Enjoying Consequences

PAIGE'S MISCHIEF : LIFE JACKET VIDEO

Chapter One, Part Four

Paige stood on the edge of the dock, tightly strapped into the, slightly too small, CrewSaver SuperSafe Life Jacket.  The jacket was incredibly secure, it was bulky, with large foam panels on the chest, heavy duty straps and buckles. It had an extremely bulky collar, it was thick enough that it rose from her shoulders right up to her chin.  Unlike the other lifejackets which had collars that flopped down over her upper back this one wrapped tightly around her head, coming forward past her chin.  The jacket was noticeably too small, so the collar was tight around her; as a result Paige could not easily rotate her head to look left and right.  She had to lift her chin up to get it  over the thick foam collar which left her looking up at the sky with her neck stretched and her chin resting on the foam.  To avoid this she had to turn her whole torso left and right to look around more than a few degrees.  

The dock was deserted, it had been a beautiful day but clouds had rolled in and it was cooling off now without the sun. The jacket was very warm though and she was thankful for its insulation.

The jacket did not come down particularly far over her torso, it covered only her chest and upper back, leaving her stomach and lower back out in the open, covered only by the thin one piece swimsuit she had borrowed for the day.  The bulkiness of the jacket on her upper body and around her head made her feel somewhat top heavy and awkward.  Most of the jacket’s floatation was in the thick panels over her chest and the thick collar around her neck and behind her head.  The Jacket came up over her shoulders and connected to a thin but dense foam panel that made up the back of the jacket and wrapped around the sides under her arms. 

The life jacket also had an integrated harness: It consisted of a heavy duty black fabric strap that went around the base of the jacket, wrapping around roughly the middle of Paige’s torso.  In the front it passed over the lifejackets flotation and was secured with a metal buckle. As it wrapped around to the back it passed through a heavy fabric tunnel on the outside of the jacket’s dense flotation panel.

In the front there were four fabric loops around this strap: two hung downwards ending in buckles.  The other two ran upward, turning into straps like the one around her torso, disappearing into the fabric of the jacket and running up and over each shoulder.  They were visible again on the back of the jacket, where they connected in a V just beneath the lifejacket's thick collar, in the small of her back.  At the junction of this V was a heavy metal D ring to secure a teather.  A third thicker strap came down from the bottom of the V making a Y.  This strap ran vertically all the way down the back of the jacket; disappearing briefly under the heavy fabric tunnel of the horizontal strap around her torso. On the other side of the horizontal strap it emerged again, now as two slightly thinner straps, that traveled beyond the bottom of the jacket down the length of her lower back, passing under and between her legs, and then coming back up in the front where they were clipped securely into the buckles that hung from the front. The result was a tight web of heavy duty straps, wrapped around her torso and the jacket’s bulky flotation. It was an extremely snug and safe feeling being strapped into it.   The harness also had a fabric loop in the front to lift someone from the water, in the back the vertical strap that made up the bottom of the Y served the same purpose before it met the horizontal strap and changed into the two crotch straps.

On top of all the foam and straps the jacket had two large air bladders on the front, these were currently inflated and made the jacket even more bulky.  they bulged out from the front of the jacket over Paige’s chest and blocked some of her downward visibility.

Paige twisted around in the jacket, enjoying the bulky, secure, comfort.  She pulled absently at the ends of the straps running down from the waist belt.  Everything was very tight and secure. There was no one around and she stepped up to the edge of the dock looking down at the water below.  There was a bit of wind now and the water was no longer still, small waves were breaking against the dock. Paige was a strong swimmer tho and was hardly concerned about it anyway while strapped into such a ridiculously over the top lifejacket. 

Twisting at the waist to look around at the empty docks one last time Paige turned back to the water and stepped confidently out into open space.

It was about a five foot drop to the surface. With the weather cooling off the water was significantly warmer than the surrounding air.  The warmth of the water was the first sensation Paige had as her feet first broke the surface of the water, her legs and torso charging quickly after.  A split second later, just as she felt she was fully entering the water, she felt the lifejacket start to take over, pulling aggressively upward against her momentum and trying to tip her back.  She had just enough speed from the fall to be totally underwater for a brief moment, not even long enough to get her bearings, before the jacket yanked her to the surface. Blinking the water from her eyes Paige found herself on her back: her torso in the warm water just below the surface; her legs outstretched, hanging down below her slightly; the lifejacket tight around her upper body; the collar holding her head, a cross between a pillow and a neck brace.  

Paige squirmed a bit in the jacket.  It was wrapped around her securely and there was no conceivable way she could slip out.  The flotation was wrapped tightly around her upper torso: wrapping over her shoulders and around under her armpits; secured in the front with a metal buckle and heavy zipper.  The harness of heavy duty straps wrapped around on the outside of the foam, providing another layer of security, and passed between her legs, stopping her from sliding out, keeping her firmly inside the jacket.  

It was so comforting, Paige just floated there enjoying it for a while.  It reminded her of one time in school when the teacher had them meditate, she felt like she was falling and yet supported and held.  Between the collar, behind her head and around her neck, and the inflated airbags, over her chest, her head felt swaddled in floatation.  With the waves gently rising and falling she felt like she was a baby being rocked, like she could drift off to sleep in the warm water. 

She was pulled from her reverie by the sound of voices and footsteps above her.  Paige's eyes shot open, suddenly aware that she was floating around relaxing while strapped into a children's life jacket in a public place. She tried to turn and look behind her, restricted by the bulk of the Life Jacket it took her a moment as she had to her body a hundred and eighty degrees.  The voices were getting fainter now, a pair walking down the dock she had just jumped off. They had not stopped moving or talking so it was an easy conclusion that she had not been noticed but she suddenly felt very exposed. 

The dock was supported by large wooden poles and was a good five feet above the water here.  Along the side it had horizontal boards right down to the water line.  Paige forced herself onto her stomach and made a couple strokes toward the dock, swimming in the jacket was cumbersome at best but the waves helped propel her the short distance. A brief moment later Paige took hold of one of the horizontal boards and used it to push herself underwater, a surprisingly difficult task, and kicked to push herself under.  The jacket popped her back up so fast she barely made it under, nearly bumping her head on the board as she came back up.  Now under the walkway and hidden from sight by the casual passerby Paige felt more at ease.  Beneath the dock it was a somewhat dark and gloomy maze of wooden boards and supports.  The water was still warm and it rose and fell with the waves, which were continuing to pick up, such that Paige found herself in a somewhat interesting world of shifting water and wooden poles. 

The dock went along parallel to shore; on her left was open water beyond the wall of horizontal boards, on her right was a concrete retaining wall that she didn't know was there but made sense with the water deep enough for boats.  Having never been under the dock before Paige was unsure about the depth of the water under there, waiting until the water fell between waves she pushed herself down from a nearby support beam and reached with one foot as deep as she could to see if it was reachable.  Her toes found nothing but cold water as the next wave passed under the dock and the Life Jacket firmly pulled her back upward.  Knowing that the water was still too deep to reach the bottom somehow made the jacket more cozy.  

Glancing around Paige was a little lost for what to do, the jacket was super comfy and she loved being in it in the water but she was getting a little bored of just twisting around and squirming in the water. 

The dock went along the shore almost all the way back to the shop.  Looking at the maze of poles Paige decided to start working her way in that direction, it was something to do at least and she couldn't stay all night afterall.  

Swimming under the dock was tricky, it was almost like an obstacle course with the jumbled wooden beams and the rising and falling water.  After a few minutes Paige realised it was easier, and more fun, not to actually swim but to use the posts, pushing off of them to travel from one to the next. The waves were constantly pushing her toward the retaining wall on her right so she had to keep moving left to compensate as well. She was intentionally timing her jumps from post to post to coincide with the waves coming under, it made progress more difficult but it was fun to fight against the lifejacket as it caught the wave and tried to pull her off to the right.  She could kick and stroke as hard as she could, but without fail the buoyancy of the jacket would get carried away by the wave, dragging her with it. It felt like a giant grabbing her and pulling her back. She was having a lot of fun now. 

As the dock neared the end of the marina area close to the shop she had taken the lifejacket from, it sloped down to eventually meet the beach.  Paige realized she was making significant progress as the ceiling was getting much lower.  Wondering about the depth of the water again Paige repeated her experiment from earlier waiting for a gap between waves and pushing down on a support post to get her toe as deep as she could, this time using both hands and managing to get her face underwater.  Still nothing but cold water, too deep to reach the bottom, this time it surprised her as she couldnt be too far from the beach.  She was happily surprised she had failed to reach the bottom, it made the jacket feel more important, like she needed it or couldn’t escape it’s flotation.  Paige took a break from her obstacle course progress and just squirmed around in the jacket a little again.  It was fun to pretend to try and get out, or to actually try to get out but without undoing any of the buckles or straps.  Pulling on the shoulders and squirming around in a futile escape attempt without any leverage in the deep water was exhilarating. The jacket still picking her up and dropping her in the waves, she closed her eyes again, enjoying the jacket immensely and floating free in an open space, just out of reach of any support beams.  After a moment of distracted squirming the waves shoved her into the retaining wall. It wasn't a particularly hard hit and it was cushioned by the Life Jacket but the sudden introduction of something solid startled her.  She had been enjoying the sensation of floating freely in open water.  Paige rotated onto her back, laying her head on the collar and letting the jacket hold her, she put her feet on the wall and pushed off hard, sailing back out into the open space and going meditative again, wriggling around and enjoying the jacket some more.  Again though after just a moment she was pushed into the wall. Paige repeated this once more becoming more frustrated with the tight quarters under the dock.  She considered heading back out to open water but knew she couldn't relax out where she could be seen. Annoyed Piage looked around for a solution with no expectation of actually finding one.  What she needed was something to hold her off the wall, a rope or something she could tie to the jacket, she didn't have a rope.  There was the lifting strap on the lifejacket tho… Twisting Paige turned to face the nearest post and awkwardly swam over to it, the lifting strap was not long enough to wrap around the post, let alone tie off.   Besides, if she tied it off there would be a post right in front of her.  Annoyed but already trying to think of more solutions Paige resumed working her way slowly along the dock, the ceiling kept getting lower, making her think she was nearing the beach, but every time she tried to reach the bottom it was too deep to touch with her toes.

