Whitewater ankle floatation safety device

Abstract

An assembly, preferably for use near the ankle, preferably made, at least in part, of a soft buoyant flexible material is disclosed. The assembly has two basic forms. The first basic form is a band that wraps around the user's lower leg above the user's ankle joint above, or in one embodiment, on the user's foot gear. This form of the assembly has a mechanism for holding the assembly on the leg of the user. The other basic form is one that incorporates the assembly into or on a boot, sock, wet or dry suit, pants or similar device at a location that wraps the assembly around the user's lower leg when in use. The assembly helps move the user's lower leg toward the surface of the water and hold it on the surface of the water to help prevent foot entrapment with rocks, trees or other objects in the water and also helps to prevent the foot or leg from being injured due to contact with underwater and river-surface objects. The assembly has particular value as a safety floatation device for whitewater boating in all its forms and for swimming in strong currents or in rapids. A variation of the assembly may be used as a safety device for traversing or ice-skating on a body of ice.

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       33 . A supplemental river-boating safety floatation device as a method for reducing the risks of river-swimmers' leg injuries and foot entrapment in a river with a strong current or rapids comprising:
 a pair of anklet assemblies each including a soft buoyant pad of flexible material to be wrapped safely, securely, and snugly around each upper ankle area of a life vest user;   an encasement device selected from the group consisting of a pouch, a bootie, a sock, and a lower leg-wear fabric, as a means for containing said anklet assembly's said pad to form a panel that covers said ankle area of said user;   a fastener device selected from the group consisting of a zipper, a hook-and-loop, and snap-together mechanisms as a means for safely, securely, and conveniently attaching and detaching said anklet assemblies to said ankle areas of said user;
 whereby said pair of anklet assemblies will provide a means for an initial safety lift to each submerged foot of said user. 
 whereby said lift of said anklet assemblies will provide said user with a means to more quickly obtain elevated feet for a nearly horizontal and surfaced swimming configuration selected from the river topside group of stomach-up and stomach-down swimmer's-positions. 
 whereby said anklet assemblies will provide said user with a means of utility in maintaining said topside swimmer's-positions almost effortlessly to further avoid most river-underwater leg injuries and foot entrapments. 
 whereby said anklet assemblies will provide said user with a means to switch said swimmer's-positions, and to turn and to face a different direction without dangerously and unintentionally lowering said feet while continuing to avoid said injuries and entrapments.