Combine a trip to Australia and a scuba diver and what do you get? A once in a lifetime opportunity not to be missed. I mean, if you're going to be in Australia and you're already a certified diver, you just can't miss the Great Barrier Reef. So, I got onto the dive boat with a dive tour and was taken out to some of the most fantastic dives in the world. However, the real story is the first dive briefing and skill review.

Partner up. That's the first rule of diving. Have a dive buddy. Once your dive buddy is determined the next critical part of the briefing is a review of dive hand symbols. Communication under water is very limited. Your nose and eyes are masked and your mouth is filled with a breathing apparatus. You can make sounds, however, they don't project, so it's a futile effort, unless all you want to do is hum to yourself. The best alternative to communication is relying on divers hand symbols.

There are universal dive hand symbols. They are used for the necessary basics to both ask and respond to issues of direction, wellness, enjoyment and need. “I'm okay”, “I'm not okay,” “going up,” “going down”, “look at that!” “I have ____ pounds of air.” and a few you don't really want to use, “I'm in trouble,” “distressed,” “come pick me up” and “I'm out of air.” Basic and necessary—life protecting and life saving. The signals themselves are simple, clear and easy to understand, obvious really.

On the first dive we went out with an instructor to have a skills check. We had all taken scuba certification courses and had many dives under our belt, but better safe than sorry. A skill check is, while redundant, appreciated. One of the skill checks is practicing giving air to your buddy. Hand signals are used to cue the need for air and the life saving response—taking a breath and handing over the mouth piece, then putting in your own spare mouth piece and resume breathing.

Getting under the water to join the group for the skills check was difficult for me. I hadn't been diving in over a year. The jump off point into the water was over the water like a mid height diving board, much higher than I was used to, and the surf was rough, rolling and high. Scared, I reverted to the low platform to inch my way in down a ladder. It was my first cold water, ocean dive.

Once in, I realized my weights weren't right, more had to be added (all while in the water and fighting the rough surf) so achieving buoyancy fatigued me. I also had been worrying a bit about the sinus infection I was just recovering from, “was I really well enough to dive?” Then I watched as one man from our group panicked and had to be escorted out of the water. By the time I got under water my breathing was labored and rather than feeling the soothing comfort diving typically brings me I felt nervous and unsure of myself. Still, I relied on my former positive experience and usual comfort in the water and expected things would get better with more underwater time.

We went 20 feet underwater, breathing air from our tanks and gathered in a circle for the underwater skill review. I was doing okay, and starting to feel more comfortable. Then the “I'm out of air” signal came to me. I froze. I was confused. I knew that signal, before, but my mind went blank. I wasn't sure how to respond. I floated there, staring straight at my buddy completely nonresponsive. On the inside though a million questions and possibilities ran though my mind, so many it felt like a mental log jam of sorts. Being quick thinking, and “needing” air my buddy reached out and helped me respond, took what was needed and then directed me on what to do next. With the pressure off and having had a reassuring contact, it dawned on me what I was suppose to be doing and what had gone wrong.

The hand signal, it had confused me. I didn't understand it in a situation of high stress. I was embarrassed and felt guilty, and then questioned my own ability to assist my buddy in the future if there was a real need to share air. Fortunately, it was practice. Air got shared and the dive went on. I couldn't spend much time with those feelings of inadequacy and humiliation. Later though, I wondered, what happened?

I realized I have a hand signal barrier or sensitivity. When I was growing up I learned American Sign Language (ASL), I used it fluently and later professionally. I relied on it in both social and professional settings. What happened to me on the dive was under stress I reverted instantly back to my ASL knowledge bank to achieve understanding. That's where I have the most experience with hand signals.