A SCHOOL OF MERMAIDS TAKES OFF
Training for what seems like an underwater lark carries a serious message of conservation
Did you know that being a mermaid — or a merman — is a hot new trend?
I didn't until I visited Hawaii and took a new, two-hour Discover Mermaid Experience class with Sara Ferguson, owner of The Mindful Mermaid Swim Academy, a Professional Association of Diving Instructors program launched around the world. This aquatic adventure is available at the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa in Kaanapali, right in its shallow pool waters near the stunning waterfall grotto. In fact, “Mermaids are the new black,” Ferguson says with a laugh — she is the association's leading mermaid instructor.
Also offered are a full-day mermaid course, and another that is more advanced and takes place over two days, and Ferguson even includes an underwater photo shoot. Then, voila! You're a certified mermaid.
Ferguson should know. She actually wrote the mermaid program for and with the association, and it's the first step to being a certified mermaid. And seeing that she is lean, and lithe, with long, long, long flowing red hair, she actually resembles a mermaid — especially when wearing her tail — and is a great teacher of all things ocean. Actually, that's what mermaids are all about, she says. “We inspire others to protect the ocean, and we educate the younger generation to become ocean ambassadors,” she told me when we were both in the pool.
Ferguson added, “People fly in from all over the world” to experience her mermaid classes. “It's a way to be magical.”
In fact, there are actual “pods” of people who love to dress up and swim like mermaids and mermen. One, the California-based Merfolk Pod, lists 451 members on its Facebook page. Ferguson, furthermore, told me that in each of the past three years, in May, there has been a California Mermaid Convention in Rancho Cordova. Ferguson said it's one of the largest mermaid conventions, where more than 100 mermaids and mermen attend and take classes on topics such as how to keep your wig on underwater.
Well, I was intrigued and decided to see for myself, with my very own tail at my feet (and with my tongue firmly in cheek). My Discover Mermaid Experience class for beginners cost $149, didn't require a regulator and was the first step in eventually becoming certified.
First things first. After I signed up, Ferguson gave me leggings and a crop top bearing orange and pink fish “scales,” as a mermaid would wear. Next was putting on the matching tail/skirt, at the bottom of which was a beginner's plastic black monofin. I must admit, I looked “mer-mazing!”
All I needed next was a snorkel and mask — I opted out of using air tanks and a regulator. She even asked me to create my own mermaid name. I chose Debunk, as it resembles my real name — and, well, sort of describes my work as a journalist. (Ferguson's mermaid name is Sarandipity.) Whoever knew that mermaids would be so popular — kind of like unicorns? “It's a niche, for sure, but people love it,” said Ferguson with a laugh.
I got into the pool and then, holding my hands, Ferguson showed me how to create a “dolphin stroke wave” in the water, using my tail. I have to say, using a monofin/tail to swim really works your abs as you point your toes underwater with your legs together. It's basically pulling in your stomach and “zipping” it up — and you will definitely feel it in your abdomen the next day. What a workout! “It's the ultimate water Pilates,” she added.
After that she taught me how to actually do a mermaid trick: going underwater and snapping my tail high above the water. Wow! I achieved it on the first try, and it was so much fun.
Ferguson is an excellent teacher. She created this course, as she was a certified scuba diver and instructor who loved working with “nervous Nellies” in the water. She can free dive and hold her breath for an incredible three minutes and 45 seconds to 109 feet underwater.
“This course lets kids and adults have an ocean experience and learn more about the ocean. Remember also that it's a mermaid's job to protect the ocean.”
When she's not teaching people to be mermaids, Ferguson is passionate about sharks. She travels the world making ocean-conservation videos with a focus on the fish.
“People have been conditioned to think of sharks as bloodthirsty murderers, when in truth, we kill over 11,000 sharks per hour, a far cry from the 10 humans they kill each year,” Ferguson explains. “When they can see you clearly, sharks usually swim away. If people are swimming in murky water, they confuse us for their favorite meal, a seal. I spend time in the water with sharks every week and have seen how they really are, beyond the demonization of their mainstream portrayal. Sharks are just a big, graceful fish that have very little interest in humans and they need our help before it's too late.”
Holding her breath, Ferguson swims to depth without a mask with these wild animals to convey an idea of coexistence. Watching her is like seeing a real-life Ariel in action.
Right now, there are more than 500 Professional Association of Diving Instructors mermaid teachers and centers around the world — in such far-flung locations as the Indian Ocean's Maldives, in the glaciers of Switzerland, in farmland Wisconsin, Australia, Mexico and Cornwall, England — which is the mermaid capital of the world.
“Mermaids are real,” says Drew Richardson, president and CEO of the association. “Anyone can be one and by doing so you become part of our mutual movement to restore the balance between humanity and the ocean.”
In other words, the association is filling the oceans with mermaids offering magic and hope, just when it's needed most.