Nonprofessional mermaids just goofing off

[Dancing Fish]

This is a thread dedicated to adventures of amateur mermaids: pictures, tales of swimming in local pools, and whatever else strikes our fancy. We may lurk in the shadows of Mernetwork, and we may not have high ambitions of super mer-stardom, but we love to goof off in our tails!

Some of us even showed up at N.C. MerMania! So much fun. :)

35888

[MermaidSandie]

^ I just gotta say, I LOVE your tail, the fins are so pretty!! <3

[Dancing Fish]

Aw, thanks! :$

[Mermaid Summerlilly]

I remember this one time a while back, during my last swim in my Mermagica tail (This was before I got my Mermaid Kat fabric tail.) when I was at Stowe Mountain Ski resort in March. They have a heated outdoor pool and I had my tail on. It was nighttime. I had been swimming for five minutes, and a little girl and her dad showed up in the 10-foot window facing the pool in the upper hallway staring at me swimming around in my tail. I started doing fin slaps on the water, flips, etc. and soon after a few more people showed up in the window. At this point people were wondering what all the commotion was in the pool and they were all surprised when they saw a mermaid swimming in the pool. Within 30 minutes, the entire stretch of glass was full of people. That was a great day. Sadly my Mermagica tail is out of commission now, because i wore many holes in the skin, broke the strap on the monofin, (because I was not caring for it properly and rinsing it off after many many uses in the ocean and in chlorinated pools, oops.) and plus the monofin got too small. I'm currently saving for a Merbella tail, but I haven't gotten very far in my savings yet, maybe 200 to 300 bucks? I don't even know anymore haha. (P.S. I'm really liking the idea of this thread, and Dancing Fish, I really love the fins on your tail too!) :mermaid kiss: :D

[AniaR]

so cute your tails look great

[Sabrina the Selkie]

Glad this is up!

[Mer-Crazy]

My name is Mer-Crazy and as a casual mer I approve of this thread haha. On that note my fave things to do in my tail are make videos. Here's one from last year (hope it's okay I share this here):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtUBjgq5T8g

[PearlieMae]

Cool video!

[Mer-Crazy]

I remember this one time a while back, during my last swim in my Mermagica tail (This was before I got my Mermaid Kat fabric tail.) when I was at Stowe Mountain Ski resort in March. They have a heated outdoor pool and I had my tail on. It was nighttime. I had been swimming for five minutes, and a little girl and her dad showed up in the 10-foot window facing the pool in the upper hallway staring at me swimming around in my tail. I started doing fin slaps on the water, flips, etc. and soon after a few more people showed up in the window. At this point people were wondering what all the commotion was in the pool and they were all surprised when they saw a mermaid swimming in the pool. Within 30 minutes, the entire stretch of glass was full of people. That was a great day. Sadly my Mermagica tail is out of commission now, because i wore many holes in the skin, broke the strap on the monofin, (because I was not caring for it properly and rinsing it off after many many uses in the ocean and in chlorinated pools, oops.) and plus the monofin got too small. I'm currently saving for a Merbella tail, but I haven't gotten very far in my savings yet, maybe 200 to 300 bucks? I don't even know anymore haha. (P.S. I'm really liking the idea of this thread, and Dancing Fish, I really love the fins on your tail too!) :mermaid kiss: :D
I love this story. So much. <3

[Sabrina the Selkie]

Fantastic vid! Which one are you???

[Mermaid Mystery]

I like to call myself a "recreational mermaid" lol. This past weekend I was doing a shoot for project mermaids at a hotel and this little girl in one of the rooms sat at her window and watched. It was so cute! Since then I'm dying to get back in the water but the pool in the area closest to me just banned tails out of the blue so now the only pools I can swim in are hours away.

[Sabrina the Selkie]

Ouch. My Y has not yet jumped on this bandwagon, thankfully.

But yeah. When I swim at family swim times I get assaulted.

One little boy decided that he wanted to "keep the mermaid" and nearly tore my tail.

It was very cute, objectively thinking.

Another time I was tackled by like six kids and had to swim to the bottom of the pool to get away. They had wanted to see if I could breathe underwater.

Again, very cute, once I had the oxygen to think about it objectively.

