OK. Are people that afraid they might look overly cautious or something?

 

[Steve_Dives]

The snorkel and dive trips I've had in the keys have all asked for the OK signal after entry. One operator was insistent on signaling after surfacing, with the DM staring straight at you already signaling OK.

At the quarry, you'll get an OK after a jump entry. After a walk-in entry, we can talk about how OK we are. Once we're down 15-20, we sign OK before heading away from the dock. I don't recall seeing an OK from divers (other than students) surfacing near the docks, but I know I've seen the big OK signal when the divers surfaced out in the middle.

 

[fairybasslet]

If i stand on shore and see divers come up, I actually ask for it if they dont show it.. Especially if only one diver emerge from the water..

Now this is a very interesting perspective and one that I learned from last year. And my actions (or lack thereof) still kind of bothers me. I was doing a night night in an inlet at the NJ shore and became tangled in my buddy's float line. I surfaced and pulled on the line to let my buddy know that something was wrong. Vis was about 2 feet and we couldn't see each other by that point in the dive. There was a class going on with some shore support and when I surfaced, the people on the shore had to ask me if I was OK. I looked straight at them when I surfaced but didn't even think to signal to them because we weren't diving with them and I was fine. I still feel kind of stupid about that because they were obviously worried about me.

 

[Luvnthelife]

I work on the Silver Prince here in Monterey. We are very specific to divers getting in that they need to give us the ok after jumping in. As well as any time their head breaks the surface. If they do not the dive master may come in to get them and if that happens they will not be doing the second dive.

I also always give it to one of my buddies after every descend so we all know everyone is cool and ready to explore.

 

[Scubapat]

i find that i use the ok signal so much under water, that i use it on the surface too.

"hey pat how are you today?.....:: signals ok ::"

but seriously using the ok gesture is never a bad thing in my opinion, on my last dive i was struggling with a camera and my buddy signaled to see if i was ok. i think good communication is a vital part of safety underwater, and heck its a vital part of safety topside too.

 

[neil]

Everytime! Its a reflex. If you don't do it there certainly is something wrong, either you don't remember your training or you don't care, either way theres something wrong with that.

It shoudn't be a reflex. I see divers giving the OK on their way off the boat before they even hit the water. Signal okay only when you're OK. Okay?

 

[Charlie99]

It shoudn't be a reflex. I see divers giving the OK on their way off the boat before they even hit the water. Signal okay only when you're OK. Okay?

Very true. I've seen divers signal OK even when it is clear that they really aren't. We all have the "I'm OK" signal wired into our reflexes. Signalling "I'm NOT OK" just isn't as automatic and indeed the signal for "NOT OK" isn't anywhere as universal.