After it was pointed out that my wife waving "hello" to people might be perceived as a distress signal. it was suggested that if you really wanted to wave to someone you could could perhaps use the "Queens wave" I had never heard of it...others from Quebec readily knew the term. ....I did mention in the states that we have another kind of special "wave" but it uses far less upright fingers, and we never use it on paddling trips. They were also quite familiar with that as well... Ever hear of that expression..or perhaps other regional expressions from most anywhere ? I know when we ask about "white caps" no one knows what we are talking about...but if I were to ask if there are "many sheep on the water" (roughly "mouton de mer ? ) well then people would surely know instantly what we were asking.