After a few minutes of working her way from post to post Paige was back to just enjoying the jacket, squirming from time to time and fighting the waves. The roof was low enough now that she could put her palm flat against it when the waves picked her up, she still couldn’t touch it in the gaps between the waves. 

Paige had her toe down again searching for the bottom in the, still cold, deep water. Every time she tested the depth and found that she couldn't touch the bottom she found herself squirming in the jacket for a few minutes.  This time, as she squirmed about enjoying herself, a particularly big wave came through, leaving only a couple feet of space between the water and the ceiling, it picked her up, her head almost brushing the ceiling.  As it did she noticed a broken horizontal beam: It ran about a foot below the ceiling; from the retaining wall on the right to the wall of horizontal boards and open water on the left; connecting several of the vertical posts. But it was snapped off halfway between two of those posts, the rest of the beam was missing save a small piece hanging from the last beam on the left.  As the wave dropped her back down she leaned back to look back up at it again, it was about three feet above her now and it looked like the grab loop on the front of her jacket might just fit over it.  Excited by the idea Paige treaded water in place waiting for the next wave to experiment with hooking the jacket onto the beam.  

The next wave wasn't nearly as big as the one before, but as it picked her up she reached up and got a hold of the beam easily enough. Pulling herself up high enough to get the loop to the level of the beam was another story tho.  She had a hold of the beam so the lifejacket wasn’t supporting her weight anymore, but her arms were fully stretched out. She could pull herself up a bit if she really tried but not high enough to get the grap loop, in the middle of her chest, up to the beam. And she definitely couldn't do it while keeping a hand free to actually put the loop over the end of the beam.  She hung from the beam as the waves fell away down to her waist, then rose back up to chest level several times. None of them quite big enough to really lift her, though they did take a little weight when they rose. After hanging there for a few minutes another big wave finally came through.  This one coming up to her chin and lifting her by the lifejacket.  It was all she needed.  Keeping hold of the beam with one hand to get herself lined up, and taking hold of the loop with her other, The wave lifted her right up the ceiling and she slid the loop cleanly over the beam.  Letting go she allowed the wave to carry her off to the right, the loop sliding over the beam. No sooner was it over than the wave fell away, dropping her. Paige started to fall with the wave and was caught short in mid air by the, now hanging, lifejacket.  She was left suspended above the surface as the water fell back down to her waist.  In the open air the jacket, now harness, took much more of her weight.  She couldn't squirm nearly as much as she could in the water, also in part due to the beam that was right in her face.  She had hung in the air in the jacket before, briefly, when Tim had hauled her out of the water by this same strap, but that had been for just a moment.  The integrated harness had her hanging in the same position the jacket would hold her in the water, her torso at about forty five degrees with her legs hanging below her. It was much harder to move around than it was in the water. The straps between her legs were giving her a wedgie, she tried to pull herself up a bit, first by the shoulders of the jacket which amazingly were still tight over her shoulders, then by the beam, she was getting to be pretty tired out tho and after a moment of hanging by her arms she just slumped into the jacket/harness and hung there, squirming a bit uncomfortably from time to time.  

She couldn't decide if she liked it or not. The water wasn’t lifting and dropping her anymore, the waves rose up to her chest, but not high enough to lift the jacket, and then dropped down to her waist.  Paige squirmed around some more trying to get comfortable, then took a deep breath and went limp, relaxing, letting her arms hang by her sides, leaning her head back and closing her eyes, trying to relax.  It wasn’t uncomfortable but it was kinda boring. She was just deciding that she had enough when she was startled by another big wave in her face, this one came up to her chin again, lifting the lifejacket, and Paige, up so her weight was off the loop and she was floating again. She was immediately aware of how much better the jacket was in the water and was thoroughly enjoying the relief from hanging in the air as she suddenly slammed into a wooden pole.  The wave had carried her toward the retaining wall, the grab loop sliding freely along the broken beam, she had been pushed right down the beam all the way to the next vertical post.  As the wave fell away again, the grab loop went taught once more over the beam, the water dropped back to her waist and she hung, suspended in the air once again.  Now a good distance down the beam, far from the gap she had slipped the loop over. 

Twisting to look left down the beam she had slid down Paige immediately felt some concern, It wasn’t all that far but moving while hanging in the jacket was difficult. 

“Shit” She thought to herself clutching the beam with her arms and kicking in the water with her feet to keep herself oriented. Letting go of the beam she fell into the harness again, it was definitely less comfortable than being in the water, she couldn't rotate her torso while hanging from the loop, which meant she couldn't really look around without doing a pull up.  The straps between her legs were much tighter hanging in the jacket than floating in it, grabbing the shoulder of the jacket she tried shifting and squirming a little. There wasn't any give.  Paige briefly considered just taking the jacket off, but that would leave it hanging from the beam above her and she wasn’t really sure how easily she could then retrieve it while swimming.  It would be at the limit of what she could reach from the water.  Plus the idea of swimming instead of floating in the water was really undesirable at this point, especially with how tired she was getting and how rough the water was getting. 

Taking a breath and resolving to try and make some progress Paige took hold of the beam with both hands and pulled herself up, the slack came off the loop but now what?  She couldn’t hang on with one hand and couldn't make the strap move with her hands otherwise occupied.  She tried to push it with her face but wasn't able to maneuver well enough.  Letting go she fell back down into the harness again and immediately struggled rather aggressively. Hanging in the jacket was starting to grow on her a little. 

After hanging limp for a moment to rest Paige reached up again and took hold of the beam pulling herself up as high as she could this time.  With some squirming and exertion she managed to get her forearms over the beam. So she was almost hugging it rather than holding onto it.  This was easier to maintain and got her face right up against the beam.  The loop was slack in front of her now but she definitely couldn’t move well enough to push it with her face. Actually between the beam and the collar she could barely move her head at all, she was stuck l;ooking almost straight up, just able to see the strap on the top of the beam.

Squirming rather aggressively Paige managed to get the strap to move down the beam a little.  She was twisting back and forth, walking her forearms along the beam a little with each twist, pulling the strap along a few inches at a time.  It was working slowly. 

Paige was genuinely exerting herself doing this, she was breathing heavily and very focused.  She had to twist aggressively to make the strap move inches at a time.  Then she had to make a little hop to walk one forearm then the other down the beam a little.

As she worked her way slowly along the water was still rising and falling up from her waist to chest.  Paige was getting exhausted and frustrated, she just wanted to be free of the beam, the water was warm and inviting, it was easy to squirm around it, relaxing.  

Tired out and about halfway to the gap Paige let go of the beam and hung in the harness taking a break. She couldn't help squirming a little and mostly just hung limp and relaxed, her eyes closed.  She was really thirsty and tired but she was also enjoying the sensation of hanging in the jacket now.  It was much more restrictive than floating and there was something enjoyable about that.  If it wasn't for the fact that she was dreading the effort of escaping from the beam she thought it could actually be enjoyable. Unconsciously she took hold of the shoulder straps of the jacket and twisted around gently.  Enjoying the extra restrictive situation.  She was just thinking that all that was missing was the sensation of being pulled along that the waves provided when, as if on cue, the next big wave came surging through and picked her up.  There was just a second of blissful enjoyment before Paige realised she was being pulled back along, her eyes snapped open and she grabbed the beam, stopping herself in the midst of the wave.  It surprised her how strongly the wave pulled on her as she clutched the beam.  For the brief moment that it lasted it was nice to be floating again. As the wave fell away Paige kept hold of the beam sparing herself another pull up.  Hanging by her arms again she resumed her slow progress back to the broken end of the beam. 

Moments later a now exhausted Paige found herself back at the end of the broken beam, with just a few inches to go.  Hesitating at the edge Paige let go of the beam, letting the harness take her weight one last time.  Holding onto the front of the jacket with her arms and thoroughly enjoying the sensation of hanging in the harness.  Looking down she could have sworn she was somehow much higher than she had been when she managed to get up there.  The three or four foot drop somehow looked like at least 5 or 6 feet. After a few moments, a little halfheartedly, Paige reached up grabbing the beam and taking her weight off the jacket, she leaned forward trying to slide the loop of the lifejacket off the end of the beam but the splintered end kept catching the strap.  After a few failed attempts Paige was starting to become frustrated again. Putting one hand on the end of the bean and using the other to take most of her weight off the strap she pulled hard; it worked, the strap slid free of the beam and suddenly Paige was free falling down to the surface. Despite freeing herself intentionally the sudden fall shocked her and as she hit the water she was in pure panic mode. The life jacket's impressive flotation stopped her even going completely beneath the surface, after a second or two of panicked falling and splashing Paige found herself bobbing in the water once again, supported by the lifejacket. 

