I Love Being A Mermaid! Helen tells us all about her hobby
There are good health and environmental reasons to don a tail, swim underwater and gather on beaches…
Helen Morley has always been fascinated by mermaids. While other little girls dressed up as princesses, Helen would be a mermaid.
And 40-odd years later, she regularly morphs into a real-life siren of the sea – along with 20 or 30 other mermaids and mermen.
They make a real splash in their beautiful fishtails in colours from pearly pink to vibrant blue and orange. Their owners are clearly proud to show them off, both in and out of the water. Helen’s is a gorgeous, shimmering emerald green.
Reinforced with a specially designed “monofin”, it has a beautiful realistic shape which helps swimming. Helen flips fins with fellow Merfolk at least once a month at various Tidal gatherings around the country. All keen and proficient swimmers, gatherings take place in both public and private pools, with sessions only open to Merfolk.
“We do breathing and relaxation exercises to gain g more time underwater, learn free-diving techniques from qualified free-diving instructors and have our pictures taken under water. I’ve even learned to give ‘mermaid kisses’ which is blowing bubbles in a very controlled way under water.”
Helen adds, “You have to get used to wearing a fish tail. It was quite hard to start with because it feels as though your legs are stuck together. But they are stretchy and very comfortable. You just have to get used to moving your core and legs in a certain way as you learn to do the ‘Mermaid kick’, which is a bit like the way a dolphin swims – all great exercise for the tummy muscles.”
Helen is in great shape for her 57 years, so these Mermaid kicks are clearly having an effect.
As they pose with a blow-up pearl in the giant inflatable clam in between training sessions, everyone says they feel great after these Tidal sessions:
“You use your body in a different way.”
“Muscles are used which you didn’t know existed.”
“My posture and walking are better.”
“As well as being wonderful physical exercise, you feel really mentally relaxed and calm.”
Last year Helen and her fellow Merfolk congregated on a beach in East Sussex in an attempt to win the Guinness record for the largest gathering of mermaids in one place, during Bexhillon-Sea’s annual Festival of the Sea. Hundreds of Merpeople were pictured on
“It’s a bit like the way a dolphin swims – great exercise for tummy muscles”
the stony coast as they took selfies and compared outfits. Sporting clam shell bikini tops and tiaras made of sea shells, hair was coiffed and coloured every shade of the sea.
“My outfit was obtained from a variety of sources. My friend Jennie, a fashion designer, embellished the top with sequins which looked great. I did my own make-up and wore a long green wig and jewelled crown.
Another Mer-friend was there in one of her beautifully designed silicone tails. She trades under the name of Prisma Tails – and her designs are amazing! I loved seeing what everyone else was wearing – there were some amazingly creative costumes. I remember going onto the beach and hearing the numbers being counted, feeling really excited and
thinking ‘Fingers crossed’ – it was great to hear that we’d achieved the record!”
There were 325 mermaids, mermen and mer-babies on the beach, beating the previous record of 300. What started out as an angling festival has grown and the message is, “Take care of your sea and your beaches.”
Helen won an award as the loveliest mermaid on the beach and was presented with a silver mermaid pendant. “It was just as we were leaving the beach. I was really flattered and surprised!
“It was a really friendly and fun event – it was great to meet other mermaids and mermen and everyone got along really well.
“It was a beautifully hot day and was quite magical for the spectating children, many of whom had never seen a ‘real’ mermaid and kept wanting to touch our tails.”
The March of the Mermaids is another colourful annual event. Every year Helen and her Merfriends head meet for this fun fiesta on Brighton beach. But it’s also a platform for serious messages. Placards are held high drawing attention to the shocking amount of plastic and pollution in our oceans.
Many of Mer-people organise regular beach cleaning sessions and support Surfers Against Sewage. Clearly there is a lot more to being a Mer-person than meets the eye.