[Amphoebe Stargazer]

My sweet Merman and I swim together at the Health Club of Concord, 7 Garvin Falls Road, Concord, NH every Friday night, and practically have the pool all to ourselves except for a couple lap swimmers. One lapper asked us how we do our dolphin kick because he couldn't get anywhere with it...so we let him try a fin and off he went. No luck getting him to transform into a Merman though. The staff at the pool love us, and the ladies of the water aerobics class that uses the pool right before us always compliment us. If we don't show up, the next week they ask me where we were. It's $12 for a guest to use the pool if you would like to join us sometime. It's winter, so the pool is pretty empty. When the summer gets hot, the might be more kids there. Last summer some junior high boys picked on us a bit. I just said, "Hi fella's, do you want to learn how to be a Merman?" It scared them off when they saw that I was not intimidated.

Have fun and be safe Mer-friends! :)

[Sabrina the Selkie]

Fuuun!

[Luna Dreamtide]

I love all these stories! I'm a casual mer for now too.
I haven't had too many cute encounters like that but my mersister, Sarina and I were called whales but some chubby preteens...
I've posed for photos and gotten hugs from some adorable tourist kids once though. That was very cute!

[Mer-Crazy]

Fantastic vid! Which one are you???
Blue Tail :) The purple one was Mermaid Kate Silverfin visiting from Perth. I did upload another one to my channel where it was more balanced between myself, her and Mermaid Kelda.

[MermaidMerida]

This thread makes me so happy... Im SO glad there are other casual/recreational mers out there <3 I hope to get my very first tail within the next few months :3

[Mermaid Wesley]

Yaaassss


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[Ariel-Starfish]

Ooh such a nice tread! :)

Here is a video from me and mermaid Naomi at a local meet up. :)

https://youtu.be/7iOtbc53-zI

[Mermaid Jaffa]

Last summer, I had taken my tail off and was just swimming around in my merfin. This little girl and her Mum came to the pool. I was in the Wave Pool and had it all to myself, quite rare considering summer time is when the local schools have their swimming carnivals, and there is nowhere to swim when that happens.

So I sees her staring and pointing at me, but she wasn't screaming. I fin slapped and "waved" at her with my fin, and when she got her Mum to turn around, I stopped and looked away. This went on for 10 mins until they entered the pool. Girl was about 4 or 5 yrs old. She was so rapt with it all. And I sat on the pool edge with her and flapped my fin in the water and got her to flap her legs. We played together for a while until she had to stop for lunch. Then I went back to swimming in the deep end.

20 mins later, girl is standing all dressed again, her Mum waiting by her side. She waved excitedly, I waved back and made a sad face.

Later, a lifeguard told me they had been waiting for me to pop back over so the girl could wave goodbye!

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Yep, the purple one in the video is me :) I squished my old fabric tail in my suitcase since I was travelling to Brisbane for other reasons and organised to swim with everyone, it was awesome!

[Indigo]

So glad this thread exists!!!!
I'm a casual, recreational mer, and I love making videos and doing photoshoots!

[Mermaid Alea]

I am so excited about this thread! I am a recreational mer as well. I am hoping this spring & summer I will be able to find more time to mermaid. I am also hoping to get some underwater photos/video now that I have a little camera with an underwater housing because I have been so inspired by all of the videos and photos of all of you mers.

Here is me making my dork face while swimming in Vortex Springs.
35948

So far Vortex has been my favorite place I have mermaided at. I stayed there with a group of friends for a weekend and one afternoon I was taking a girl I know to swim with me (she wants her own mermaid tail and I invited her swimming) and a bunch of people gathered on the dock to watch and from the crowd a little girl emerged and I swam up and sat on the dock stairs and let her pet my fluke. The adults in the crowd wanted to see how fast I could swim so I took off as fast as I could which was pretty fun. What I had really been trying to do on the trip was freak out scuba divers. They seemed so concentrated on diving that I wanted to surprise them (without getting in their way of course), but I think hardly any of them noticed when I was following them underwater. That and I think many of them didn't care whatsoever. :p

[mermanmike]

I'm sure I fall in this level. :P Sadly, I don't get many opportunities to swim, let alone chances to swim in my tail. Been itching to try some more at some point though!