Despite being tired out by this point Paige was still really enjoying the lifejacket, It was like knowing she had to get up in the morning but not wanting to leave a warm and cozy bed. Reluctantly she made her way down the sport remaining section of the dock. Letting the jacket take her weight again and casually drifting from pole to pole. She wondered what it would be like to sleep in the jacket, floating out in the open sea, or perhaps a warm pool. The idea was appealing, it was such a cosy sensation being strapped into the vest. At the end of the dock at last Paige had to use her arms again to push herself underwater against the floatation of the vest.  Kicking to get under the wall and back out into the open. As she cleared the dock the jacket yanked her back onto the surface without a moment's hesitation. Blinking water from her eyes Paige was relieved to see the beach was empty.  Though that was quickly followed by regret that she would have to remove the vest.  Despite wanting to prolong her swim she made her way to the beach quickly concerned that someone might come along. Moments later she was standing on the sandy ground removing the vest. As she returned the jacket to the shed and went to get changed she again began to attack the problem of how to purchase a vest for herself.  oOr get into one again;.  tThere was always a chance Tim would ask her to do more videos, it probably depended on how the first ones went over.  Maybe there was something to be done there.  Regardless Paige was pretty confident she could come up with something. 

Protracted Events

PAIGE'S MISCHIEF : LIFE JACKET VIDEO
Chapter One, Part Three

The life jacket in Tim’s hands definitely looked too small for Paige. Tim had used the phrase ‘squeeze her in’ and if it was even possible that had to be the correct wording. That said the obvious sizing issue was in the back of Paige’s mind. The front of it was occupied by thoughts of what it would be like to be strapped into the bulky looking life jacket. It was very different from the others; and it intrigued her. It was bulky and yellow. The waist belt had a buckle like the inflatable; Two metal parts that passed through each other, not a normal clip. The collar was huge and thick, it didn't look like she would be able to turn her head with it around her neck. There were large pieces of velcro on the front; their function not immediately obvious. It had two long straps hanging from it, to go between your legs and stop you from sliding out the bottom.

Paige wanted to try it on, she wanted to try it on badly. But she was already embarrassed about how much she had enjoyed wearing the others. And she was nervous that her little swim had already seemed odd. There was no way she could ask to try it on without it seeming weird. And yet there was nothing she wanted more than to do just that. She figured she had about a half hour left in her Doing a video instead of sweeping up the shop ought to seem normal enough.

She had to make this sound casual.

Paige glanced at her watch, realized she wasn't wearing one, and then went for it anyway.

“What time is it?”

Kyle answered “Twenty after four, you were done twenty minutes ago.”

“Keeping you overtime,” Tim joked. He hung the jacket back up and flopped down into a nearby chair.

That didn't work but she was committed now.

“Actually I have to wait around for my ride another half hour anyway” She paused trying to seem casual. “I actually have time to shoot one more video if you wanted me to-- You know while you have me here.”

There was what felt like an unnaturally long pause, Paige was just starting to think she had made a big mistake.

It was Kyle to the rescue. He shrugged. “I could shoot one more now if you want, easy while I have the camera here”

“Yea okay” Paige had not meant to respond again, that was weird, but it seemed no one took any notice of her overeager voice.

Tim, fortunately, was more than happy to keep the ball rolling. “Hey why not?”

A Moment later Tim was following Kyle out of the shop with the life jacket in hand. Glancing back at the wall behind her Paige caught herself wondering how she could go about buying a jacket for herself without it seeming strange. Tim seemed comfortable enough to make nothing of it, but how on earth would she explain to her parents. Tim was already out the door so turning away from the wall Paige hurried to catch up. Jogging after them down the boardwalk, in her borrowed swimsuit and bare feet, she was struck by how unrestricted and exposed she felt without a life jacket on, the knowledge that that would soon change made her stomach and knees feel funny. The contrast between jogging along like this and wearing the bulky vests was extreme.

Paige hardly caught up with Tim and Kyle before they were ready to go. She came to a stop on the dock again next to Tim. Trying to get another look at the jacket in Tim’s hands she was caught off guard when he suddenly started talking to the rolling camera.

"Hey everybody! Tim from Nova Sailing and Yacht Club here with Paige again to teach you all about the different PFDs and Life Jackets available on the market and in our shop down Marian road!”

Paige quickly composed herself trying not to look awkward in front of the camera

“Today we have an offshore model that is great for children or teens out on sea voyages."

Tim held up the bulky yellow life jacket; with it’s large collar and dual leg straps hanging down.

"This is the Crewsaver Supersafe. We have models that fit infants to teens. This model supports teens up to 110lbs or 50kg for you metric users. So it’s actually a bit small for Paige here, but being such a fantastic vest I actually have high expectations for it. Let's see if we can squeeze Paige in, and get an idea of how it performs in the water."

Tim held out the life jacket and Paige, feeling numb, slid her left arm though the hole. Turning her back to Tim as she did, he brought the jacket up over her shoulders, holding out the right hand side for her other arm. Still dripping wet Paige reached behind her sliding her right arm through the jacket. As the jacket wrapped around her she was struck by how soft the material was on her bare skin. Moving around her Tim then zipped the two halves together. The vest was definitely at it’s limit. Tim didn’t exactly yank on the zipper; but Paige could feel the extra force he had to exert; holding the bottom of the vest with one hand and pulling up hard on the heavy duty zipper to seal the two halves together. As he pulled the zipper up the soft fabric and squishy foam of the jacket conformed around her torso. Growing tight and secure around her, it was like a cocoon or a weighted blanket. It was extremely tight, Paige loved the feeling.

Tim then passed the smaller metal rectangle through the larger metal rectangle securing the waist strap. He went around to Paige’s left side and pulled the slack out of it. The waist belt squished in the foam of the life jacket tho it was already so tight Paige could hardly feel the difference she could see how the waist belt squished in the foam. Tim then knelt down and reached between her legs grabbing the crotch straps that hung loose from the back of her life jacket. Passing them through to the front he buckled the left leg strap. Still knelt down holding the other Tim went on a brief aside.

“Crotch straps can be found on many of the lifejacket models we carry here, they offer far greater safety for kids and teenagers than models lacking them by ensuring that the life jacket doesn't ride up over the wearers mouth and nose.”

Tim proceeded to buckle in the right hand crotch strap. He then took each strap in turn: pulling on the loose end firmly, taking out all the slack, and snuggling them up. The straps came up tight against Paige and while she failed to resist the urge to react as they did so she did manage to keep her shifting to a minimum in front of the camera.

Tim was getting to his feet again "There we go! Now let's talk about some extra features this model has."

Paige felt constricted in the vest. But not at all uncomfortable. The straps were tight but like the other vests it was more comforting than anything else. Probably the most restriction to her movement was around her neck where the collar was behind her head. She didn't try moving too much on camera but it definitely felt like it would limit her movement. She was pretty sure she wouldn’t be able to look much left or right without turning at the waist.

"As we just saw this model has a zipper, waist belt and two crotch straps keeping it snug and secure on Paige. It has reflective strips and a whistle to get people's attention. On the back here-”

Tim turned Paige by the shoulders; As she shuffled to turn around she took the opportunity to test her head movement. The collar was so thick it blocked her chin, she could lift her chin over the foam collar but this would leave her looking up at the sky, she was correct that looking directly to her left or right required turning at the waist, that was somehow exciting to her. Her back to the camera now; Tim continued.

“-there is a D-ring that can be connected to a jackline. That's right. This life jacket also has an integrated harness to keep those you love from falling overboard. Or it keeps those you hate where you want them."

Tim then took a hold of the D-ring and lightly jerked Paige around. It was an unexpected sensation and contributed to feeling even more restricted. Tim spun her around again a bit faster and more forcefully this time; keeping a hand on the jacket's waist belt. Paige nearly lost her balance managing only to stumble slightly.

"Back to the front there; is also a front lifting strap to get them out of the water.”

Tim gave this a pull as well but only half heartedly.

“Finally, there is this tube here that when inflated creates even more flotation for the user. Paige, why don't you demonstrate it for us."

Tim took the tube out of its holder and presented it to her. It was a little orange tube with a cap. Paige figured out how to remove the cap and with some trepidation blew into the tube. As she did, the velcro panels on the front of the jacket; the ones she had wondered about earlier came apart and an air bladder suddenly expanded in front of her, surprised Paige stopped blowing for a moment. When Tim didn't take away the tube she leaned in and gave it another full breath. The air bladder expanded outward and got bigger around her neck.

“This can be useful if you are wearing rain gear or cold weather gear. Or if your only model is a bit too old for the jacket" Tim joked, but the direct remark on how she was strapped into a life jacket for a younger kid or teen made Paige feel uncomfortable, she subconsciously shrank into the jacket. Thankful for it's comforting embrace.

"Let's see how it performs in the water."

Turning, Paige walked to the edge while putting the cap back on the tube and tucking it back in.

Paige did a sloppy belly flop into the water. She crashed into the surface hard. But with so much flotation her face hardly made contact with the water. Staying limp she immediately felt the jacket do it’s thing: in moments her body had pivoted on her waist, her legs passing underher, flipping her onto her back; her head coming to rest on the collar; her face looking up at the sky.

"See how quickly it turned her on to her back with her face high above the water. That is a great improvement over the previous model and would definitely keep your mouth high and out of the water even in choppy offshore conditions."

