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Echidna
04-28-2015, 03:51 PM
...or: If I had umlimited resources.


So I've been brainstorming what to do for better swimming options.

Until now, like probably everyone else, I use pools (most too shallow and too crowded for good exercise) or lakes and rivers (brrr!!).
I don't have the luxury of a temperate waterbody nearby, and my friends and I have considered pooling resources (ha!) for a swimming pond or natural pool.
Sadly, those don't get too warm either.

And then it hit me.

There are swimming pools for swimmers, leisure pools for children and people who like to stand around, aquatic centres with slides and diving boards for teenagers, and indoor diving facilities for divers.
All of these are not really great for mermaiding if you think about it.
Lakes and diving facilities aren't really fun without a warm suit- and the rest isn't meant to swim underwater much.

There is a lack of something in between- something warm and comfortable for swimmers, but still fun to be underwater in.
I call it:
Mermaid's Paradise. (This is a childhood dream of mine, btw.)

It's a large complex of indoor pools beneath a glass construction, surrounded by palm trees and greenery, maybe a few fountains.
The difference to a normal aquatic centre is that the pools are at least 3m-5m deep and are not plain tiled affairs; they have (artificial) landscapes everywhere that are fun to swim over (and under), (artificial) greenery, reefs, rocks and so on.
(I'm not a fan of the artificial landscapes some diving towers have- pipes, sunken boats and wrecked planes which divers seem to enjoy so much. In my eyes, that's junk. :p )

The pools with differing architecture are joined by underwater tube passages, large enough to safely dive through.
One of the smaller pools is furnished like an underwater cave and dark except for the indirect lighting which could resemble bioluminescence.

Of course, there should also be a tube leading to an outdoor pool, likewise 3m-5m deep and comfortably warm, made to resemble an ocean cove leading up to a beach.

The whole complex would be healthy to be in due to not using chlorine, but a complex ozone method.
Thus, swimming without goggles wouldn't lead instantly to eye loss. :p

Why is this not a thing?
I wish something, anything like this would exist.

And if I were in charge of this entire business, guests with mermaid costumes would get a discount on entry fees.


There is a guy in Nuremberg who is planning something similar, but for divers (around 18°C- thank you, but no thank you :lol:), he is being sponsored and they might start the project soon.

Do you think someone would sponsor a mermaid complex?...Or are there just too little people who enjoy freediving, snorkeling, and mermaiding? :$

Mermaid Enora
04-28-2015, 04:28 PM
idk about getting funding, but it sounds fun and if something like that was near my house I would be there a lot!

Mermaid Jaffa
04-28-2015, 10:48 PM
Can I have free tickets to your Water Park?

Azurin Luna
04-29-2015, 01:02 AM
I think it would be a cool idea. Maybe you can even add a 'safe pool' so that people can safely learn to swim like a mermaid before they go to the deeper pools.

Rett
05-01-2015, 02:49 PM
That. Is. My. Dream. Pool. OMG I would die to swim in one of those! The only thing I'd like to add to your plans is to make the pool sand-bottomed and have underwater speakers playing different underwater/mermaid-y music. I dont really know about sponsoring, but if it was near me I'd pay to go every day!

MermaidCelesteFL
05-01-2015, 03:17 PM
That. Is. My. Dream. Pool. OMG I would die to swim in one of those! The only thing I'd like to add to your plans is to make the pool sand-bottomed and have underwater speakers playing different underwater/mermaid-y music. I dont really know about sponsoring, but if it was near me I'd pay to go every day!


^This.

Seatan
05-01-2015, 03:53 PM
It's an absolutely dreamy idea, but I think plane tickets to the Caribbean are probably the closest you'd be able to get, unfortunately! :( I am imagining this on "Shark Tank" and the truth is that 1) no, there aren't enough free divers and 2) I don't think it would stay paradise from long. I have swam in many man-made diving lakes, and let me say this: the coral reef is an amazing eco-system that no man can ever equal, and when they try it's kind of discouraging. Diving lakes start out nice but quickly acquire silt, mold, and other crap that appears when you don't have chlorine and you don't scrub every surface. Even with salt water, things still need to be scrubbed because there aren't enough bottom feeders. Since the surface would not be a smooth plane, it would be nearly impossible to clean it properly every day, and so you would have to set up an eco-system like aquarium... but humans would disrupt that system and it would fail. Heck, you can see it in the destruction of real coral reefs by tourists. An aquarium-like landscape wouldn't last a year with people swimming through it all the time and a fake landscape would have to be thoroughly cleaned on a regular basis... But it's still a gorgeous dream. I especially love how they are all interlocked.

