As a waterskier, a parent, and a grandparent, Denise Pitlyk knows the joy of watersports… and that anxious feeling when a skier or wakeboarder goes down.
Denise is often the spotter when her family enjoys watersports on Lake of the Ozarks, and she says the moments between a skier/wakeboarder going down and being retrieved can feel like an eternity. The boat can fly a “skier down” flag, but that doesn’t make the person in the water any more visible. “This is something that has always kind of gnawed at me,” Denise said. “I thought I would figure it out.”
So she invented the DownAlert PSD® personal safety device.
DownAlert is simple in design: two elastic armbands fastened to a nylon ripstop pouch that, when unfurled, fits over the user’s hand and displays a bright yellow reflective diamond. Instant visibility.
“It just makes sense for that person in the water to have something to mark that they’re there,” Denise pointed out. Especially on a busy Lake of the Ozarks weekend, the added visibility means added safety and peace of mind.
A St. Louis native, Denise has been coming to Lake of the Ozarks her whole life, and she and her husband had a condo at Cedar Glen, on the Niangua Arm, for years. For a fun day on the water, safety is paramount, and Denise has launched Down Alert at the Lake of the Ozarks first because of how busy it is in the heat of the summer, and the opportunity its popularity offers her product to make a real splash. But regardless of the body of water, DownAlert is a simple way for boaters and watersports participants to gain peace of mind.
photo courtesy of DownAlert PSD®
DownAlert, Denise's own invention, is built for waterskiers, tubers, and wakeboarders especially, but she points out a PWC rider would benefit from increased visibility in case they are thrown off.
“If it can even reduce some of the anxiety… make it more fun,” Denise says, then her patent-pending device has served its purpose.
DownAlert fits snugly on the arm, and Denise said especially once it gets wet, the nylon softens even more. “You don’t even know that it’s there, it’s so compact and discrete,” she said.
Sewn channels in the handpiece keep the DownAlert sturdy against the wind, and the polyester diamonds hold their shape for maximum visibility. The product has already gotten good feedback from multiple ski schools, and she has worked with a national safety organization that can not endorse products but expressed clear interest in the new safety device.
photo courtesy of DownAlert PSD®
Denise says it’s especially intended for younger kids—and the peace of mind it brings their parents—but DownAlert comes in four sizes, to fit most boaters, young and old.
DownAlert PSD® is available online at www.downalertpsd.com, and also at the Osage Beach Wal-Mart.