This vest was overall the bulkiest by far. It really did keep her head high and out of the water. Since it was enclosed, it also kept her warm. Paige tried to rotate onto her stomach to swim around a little for the camera, and just to see how it felt if she was being honest. The jacket differed from the others in that it didn't try to roll her sideways to get her onto her back. Rather it tried to tip her back, with her legs passing under her. The unexpected result was that; unlike the other jackets that just just exerted a rolling force, this one pushed up on her shoulders and pulled down on her behind. As Paige forced herself onto her stomach she noticed the thick foam and inflated bladder pushing her head and chest upward; she had to actively fight against it to stay on her stomach. She also felt the crotch straps trying to pull her lower body under her. Fighting against this jacket was a much more active endeavor than the others. It was really trying to flip her back over. After a few moments squirming against it Paige gave up; going limp and allowing those straps to pull her body around her. She sank into the jacket, trusting the snug straps between her legs to stop her from sliding out. Feeling safe and comfortable with the thick foam wrapped around her torso. As she fell onto her back the overly thick collar caught her head before it hit the water, arresting her movement. Her legs bobbed up a bit from the momentum, her toes just brushing the surface, before the weight of her legs sank back down. Her body settled at a 45 degree angle. The foam and air bladder holding her securely on the surface, the straps tightly secured around her keeping her safely inside the jacket.

“As you can see even though Paige is over the weight limit of this jacket, and should not wear it as a safety device when out at sea, it has still performed perfectly.”

The jacket was bliss, Paige felt like she was being swaddled, it was hard to make herself do anything other than just give in and float there. It was funny that the being strapped into the life jacket made her feel so much like she was sinking. She was fighting to keep her eyes open as she slowly kicked her legs, maneuvering back over to the ladder.

“Just swim up over here Paige”

Opening her eyes ‘when had she closed those?’ Paige saw Tim kneeling on the dock a short ways down from the ladder, Kyle was beside him with the camera. Unsure what he wanted but happy to stay in the water a bit longer she twisted steering roughly towards them. It was impossible to see what was behind her directly. she had to twist about to get her bearings as she made her way over. Hitting the side of the dock a bit too soon she turned to follow it down to Tim. Swimming along the side of the dock on her back with her head stuck looking straight up her visibility was very limited so she was surprised when Tim’s voice suddenly sounded as though it was directly overhead.

“Ok here we go” He came into view a second later, kneeling on the dock above her, one arm hanging down. As she drifted to a stop directly beneath him Tim reached down grabbing the loop on the front of Paige’s life jacket. Showing surprising strength, Tim hauled her straight up out of the water.

The sudden lift took her completely by surprise, even as Tim had grabbed the loop on her chest Paige had not fully realized what he was doing. The two straps between her legs kept the jacket from riding up at all as she was pulled up out of the water and carried through the air.

For a brief moment Paige felt as though she was flying. At least in the water she had some agency, pushing against water she could turn and maneuver herself. The startled and half hearted flopping movements her arms and legs made as she was pulled up through the air did nothing. Tho her verbal cry of shock certainly carried to the camera's microphone.

A moment later Paige felt herself plopped down on the hard wooden surface of the dock. Water pouring out of the jacket.

She was surprisingly tired out and the wet jacket was as heavy as it was bulky so getting up out of the prone position she found herself in seemed very undesirable. Besides, the jacket was still quite warm and the collar was making a fantastic pillow. Though the straps between her legs were a bit tight with her legs stretched straight out.

Tim was talking about the lifting strap and integrated harness but Paige was not listening. He must have wrapped up because a moment later he was holding out a hand to help Paige up.

“Well how was that one?”

More water poured from the jacket as Paige got begrudgingly to her feet.

“Super comfy, hard to swim in though” She was careful to avoid showing too much enthusiasm.

Yea it’s definitely not really meant for swimming, if you fell out of a sail boat you would have a tether, thus the integrated harness.

“Still really nice. Actually I wouldn't mind trying to swim back in this one as well. Just to compare... “

Tim seemed not to care “Sure if you have the time, you’re off the clock now. Just hang it up to dry somewhere when you are done. I’ll put it away when I do rounds later. Have to go fix a boat right now.

“Sure thing” Paige had no idea how she was managing to sound casual about this still.

Tim made off with Kyle, and Paige turned back to the water. The jacket was still dripping like crazy but what water it still held was warm. She couldn't believe how comfy it was. She had to get herself one of these. For now tho she had the jacket to herself, a closed dock, and as much time as she wanted.

Staying Afloat

PAIGE'S MISCHIEF : LIFE JACKET VIDEO
Chapter One, Part Two

Swimming back to the ladder Paige had really found herself coming to trust and accept the Life Jacket. In the water its, almost swaddling, embrace had quickly gone from uncomfortable and awkward to safe and comforting. Standing on the dock now, dripping water, she was surprisingly hesitant to remove it, it was warm, and despite no longer supporting her in the water the comfort of having it on had not dissipated.

'Pull yourself together' Page thought somewhat embarrassed at how much she had enjoyed wearing it.

Tim was talking to the camera, holding the next jacket, Paige's eyes drifted down to it and widened slightly. This one was Orange, and it was much bulkier.

"this is the Navigare Comfort, it's a bit more expensive but is a remarkably comfortable jacket for its size. Like the Little Legends it has lots of flotation in the front, a collar to support the head, and a pair of crotch straps to keep it from riding up. However this is available in larger sizes for Youths through Adults"

As Tim started to walk toward her Paige suddenly realised she was still wearing the Little Legends and quickly started to remove it. Unclipping the waist and crotch straps, unzipping it and dropping it off her shoulders as she has the PFD. She immediately missed it, standing on the dock without a jacket on made her feel exposed. But Tim was already approaching with the new Navigare Comfort. This time Paige was quick to turn her back to Tim, putting her arms out and back so he could easily slip it over her.

"Hold on a minute Paige, I need you to step into these straps first."

"Huh" Paige turned slightly looking over her shoulder to see Tim was holding the jacket low with the two crotch straps already done up, hanging like loops from the jacket. Lifting her right foot Paige carefully stepped into the first one, then repeated the process with her left foot stepping into the other loop. She left her arms at her sides and allowed Tim to guide the jacket's arm holes over them. A moment later Paige felt the jacket come to rest over her shoulders. She could immediately feel the extra bulk of this life jacket. She turned to face Tim so he could strap her in.

Like the Little Legends the Navigare Comfort had a zipper and single chest clip. Tim first pulled the zipper up. Sealing Paige into the bulky foam cocoon. As he clipped the chest belt and pulled it tight. She felt the whole life jacket tighten around her, the foam squishing in tight to conform to her body. The jacket was like laying on top of a duvet, but all around her, and with more pressure. Tim took a moment to tie the string at the top of the jacket, holding the top panels together just a bit more firmly before kneeling down to secure the crotch straps. He took the loose end of a strap in each hand and pulled them tight at the same time, snuggling them down securely. Like with the Little Legends the straps between her legs made the jacket feel much more secure, it was impossible to slide out of the jacket with those straps done up. Paige twisted in the jacket comfortably as Tim rambled on about a sale on Life Jackets. She was pretty sure he had just made that sale up.

"Ok water test?"

"Yup" Kyle was rushing over with his tripod. It took him just a moment to get it set up again.

Kyle gave them a thumbs up and Tim gave Paige a real shove this time, sending her off and into the water.

Paige hit the water head first and upside down. She got a mouthful of water and some up her nose. She kicked around somewhat aimlessly for a moment before relaxing and letting the jacket work. It had her on the surface the same moment, supporting her on her back at a 45 degree angle with her arms and legs hanging down below her. The extra bulk and dual crotch straps made this lifejacket far more envolping than the Little Legends. Paige felt like she was truly wrapped up in it, the foam was very soft and conformed to her body shape. The two straps between her legs dispelled thoughts of sliding out, keeping her firmly sung inside the jacket. The significant bulk of the jacket made movement harder encouraging her to just relax and let the jacket hold her in the water. Paige twisted and squirmed slowly, enjoying the lifejacket immensely. She reached down with her leg to feel for the ground under her but the water of the marina was of course far too deep to touch the bottom. Feeling nothing below her made the sensation of being held and protected by the jacket even more visceral. The jacket kept her from sinking down into the deep water beneath her, and the straps between her legs kept her from sliding out of the jacket.

"Paige? We're good. You can climb back up now."

'Shit, how many times did he just call me?' Paige had been so distracted she had no idea. But Tim was grinning at her lightheartedly.

Loathing to take off the jacket Paige took her time swimming back over the ladder. She let her arms hang limp and frog kicked her legs to slowly push herself back.

Standing on the dock again it was with great reluctance that Paige removed the Navigare Comfort. She was again struck by a naked and exposed feeling without it. Her immediate attention tho was wondering what Tim had for her next.

"Now the Little Legends and the Navigare Comfort are just two of the life jackets we have available here and both are really great for keeping you safe. But a lot of folks want something less cumbersome to wear. That's where this comes in."

Tim held up a suspender style inflatable vest. It consisted of a thick black fabric tube, which rested around the neck and hung down over the torso, it had a strap that went around the waist, and one that went from the waist strap up to the back of the neck. Paige couldn't help being a little disappointed. It looked far less bulky even Little Legends, let alone the Navigare Comfort.

Tim approached her and held one side of the vest open. Paige passed her right arm though the large gap and looked over her left shoulder to get her other arm though. Tim let it hang loosely on her for a moment.