Of course, it still doesn't fulfill my desires--I don't think any pool could. I've gone blue water diving too many times. No pool or aquarium could ever satisfy my need to be out in the actual sea, experiencing the currents and the rhythm of everything below. Man can't even begin to imagine the kind of wonders the ocean has to offer. I gotta get off the piece of dry rock and back to someplace where the tide rushes in and out. I think it would be better to buy a beach front area and create a system of man-made lagoons around a big resort that feed directly into the ocean. You could swim everywhere around the resort, swim up to the bar, jump into the water from your room's step, then swim directly out into the ocean. THAT would be my dream... Plus non-freedivers could enjoy it, too.

Mermaid Menanna
05-01-2015, 05:03 PM
I have always thought of this as a mermaid's paradise...
http://savasplace.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/huahine-te-tiare-beach-resort.jpg

I love the original idea, but as Seavanna has pointed out, keeping it nice would be impossible. I have a house full of aquariums (over 1000 gallons worth) and even without people swimming in them they require daily maintenance to keep them "perfect". The ozone plan would surely help, but that would not work to keep out all forms of bacteria, and it doesn't take much to cause a problem underwater. Freshwater or saltwater wouldn't matter, it would still look nasty soon enough, and something that size would be impossible to keep clean. Artificial is actually harder to maintain than natural, life plants and corals and etc. because you lack the animal life and bacteria forms that makeup a biologically balanced environment that maintains itself.
If you ever get to the states during the summer months (mid June through end of August), visit WI or somewhere else in the Great Lakes region. We have many lakes and rivers that are absolutely beautiful AND warm during those months, and make for perfect swimming experiences. We may have a short outdoor swimming season but I wouldn't trade it. It's unique and wonderful in its own right... and we don't have to worry about keeping them clean like your waterpark idea would require, lol.
In a perfect world... if only... but it sure is nice to dream! :)

Echidna
05-26-2015, 08:30 PM
While brainstorming, I had another idea to make swimming in an indoor pool exciting and "real".

A pool could be bordered by aquariums and have clear sides.
So one could swim in a nicely temperate, germ-free clear water, but still have the illusion of swimming with and alongside real fish, sharks, etc, which in turn can have their ideal environment.

Wondering if anyone else had already thought of this, I found one hotel in Las Vegas

30034

my idea is similar, but not with surface huggers in mind.
The effect would be so much more immersive (get it?) if the surface of both the pool and the aquarium was on the same level, so one would see the fish only when submerged beside them.


Edit:
I get that it's much more preferable to swim in the ocean/caribbean/south pacific/whatever!
My idea is for the peeps who are stuck in a cold climate with no access to warm natural waters, and no time, money, and opportunity to jet over to the real thing.
Considering the costs of such a trip, and knowing that it's many people's unfulfillable dream, I wonder why there are no such pool complexes and just the same old, same old of normal pool with maybe a few potted plants on the side...

Yulia
05-26-2015, 08:33 PM
There's a pool here in Sweden that have something like that there. So you can have the illusion of snorkeling.

http://pics.nattstad.se/4/900000/820000/814514/pics/201291031559731814514_sbig.jpg

Echidna
05-26-2015, 08:46 PM
That's way cool!
Do you have a link or a name for this?


Here's another pic of the Las Vegas thing

30035

as you can see, made for surface huggers.
The thing in the middle of the aquarium is a water slide, btw.
Hopefully the fish don't get scared when people slide through :eek:

Yulia
05-26-2015, 09:16 PM
It's called Gustavsviks Äventyrsbad. (Gustavsvik's Adventurebath)
I haven't been there myself yet, but my ex have many times.

Echidna
05-27-2015, 06:57 AM
Apparently, it's Europe's biggest pool landscape. And I've never heard of it before :rotfl:

Anyway, looks like a fun spot.
A bit like the "Tropical Islands", but with real swimming opportunities, a 50m swimmer's pool, and a nice outdoor pool.

Could be too busy for tailswimming or being underwater though

30046

Yulia
05-27-2015, 07:05 AM
Yeah, I think it could be a bit too crowded for tailswimming in the "fun area" in the weekend. I'm not sure how many people go there on a regular day when parents work.