Water Slides

Andy sent me to the Water Slides where one would get wet for sure. They were very steep, with wild turns and water jets. Not everyone's thing, but I like those kind of rides.

Tom and Rajiv where on the top, with Ben down in the pool as Bottom Guard. They explained to me how to work the slides. This water park has three staff members on each slide:

The "Top" helps people get onto the float.

The "Bottom Guard" receives them and gives the all clear signal for the next launch.

The "Runner" goes down the slide with guests when they ask for help.

Top

Rajiv's shift on the slides was over. He somehow managed to keep his clothes dry as Top. Since we're not supposed run down the stairs against the flow of the visitors, the only way down is via the slide into the pool. Dry is not an option on the slides.

Rajiv left down the slide as a Runner with a visitor and made a big splash in the pool. I took over from him as Top.

Tom showed me how to launch the visitors, always two on one float for good balance. If there was a single visitor, one of the two Tops would offer to be a Runner if needed. After a few minutes came my turn to go down the slide.

Runner

"You're still in dry clothes, so you'll be the next Runner," said Tom with a grin. "Can't have dry people on the slides. Doesn't look right."

No problem. I was ready to be soaked again and have seen how the Bottom Guards operate.

I sat down in the front part of the ring from where you steer it, with a fully clothed non-swimmer named Ryan in the back, who was about my age.

Tom pushed us out through the first jet spray. Wow, what an exciting ride, water gushing in from jets to push us along. We were soaked in moments. This was serious fun!

Bottom Guard

After we splashed down into the pool I had to pull up the submerged non-swimmer. The hood of his clothes had covered his face and he had lost his orientation. When I lifted him above the water he was screaming with laughter, holding on to me tightly. He asked me for another run and waited until I went up again.

The water at this slide was about chest deep and thus fairly safe. Not much for me to do, just stand there in the water doing the Bottom Guard job while Ben ran up to the top.

Moments later Tom came down as a Runner and took over my Bottom Guard position. I ran up, with Ryan following me, and joined Ben as Top. When Tom came up to the top, Ben soaked it down with the next Runner job.

When it was my turn to go down again, Ryan sat in the front and Tom pushed us down into the washing machine. Ryan was screaming with delight all the way down and had to be rescued again in the pool. He held on to me tightly until I delivered him to the poolside.

Henry took over from me, neatly dressed in the lifeguard jogging suit. Apparently he knew something about slide dress code which I didn't.

While I headed back to the staff room to get ready for my next assignment, Ryan asked a lot of questions about swimming in clothes. Apparently nobody had told him the right stuff, only nonsense.

Since I had a moment of time on my hand, we sat down in a pool, and I answered him the most pressing questions. Ryan liked to get his clothes wet a lot, but couldn't swim well, so I recommended the fully clothed swimming classes. Then he doesn't have to be rescued so often. We agreed to meet in the pool when I was not on duty, so we could run all the rides and try out different clothes in the water.

On may way to the staff room I saw Henry in the pool as Bottom Guard, looking cool in his red and yellow jogging suit. Maybe I wear that too next time on the slides to see what difference it makes. Many of the visitors wear hoodies and such on the slides, so there must be something about it.

Slide Mischief

Another frequent visitor was a friendly kid who loved to block the smaller slides and let the water pile up. Then he came down fast on the wave. We could easily spot him as he always wore blue jeans with a red hoodie, nothing else.