"These jackets are so low impact that many people say they forget they even have them on. But if you end up in the water they will automatically inflate and keep you safe."

Tim connected the front of her vest together, the connection was rather different than a standard buckle, it was two metal tongues, a small one that passed through a larger. He then pulled an adjustment strap on each side of the best around her waist; tightening the waist belt up so it was very snug.

'This one might actually be ok' Paige thought, though she secretly lamented that the between the legs strap was missing.

"One of the really nice features of this model, the Spinlock Deckvest 5D, is it's designed to keep off the back of your neck". Tim turned Paige around by the shoulders and pulled an adjustment on the back of the vest. She felt the part of the jacket behind her neck pull away to curve over her shoulders. It was actually very comfortable. She went to turn around to face the camera again but Tim stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

"Like the other premium life jackets we offer here the Deckvest 5D also comes equipped with crotch straps"

'Wha?' Paige looked down at the jacket, she couldn't see a buckle, was it a different model?

Paige felt a slight tug at the back of the jacket and suddenly Tim was reaching though her legs, Paige tried to spread her thighs to create some space. Tim spun her around by the shoulder again but it was a little awkward as he still had the loose end of the crotch straps in hand and had to move with her a little as she turned around.

"The crotch straps clip in just beneath the vest here"

Paige couldn't see the buckles but they were definitely there. As he had before Tim pulled the slack through the buckles and tightened the straps up until they were good and snug. Paige shifted a little. This was very different than the other jackets. It was tight, she could feel the straps around her and that was something even without the bulk the foam life jackets had offered. But it didn't restrict her movement at all. There was no bulk to it. She wondered what it would feel like when inflated but had a hard time imagining it would match the cozy feeling of the others.

Kyle was getting the camera set up by the edge of the dock again. He made an indication that he was all ready to go.

"Ok jump on in Paige"

Genuinely curious about what would happen Paige stepped off the dock into empty space. As she hit the water and plunged beneath the surface she wondered for a brief moment if the inflatable mechanism had failed. She was sinking and the thin device strapped around her was doing nothing to stop her descent. Then all of a sudden it did. One moment she was free and loose, with only the straps and thin fabric tube wrapped tightly around her. The next there was a great disturbance of water and bubbles that shocked and disoriented her. Years ago Paige had been in a major car crash, everyone was fine but she had been stuck wearing a neck brace for several weeks, With the jacket inflated she felt like she was back in that brace. The inflated jacket was far tighter and more restrictive than the foam jackets had been. She couldn't move her neck. The straps seemed to have tightened around her. The large sack of air pulled her aggressively upward toward the surface. She felt like it was dragging her along with it. It was tightly secured around her neck but the straps tight around her waist and between her legs made it feel like it had an excellent hold on her torso in general.

Paige broke the surface and found herself on her back looking up at the sky. Looking around to get her bearings was difficult as the tightly inflated jacket did not allow her to move her head. She had to rotate her whole body to look around. A task made more difficult by the act of dragging the large inflated jacket through the water. After locating the dock Paige gave up for a moment, flopping back into the jacket and just letting it hold her in water, gazing up at the sky.

Laying back in the water with the jacket holding her neck in a vice and the straps tight around her torso and between her legs Paige was practically in a daze. She instinctively wanted to pull away from the straps that ran between her legs. Of course the jacket was secured around her so her unconscious attempts to move away resulted only in a slow, twisting, backward motion.

"Ok there Paige, we're all done". The words brought a serious surge of disappointment to Paige. Fighting the jacket to get into a more vertical position where she could see Tim and Kyle on the dock. Kyle was folding up his tripod and Tim was collecting all the jackets off the ground. Rotating herself in the water Paige turned to look at the shop where they were headed, it was about 300m away down the shore but also sat right on the water. Paige really didn't want to be finished with the jacket.

"It's really nice in here"Tim didn't seem to be listening. "Hey Tim!"

He turned and looked.

"What?"

She was committed now.

"ahh- "

Tim walked over to the water's edge, Paige fought the jacket to face him more directly.

"The water is really nice. I'm going to swim over. If that's ok. And meet you over there."

Tim just shrugged "Sure, want me to take the jacket though?"

"No-" Paige was unprepared for the question. She wasn't sure how to follow it up. "It's ok. It's comfy. I'll just swim over."

Tim grinned and chuckled. "Ok Paige sure thing, see you over there" Paige was pink with embarrassment, but did not have an ounce of regret. The Shop was not only a good swim away but it was free of the wave break, there was a good brease today and waves were breaking on the shore.

Tim had turned and followed Kyle down the boardwalk.

Paige immediately discovered that swimming in the bulky inflated vest was easier said than done. She attempted to rollover swim on her stomach twice, with the jacket getting in the way and eventually flipping her back over each time. Even while on her stomach the jacket restricted her movement too much, she couldn't reach forward for an effective stroke. Giving up Paige let the jacket flip her over onto her back for the third time. She began to do a flutter kick but quickly switched to a frog kick. Her arms would have helped a bit but she opted to hold onto the front of her jacket instead. Something about the added bulk over her chest made her want to hang onto the jacket. Despite her squirming and twisting about, the straps around her torso and between her legs had not loosened at all.

The experience of this lifejacket was very different from the others. Where the little legends and the Navigare Comfort had felt like they were wrapped all around her torso the Inflatable was different. Around her neck it was like a brace, but her toso was just held to it by the straps wrapped around her. they were very tight and held her securely but somehow left her limbs feeling loose and exposed. The contrast was a very weird sensation and she found herself enjoying it immensely.

As Paige slowly made her way out past the break water the waves began to toss her about. As each wave reached her the jacket pulled her up sharply, only to let her drop back down into the trenches between them. Paige found herself twisting and squirming against the straps wrapped around her body. Around her neck the jacket was too tight to feel like squirming was possible but she somehow couldn't reset wriggling around a bit, trying.

In order to check her progress Paige had to stop swimming and twist her body around to face her direction of travel, a process she found herself doing more than often she necessarily needed to. Rather than actively maneuvering back onto her back after checking her position she just went limp, allowing the jacket and the waves to pull her about for a moment before somewhat halfheartedly continuing on her way.

The waves made an even bigger impact on the experience than she had thought they would. Each time a wave pulled her up and dropped her down Paige couldn't resist the urge to squirm. Several times a wave would be a bit larger or come a bit sooner than expected, taking her off guard and sending her into a limp daze.

As Paige approached the shop she managed to pull herself together, though with Tim and Kyle both inside she was more than tempted to remain in the water a little longer. Despite this she managed to get to her feet on the shore, it was still a short walk up to the shop. Page unclipped the crotch straps and started fumbling with the waist belt, but the jacket was surprisingly hard to remove, she wasn't one hundred percent sure how the waist belt went on in the first place and she couldn't see anything that she was doing with the vest in the way. Deciding she was actually going to need help with it Paige hesitated a moment on the shore before deciding that she might as well do the straps between her legs back up, glancing at the shop windows she saw no sign of Tim of Kyle. It was easy to get a hold of the straps hanging behind her, and she managed an awkward hand off to pass the straps between her legs relatively quickly. However finding the buckles to connect the straps to was another matter. She eventually managed it, holding the loose ends in one hand and running her other hand along the base of the jacket to find the buckles. With the straps both snapped into place Paige gave one last look out at the water and the waves before trudging up the shore to the shop. The sun was warm still and the ground was soft with grass and sand. The three jackets she had worn early were laying on the boardwalk drying in the sun beside the door.

As Paige entered the shop she saw Tim and Kyle were hanging out just inside goofing around. Tim looked over as she entered and raised an eyebrow.

"Nice getup" He laughed.

"Thanks, can you give me a hand please?"

Tim laughed as he walked over. Grabbing a red tube on the side of the jacket he opened a valve and released the air from the jacket. As the jacket finally deflated and fell away from her Paige's eye's moved over to the shelves of the store. She had never given them more than a glance before but now she found herself staring at the wall of Lifejackets and PFD's. There had to be a dozen different models. There were several orange ones similar to the Helly Hansen Navigare, at least three different inflatable models, a bunch of childrens and teen versions. She wondered how she had never noticed them before. With the jacket fully deflated Tim went ahead and unclipped the crotch straps and waist belt, holding the jacket and Paige slipped out of it.

"Well how did you like all the jackets?"

Paige was caught off guard again, not wanting to seem overly enthusiastic, but also recognising that she had just asked to swim over wearing an inflatable for no apparent reason. She saw no reason to outright lie.

"I like them actually. They are really comfy, -- kinda cozy"

Tim just smiled, "well maybe we'll have to do some more reviews for the channel if this video does well."

"What made you choose those four?" Paige wasn't sure why she wanted to keep this conversation going but something made her dig a bit more.

Tim seemed to gain a bit of enthusiasm. "These are some of the most popular models in europe, especially the Helly Hansen, no idea why they are taking so long to catch on here. The inflatables do well but they are a pain to test and rearm every year if you ask me."

"Do you have a favorite?" She felt like she was way out on a limb but also like there was something to reach for.

"Depends what you're looking for! Safety? Comfort? Good looks? For comfort the inflatables are pretty hard to beat, though foam jackets with kapok instead of closed cell foam are also pretty darn nice. For safety for someone your size the best is probably this guy over here." Tim was walking over to the wall of jackets. To a bright yellow one that looked too small to
Paige for someone 'her size'.
"This, is the Crewsaver Supersafe"

Volunteered

PAIGE'S MISCHIEF : LIFE JACKET VIDEO
Chapter One, Part One

Paige was having lunch in the student council room, a ham sandwich and some potato chips, when ms. Williams came through the door.

"Hey Paige! I have a friend over at Nova who is looking for someone to volunteer for a couple weeks."

Paige was in her 13th year of highschool. She had held back on her volunteer hours the year before, to postpone her graduation a year while figuring out what she wanted to with her life.

"Ow great," Paige thanked the teacher, taking the yellow sticky note with the contact information on it. She immediately copied the information down into her notebook.

***

It was only a few days later that page started at Nova, the local Yacht & Sailing Club, to start her new position. She was mostly in charge of cleaning up the office and running the small rental stand. They rented out small boats as well as the basics; boating safety kits, maps of the area, rain gear, lifejackets, etc. There was also a shop where similar boating necessities were sold, a chip stand and a gas station for people to fill up at. Paige's supervisor was Carol she was a little rough around the edges but overall very kind. She mostly worked out of her own office adjacent to the store.

Another volunteer working at the Club was Kyle: Kyle was a media art's student at a different school also in his 13th year. He was building out a Youtube channel for the Club with various equipment reviews and local news.

There was also Tim: Tim was the lifeguard but also worked in the office and store. He was sort of jack of all trades free spirit; no one really knew what exactly he did. An easy going and goofy guy, honestly more likely to be pranking one of the other staff members than actually working on anything. Overall Paige liked him, though she did find his lack of organization annoying.

It was Tim that volunteered Paige to help out with the latest video. Paige had just walked into the office; Kyle was working away on his laptop, and Tim was leaning back in a chair with his feet up on the desk.

"Hey Paige could do it!" Tim was tossing a ball up and catching it repeatedly. Evidently walking into the room at that moment had reminded Tim that Paige was around; and was therefore a human that could be conscripted for whatever this latest project was.
Paige stopped and turned her head to him suspiciously.

"Do what?" She wasn't about to get roped into one of the pranks she had heard about.

Kyle filled her in "We don't have anything to post this weekend so we are talking about shooting something quick this afternoon, something I could just edit together in an evening. We looked around at similar channels for some ideas, figured we could do a sort of community safety thing like this" Kyle spun his laptop around to show a video of a few people standing by a pool wearing different lifejackets and PFDs "It's just a basic informational thing about PFD's vs Life Jackets"

"What do you want me to do?" Paige wasn't particularly interested in being on camera or getting wet without a change of clothes.

"Need a star!" Tim missed his ball and nearly tipped the chair over trying to catch it.

"I don't have a change of clothes, don't really want to get all wet"

Tim was distracted recovering from his near fall. "You're perfect, the people will love you."

"My clothes will get all wet..."

"Ow that's fine, Grab a swimsuit from the racks"

***

An hour later Paige was standing on the dock wearing a borrowed, black, one piece bathing suit; and scolding herself mentally for not being harder to push around. Kyle was setting up his DSLR on a tripod and Tim was walking over with an armload of lifejackets; some from the rental shop and one of two from the store. Kyle had clipped a little microphone to his T shirt.

The first life jacket Tim pulled out was blue, it had three straps around the middle that were black. "Ok PFD first" Tim dropped the others a short distance away.

"sounds good" Kyle finished messing with the camera

"Ok Paige, ready to go?"

It was too late to bail now so Paige just gave him a nod.

Kyle pushed a button on the top of the camera "Ok rolling go for it"

Tim opened with some cringe worthy quality content.
"Hey everybody! Tim from Nova Sailing and Yacht Club here with Paige to teach you all about the different PDFs and Life Jackets available on the market and in our shop down Marian road!. There's a lot to choose from these days so we are going to show you four different ones that we have available, and explain why you might use each one" Tim held up the jacket he had been holding and showed it to the camera.

"This is a PDF, these are very affordable and easily accessible but offer less safety than a Life Jacket, they are generally only suitable for slow boating close to shore"

Tim held the jacket open. Paige had not been given a script, so it took her a second to realize he was waiting for her. Paige turned around quickly and slid her arms though the holes. Tim dropped the jacket over her shoulders and there was an awkward moment where she just stood there; unsure of whether she was supposed to do it up or leave it open. Honestly, she was just trying not to stare at the camera. A moment later Tim took the initiative and leaned over, doing up the three buckles and giving each one a good pull to get it snug.

"With any PFD or Lifejacket it's important to make sure it fits, however unlike a lifejacket a PFD will often ride up on the wearer and will not turn someone who is unconscious over onto their back."

Tim took hold of the shoulders of the jacket Paige was wearing and lifted, pulling the jacket up nearly to her ears.

"A PFD that is fit very well shouldn't ride up too badly, but if it rides up over the wearers nose then it won’t keep your head out of the water. Ok Paige" Tim gestured to the water.

"Hold on let me move the camera" Kyle picked up his tripod and rushed over quickly repositioning by the edge of the dock. "Ok go for it"

"Don't swim right away just kinda fall in and see if it will turn you over, then stay there a minute or two so Kyle can get some shots"

"Ok" Page nodded. The water looked cold.

Paige jumped off the dock, doing a sloppy belly flop into the water. She immediately started to tread water instinctively, but stopped herself. Letting the PFD take her weight -- which it didn't really do. She slid down in it as it rode up, getting water in her face, and she didn't feel especially safe in it. Paige held her breath for a couple minutes but kept feeling like she was going to slide out. After only a moment or two she quickly ended up rolling onto her back and treading water, shaking the water out of her face. The jacket was still pushed up around her head obstructing her visibility and annoying her efforts at swimming.

"Ok that's good come on up"

Paige swam over to the ladder and climbed out of the water dripping wet. It was cold but not too bad and the sun was warm. She stripped the PFD off immediately, letting it fall to the dock behind her.

Apparently the next shot was already going...
"Ok so as we just saw that PDF didn’t do the best job of keeping Paige safe. Lucky for us Paige is a great swimmer, but if she had been knocked unconscious, or out alone far from shore she could have been in deep water!"

Paige cringed involuntarily. She hoped it wasn't obvious on camera.

Tim was holding the next jacket. It was yellow with a red stripe down one side and had a large collar.

"Now this is Lifejacket, it has a few extra features that the PFD doesn't. No two Life Jackets are exactly the same but ultimately all should keep you safe without any effort on your part. Even if you are unconscious"

"This particular Life Jacket is the Mustang Little Legends and it is especially great for kids and teenagers. It comes in sizes right from Infant to Teen, it's a great option that is available in all sizes at our store."

Tim turned from the camera and walked over to Paige holding the Life Jacket open. Getting a better look at it now Paige could see it was blue inside, the collar had a grab loop at the top, and it had zipper in addition to a single yellow strap around the waist. There was also a long yellow strap hanging from the back and a matching buckle pointed downwards from the front of the jacket. It was obvious that the long strap went between the wearers legs and clipped in at the front. She had seen straps like that before on kids jackets, Tim wasn't going to do that up on her tho, was he?

As Tim walked up behind her, Paige decided to just take the jacket and put on herself this time. It was awkward enough having Tim put the PDF on her. Tim handed it over without a moment's hesitation--but then Kyle spoke up.
"Ow last time you put the jacket on her, I think we should keep it consistent

"'Fucking Kyle' Paige thought.

Tim pulled the bright yellow jacket back from Paige's hands. "Sure works for me, should I restart?"

"Just take a few steps back and walk over again, I can cut it up"

Tim took three big steps back and looked at Kyle who gave him a thumbs up.

Paige was really trying not to stare at the camera now. Tim walked over and held the jacket open. Paige turned so her back was to it and looked over her shoulder sliding her arms though the holes. Tim pulled it over her shoulders and repositioned them both so they were facing the camera side by side.

"the first major difference with a Life Jacket is that it has nice big flotation panels in the front; those are too make sure it turns you over onto your back."

Tim closed the two halves of the jacket together and zipped them up. The jacket was much bulkier than the PFD. Paige couldn't imagine why someone would wear one of these instead of the much smaller PFD, other than being made to by your parents when you're a kid.

Tim buckled the strap in the front. "Most lifejackets will have at least one strap as zippers can fail in high speed crashes. Another important feature that all life jackets should have is a flotation collar."

Tim lifted the collar up from behind around Paige's head making the jacket feel even more obtrusive.

"this will support your head in the water if you are unconscious, it also sports a grab loop for pulling a child, or teen, out of the water."

'18 was technically not a teen...' Paige bit her tongue and resisted the urge to correct him.

"Another feature of this Life Jacket not found on all models is the crotch strap"

'Wait Seriously?' -- Paige only had a moment to wonder if that had been for real. Tim was bending down behind her, she sensed somehow the moment he grabbed the strap hanging from the back of the life jacket she was strapped into.

As Tim passed the long yellow strap though Paige's legs to his right hand she squatted slightly spreading her thighs apart. Tim then moved around her. As he pulled the strap up clipping it into the buckle at the front of the Jacket Paige found herself awkwardly wondering what to do with her arms, she somewhat instinctively grabbed hold of the heavy flotation panels around her neck.

"Life Jacket Models with crotch straps can be harder to find but we have several down at our shop. They are great as they completely solve the problem of the jacket from riding up on the wearer! But it's still important to make sure the Life Jacket is properly fitted and secure. Tim went on to give the strap around her waist a good pull, taking several inches of slack out of the strap and making the jacket squeeze in around her. Paige found herself wanting to fidget and squirm but resisted and stood still. Then he took hold of the end of the crotch strap and did the same thing. The strap had been hanging loose under her; but Tim pulled the slack though until it came up snug. This time Paige didn't manage to stand still and reacted to the snug strap by squirming just ever so slightly and bending at the waist. Unfortunately, the act of leaning forward slightly made the strap looser and resulted in Tim taking an extra inch of two of slack. Paige felt that as she straightened back up. Tim hardly noticed tho as he was talking to the camera again, Paige was not listening. The jacket around her was bulky and tight and obtrusive. She rolled her shoulders and twisted left and right while holding the thick foam panels in the front, trying to shift it, loosen it a little, or get more comfortable in it. She resisted the urge to reach for and adjust the crotch strap on camera.

"Ok Paige go for it"

She had been so distracted she hadn't noticed Kyle move the camera over to get her in the water. Suddenly she found herself anxious about this. The jacket was so unfamiliar, she wasn't sure what being in the water would be like. At the same time, she was secretly excited to feel how it would compare.

"Go for it girl" Tim gave her a gentle push, not enough to actually push her off, but it was enough to make her jump given the circumstances.

Paige was distracted when she hit the water and as a result was disoriented. Again she had to resist the urge to swim and tread water, doing a better job of it this time, making herself hang limp despite wanting to orient herself. She immediately felt the jacket pulling on her and twisting her in the water. Her face broke the surface a moment later, resting back on the head rest.

'collar not headrest' Paige thought

The jacket... was strange. On one hand she wanted to get out of it and swim, she didn't like relying on it to support her, it was like being out of control. On the other hand tho it was strangely alluring, like being swaddled, it was wrapped around her so tightly the headrest was supporting her head, the strap between her legs kept her securely inside it. It was stark contrast to the feeling of the PFD where she felt like she was sliding out of it. This was comfortable, she could trust it to keep her safe. It felt like it was pushing her up, not just stopping her from sinking. It felt strangely warm too, although she was in the water she felt a distinct sensation, maybe feeling safe also felt warm she wondered.

"Ok that's great"

Paige opened her eyes, when had she closed them? When she hit the water? Or was it as she 'sank' into the lifejacket? She realised she had been squirming a little in the water and quickly tried to come to her senses, blinking and rolling onto her stomach to swim to the ladder. The jacket fought her as she rolled over trying to force her onto her back. It was easy to overpower but tempting to let it take her again. Paige began to swim toward the ladder with a breaststroke; without going underwater as the jacket held her to the surface. It was a little harder to swim in that the PFD due to the added bulk, and the strap between her legs was distracting her on each stroke. She hesitated at the ladder only a moment, she desperately wanted to adjust the strap between her legs, to loosen it or move it before climbing out but was conscious of the camera and how that would look for all the world to see as she would need more than a quick second to adjust it.

Again Tim was at it already as she made it up the ladder.
"Ok now this next Life Jacket is a similar model...

The Cardboard Boat Races

Credit to "theman" for finding the pics also credit to "JamesApril" for the basic idea and "darkrangeresp" for editing. Thanks guys




It was the day of the contest. Jerry, Katelyn, Liz and Sue had spent weeks designing and building their cardboard boat. They had, like every other team, built 3 identical copies of their craft. It was a simple design; basically a long box with a slightly raised aft, the whole thing was completely covered in pink duct tape to help waterproof it.

Katelyn was a smaller girl thinly built with light brown hair, her best friend Jerry was taller and more athletic and had dark brown hair, Jerry was the most self-confident of the bunch and was the only one who had worn a two piece bathing suit. Sue opted for a black one piece swimsuit with the word “CASO” written across the front. She was also wearing her glasses. Liz was also small of build, though larger than Katelyn and was wearing a yellow swimsuit and guys swim shorts over the bottom. She also had dark brown hair.

The girls lined up with the other groups in front of the pool for the competition briefing. The contest was to consist of 3 races the first was a simple speed race in which two of the group members would paddle the boat as quickly as possible across the length of the pool, the first group to reach the far side wins, the second was a more complicated contest in which all 4 of the group members would be in the boat and would have to perform various tasks without tipping it, the last was an simple endurance contest, whose boat can stay afloat the longest.

During the first and 3rd race only two group members would be in the boat the two that sat out in the first would run the last in the 2nd race all 4 group members would be in the boat. The instructor went on to talk a bit about safety mentioning that ramming or intestinally disrupting another group’s boat would not be tolerated and that there was to be no horseplay in the pool.

Every group was to get at least two life jackets in the first and 3rd race they would be worn by whoever was running the boat, in the 3rd they would be used as a part of the race, as a result of that the deep end of the pool would be roped off for that section, the boats would be stationary anyway. Additional life jackets were available for group members standing on the side of the pool if they weren’t comfortable near the water.



Their coach, Mis.Silverthorne, went over to the large bins and retrieved a pair of lifejackets for them. They were matching red jackets, blue on the inside with bright yellow straps. Jerry thought they looked a bit juvenile but didn’t say anything. She was pretty easy going and didn’t really care. The lifejackets had a hood with a yellow grab loop, a zipper in the fount as well as a strap around the midsection and a tie at the bottom of the front. There was also a long strap hanging down from the back that Jerry wasn’t sure about, but she was more preoccupied with checking over the boats.

“Well girls we’ve got 10min before the first race, who’s going to run it?”

Katelyn and Liz volunteered and Ms. Silverthorne handed them the life jackets as well as a pair of short plastic paddles. Katelyn put the paddle on the floor and started to slip on the life jacket. She slipped her arms through the holes, zipped up the front and clipped the strap around her midsection together; finally she tied a bow in the drawstring at her waistline. Katelyn then noticed the strap hanging behind her like a tail and turned to grab at it, it took her a couple tries with the jacket limiting her view and the strap swinging back and forth. Strap in hand she held it in front of her and looked down, examining the life jacket she was wearing. She saw an empty buckle in at the bottom of the jacket and clicked in the strap it looked pretty useless. “What the heck is this strap for?” Katelyn wasn’t talking to anyone in particular but Ms. Silverthorne took notice and walked over to assist laughing.

“Not quite Katy. It’s to keep the jacket from riding up like this”

Ms. Silverthorne explained grabbing the shoulders of Kate’s life jacket and easily lifting it so the shoulder straps were above Kate’s head. Ms. Silverthorne dropped the shoulder straps to their normal height.

“Here” Ms. Silverthorne said crouching down. She unclipped the strap that was hanging loosely around the teen girl’s waist and passed it back around and between her legs clipping it back into the front buckle. “ow” was all Katelyn said in response but her face had gone a bit pink. Ms. Silverthorne snuggled down the strap and then went about re-tying the bow at the waist of the jacket and snugging down the strap around the midsection for good measure.

“See?” She asked after finishing, taking Kate’s lifejacket by the shoulders again and lifting, this time the crotch strap kept the jacket positioned low and snug over the small girl’s torso.

Liz watched this exchange and fastened her own jacket quite snugly as well, when Ms. Silverthorne checked hers over she found nothing in need of changing.

At this point Jerry and Sue had the first boat in the water and ready to go. Katelyn and Liz stepped carefully into their cardboard watercraft while Jerry and Sue did their best to hold it steady. 5 min later the first contest was underway.

The two girls did very well paddling in sync and shooting across the pool second place, at least, seemed within their grasp but as they approached the far wall Liz shifted too far to the left as Kate tried to slow the boat down, the craft destabilized and tipped to the left, not a lot, but enough for water to come flooding over the edge of the boat and in another min the two girls where in the water, bobbing in their life jackets instead of paddling furiously toward victory.

The two girls sat floating in their life jackets for a few moments before each taking corner of their boat and dragging it back towards the shallow end of the pool, were Jerry and Sue were waiting to help drag the sodden cardboard out of the water.

Of the 7 groups that were competing 3 had gone under before the girls tipped so they placed 4th in the first completion, all the girls were hoping to place 3rd overall, at least, in order to score extra marks in their high school shop class.

Katelyn climbed out of the pool dripping water from the life jacket and rolled over onto back; arms and legs straight out on the floor in exhaustion. Liz flopped out in similar fashion beside her. After a moment to catch their breath the two girls sat up.

Kate moved to unclip the lifejacket but Ms. Silverthorne told her to just leave it as they only had a couple minutes before the next round and they needed to talk strategy. She took her feet with the jacket still on and dripping a bit begrudgingly but not really caring.

After a brief consolation and a pep talk from Ms. Silverthorne the girls picked up there 2nd boat. Jerry and Sue lowered the boat into the water, holding it against the side of the pool. The second race consisted of several tasks all 4 girls would be in the boat they would hand paddle out to the midpoint of the pool, once there Kate and Liz would remove their life jackets and hand them to Jerry and Sue who would don them. They would then have to switch positions in the boat each taking the seat second farthest from their current one as this would be the fastest way for them to al move. It was decided they would go two at a time to help with balance instead of all at once and risk tipping.

“Remember go slowly and keep you balance but don’t waste time, it is a race but the biggest danger is tipping” Ms. Silverthorne coached them.



Loaded into the boat the girls were a bit cramped, they sat in two pairs each pair with one jacket, Jerry and Liz were in the middle back to back, Liz wearing one of the life jackets, Sue and Katelyn where on the outside facing in, Katelyn would hand her jacket to Jerry and Liz hers to Sue.

The girls where the 3rd boat to reach the midpoint in the pool; both of the boats in front of them were still taking their life jackets off.

Kate quickly unclipped the front of the lifejacket she was wearing and drew down the zipper, she fumbled with the knot for a moment and it came loose, finally she unclipped her crotch strap and started to slip her arms out of the jacket, the girls froze as the boat came close to tipping, Kate finished removing the jacket more slowly and sat up slightly to pull the strap out from under her and tossed the jacket to Jerry. At this point Sue had already almost finished donning the jacket Liz had been wearing. Jerry looked around at the other boats briefly; most of them were still swapping jackets but one or two where already trying to move around, one boat was floating in ruins with 2 other girls floating nearby. Jerry turned her mind back to the life jacket picking it up and swinging it around to slip her arms through the holes behind her, the jacket was still quite wet from the swim Kate had taken in it and the nylon was cold against her bare back. She quickly pulled the two front sides together and zipped up the front, Jerry was a fair bit bigger than Katelyn and the jacket had been tight on her. Jerry had pull quite hard but she managed to get the strap around her middle fastened without wasting time adjusting it. The tie at her waist was easy and took little time.

She glanced around again and saw that 3 boats were now onto the second step. “Hurry up” Nagged Kate. Jerry leaned forward on her knees and reached between her legs for the final strap but was having a hard time finding it, there were running out of time, suddenly she felt Liz’s hand, her friend had turned around in her seat and pulled the strap out from under Jerry’s leg where it had been stuck. Liz put the strap in the other girl’s hand and Jerry pulled it through her legs, the strap was too short having been adjusted for Katelyn but she managed to get it to click into place despite the discomfort.

With both lifejackets switched the girls began stage two; first Liz and Katelyn stood up while Jerry and Sue stayed as low as possible to try and stabilize the boat. Jerry shifted a bit as Kate stepped over her and then again as Liz stepped by, with the first move completed Jerry looked up again now facing Liz, who’s lifejacket Sue now had on. At least there about the same size though Jerry as she slowly stood up, causing the crotch strap and shoulder straps to tighten up considerably, the teenage girl found herself wishing she had made like Liz and worn a one piece suite and guys swim shorts.

The boat rocked dangerously and Jerry and Sue both dropped back down until it stopped, 4 boats were now out of the game having tipped and one was on its way back to the shore the two girls took it slow passing each other and sitting down in each other’s seats. As soon as they were seated Jerry and Sue turned around so they were all facing the same direction. The boat was bit cramped and Jerri ended up with Kate’s knees on either side of her. All 4 girls began to hand paddle back to the edge of the pool. Glancing to her right Jerry saw the other two boats one was almost back the other was just behind them. After several moments they were approaching the edge of the pool again, the girl's hand paddled their craft as quickly as possible, just beating the other boat and snagging second place.

Jerry, being in the front of the boat now, grabbed the edge of the pool as soon as they bumped into it and swung it around so the other girls could climb out.

Sue and Liz hugged each other and jumped up in down in excitement, Katie just laughed and held a hand out to help Jerry climb up. Jerry’s foot slipped on the edge of the pool as she tried to climb up causing her to pull on Kate’s arm more than the smaller girl had expected a split second later Kate was following Jerri into the water as the larger girl fell backwards with her friend landing on top of her. Jerri got one big mouthful of water before her life jacket yanked her to the surface, she lay there with her head on the color of the life jacket for a moment before realizing the water was shallow enough for her to stand, with some surprising reluctance, she put her feet on the floor of the pool and stood up taking her weight off the jacket a moment later she followed a laughing Kate out of the pool.

Standing straight the crotch strap was still quite uncomfortable but Jerri was unsure how to loosen it, she pulled at the strap a bit but it wouldn’t loosen.

“Just leave that Jerry you’ll be heading back out in a second” Ms. Silverthorne misinterpreted jerry’s movements as trying to remove the jacket.

“Ow I know, the bit between my legs it just a bit too tight” Jerry explained trying to feed the loose end of the strap back into the buckle. “I’m a bit taller than Kate.” She bent forward to illustrate her discomfort.

“Here let me help you then” Ms. Silverthorne approached Jerry who took her hands away from the buckle to let her teacher/coach correct it. The older woman undid the buckle and fed and several inches of slack into the strap she then clipped I back into place and snugged it down. The strap was now quite snug but not uncomfortable. Jerri would have preferred it a bit looser but said nothing as Ms. Silverthorne was now discussing the final stage.

Jerri and Kate would undertake it as they hadn’t been a part of the first race. The basic premise here was to be the last boat floating, this was the only race where ramming and tipping other boats was permitted. Sue and Liz held the 3rd and final boat (there second one was still in great condition but they had 3 so they might as well use them) as Jerri and Katelyn climbed in Ms. Silverthorne then handed them there paddles and told them to “go get em”

The pink duct tape did and amazingly good job at holding back the water. After 10min of pushing and prodding there were only 3 boats left the girls in there pink box, two guys wearing yellow “mustang” vests in a white boat with a pointed bow and a girl and a guy in a square boat covered in plastic wrap (the girl had little legends lifejacket the boy a standard red lifejacket that may or may not have even had a crotch strap)

Jerri watched from the bow of their ship as the two boys rammed the plastic wrap boat broadside and the lead boy smashed a hole in the bottom with his paddle the girl grabbed the bow of their boat and was dragged out of hers and away from her sinking friend, very nearly tipping the other boat as the boys back paddled. At least they were not the only ones with kids life jackets thought Jerri after getting a look at the girl’s supper wedge as she was dragged through the water. The girl gave up after a moment and slowly swam back to the boy who was already dragging the shattered remains of their craft back to the edge of the pool. The girl had given Jerri and Idea though, she knew they couldn’t take the boys head on, and the rules only said the boats had to remain afloat and at least one crew member had to remain intact, she turned to Katelyn.

“Man the ship”

“whaa-?” Kate never got to finish her question as Jerri jumped over the side of their ship and began to swim right at the boys.

Once again Jerri was struck by how the life jacket felt in the water, she had worn lifejackets like the boy in the wrecked boat had worn when her family went speed boating but never swam in them, and the crotch strap kept the jacket so well positioned on her body she didn’t think swimming in the other kind would be as nice, it would likely ride up the way Kate’s had when Ms. Silverthorne pulled on the shoulders. It really was quite pleasant to float weightless in the water. She had to admit to herself part of the reason she had taken this course of action was so she could feel the lifejacket hold her in the water again, like when she fell in the shallow end, it was much more fun in the deep though with nothing under her to take her weight off the jacket.

Jerri was broken out of this train of thought by the sound of a splash. One of the two boys had also jumped into the water he was swimming right at her intent on stopping her from reaching their boat, Jerri attempted to maneuver around him but he managed to grab the loop at the top of the lifejackets hood and she felt herself pulled backwards by the lifejacket. A second later she felt the boy behind her and his arm around her neck as her put her in a headlock. She yelled angrily and tried to separate herself from him but couldn’t reach around behind her. He was a fair bit stronger than her. Jerri watched as his buddy paddled there boat with both paddles, like he was rowing, towards the helpless pink ship manned only by Katelyn.

“What the hell? Let me GO!” Jerry was genuinely mad at being held restrained by the buy she tried to dive underwater but the lifejacket prevented her from doing so she leaned back instead putting her weight on the boy behind her causing his head to slip underwater, as soon as his arm loosened from around her neck she yanked it off and twisted around onto her back her head as far from the boy as possible, the boy wiped the water out of his face and grabbed for the strap around the midsection of the girl’s lifejacket, Jerry coiled both legs and kicked out with both at once pushing the boy away and sending her back towards the white boat, the she rolled smoothly onto her stomach and swam with long frog kicks and scooping movements of her arms.

Kate had the idea now and was taking evasive maneuvers to avoid the white boat. A second later Jerry grabbed the back of the white boat and began rocking it, the other boy stopped rowing and tried to fend her off but the boat began to upset so he was forced to move to counter it. The boy in the water had caught up with her at this point and was trying to pull her off of the boat but she had a good hold on it, She waited a moment and when the larger boy pulled at her lifejacket hood again she kicked out at the bottom of their boat and pulled at the top.

With the boys additional pull on her lifejacket it was enough to capsize the white boat spilling the other boy into the water with them and winning them, FIRST PLACE Jerry realized this at about the same time the angry boy showed her underwater in anger.

She popped up far enough away that further fighting could be avoided and swam back towards the pink ship and her friends on the sidelines, who cheered her as she approached. She was very surprised to discover she was enjoying the swim more than the victory but decided to keep that to herself (At least until she and Katelyn talked later that night, when they both admitted to enjoying the jacket and the crotch strap as well) Standing on the side of the pool Jerri made no move to take of the heavy wet lifejacket.

Jerry caught a glimpse of the two boys dragging their boat, now in tatters to the shallows, they had undone their jackets but left them hanging around their shoulders.

There were 3 or 4 others in the area still wearing jackets though it was this observation as well as catching Katelyn looking at Liz’s discarded jacket longingly that gave her the courage to open up that night.

After the happy congratulations were over Jerry reluctantly shed the lifejacket and they all left the pool area to change and go out for a victory dinner, the final victory had won them second place overall, the first place winners where group with the girl who had been wearing the little legends lifejacket, they had placed 1st in the second game and 2nd in the first there 3rd place in the final race just beating the girls 4th in the 1st.