[Mermaid Jaffa]

I am so excited about this thread! I am a recreational mer as well. I am hoping this spring & summer I will be able to find more time to mermaid. I am also hoping to get some underwater photos/video now that I have a little camera with an underwater housing because I have been so inspired by all of the videos and photos of all of you mers.

Here is me making my dork face while swimming in Vortex Springs.
35948


So far Vortex has been my favorite place I have mermaided at. I stayed there with a group of friends for a weekend and one afternoon I was taking a girl I know to swim with me (she wants her own mermaid tail and I invited her swimming) and a bunch of people gathered on the dock to watch and from the crowd a little girl emerged and I swam up and sat on the dock stairs and let her pet my fluke. The adults in the crowd wanted to see how fast I could swim so I took off as fast as I could which was pretty fun. What I had really been trying to do on the trip was freak out scuba divers. They seemed so concentrated on diving that I wanted to surprise them (without getting in their way of course), but I think hardly any of them noticed when I was following them underwater. That and I think many of them didn't care whatsoever. :p
Photo bomb each time the scuba divers take a photo.

[Merman Andrew]

This is a thread dedicated to adventures of amateur mermaids: pictures, tales of swimming in local pools, and whatever else strikes our fancy. We may lurk in the shadows of Mernetwork, and we may not have high ambitions of super mer-stardom, but we love to goof off in our tails!

Some of us even showed up at N.C. MerMania! So much fun. :)

35888

Firstly, I LOVE that this thread exists! Secondly, I have to know where did you get your tail from Dancing Fish?

[LouLouBelle]

Photo bomb each time the scuba divers take a photo.

Love it! [emoji23]
You could also get a set of vampire fangs and smile at them underwater...

Also, I love this thread! [emoji1]




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[Dancing Fish]

Firstly, I LOVE that this thread exists! Secondly, I have to know where did you get your tail from Dancing Fish?

I made it using Pearlie's method! And the kid's tail too. There's a thread somewhere out here on it, but I'm too lazy to link it. ;)

I'm so happy to see all the other hobby-mers coming out to chat! :)

[PearlieMae]

My tailmaking thread is pretty much decimated.

But I have named my XXL scales 'Dancing Fish Scales'! :D

[Mermaid Alea]

Love it! [emoji23]
You could also get a set of vampire fangs and smile at them underwater...

Also, I love this thread! [emoji1]

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Yesssss!!! Oh my gosh now I really want to do that. :D

Link for Dancing Fish's Tailmaking Topic: http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?10141-Two-tailed-project!-One-fabric-one-silicone

[The Magic Crafter]

I'm a recreational mer too! As you can see in the picture... I don't actually get to go out and swim as much as I'd like, so I just settle for flopping around on the ground and doing videos! :lol:

I did get to a pool in Lansing once though! Stayed at a hotel with my sister, to go visit her boyfriend, and the hotel HAD THE NICEST POOL (Warm, nice atmosphere, glass windows that let me see the lobby... oh so dreamy... <3 )! I swam for 7+ hours over the course of the trip. My sister's boyfriend was just telling me the other day that people are still talking about the random mermaid they saw there, and he keeps showing people the pictures! Hahahha! Oops!

But Oh my gosh... what is this I hear about vampire fangs!?!?! YEEESS! DO IT!

36024

(P.S.) This photo looks awful big to me. If it's too big, I can delete it, no problem! I hope it's okay? :sweat drop:

[Sabrina the Selkie]

It's big, but it's fine by me anyway.

Also, I have the magenta finfun too!

[mermanmike]

Think that's gonna be how I get my first chance to swim in my Fin Fun tail, gotta go on a trip and find a hotel with a pool. I rarely get opportunities to swim so my poor tails sit there in the closet waiting to get used.

[The Magic Crafter]

Sabrina: Oops! I hope the moderators don't mind! But I love mine to death! The colors are so vibrant!! <3

Merman Mike: Do it!! :D If you call ahead, you might even be able to find one that won't make you pay for a room. I think some will let you just pay for a pool pass, if you ask about it. And hey... you can always flop around on the floor too, right? XD

[Dancing Fish]

My tailmaking thread is pretty much decimated.

But I have named my XXL scales 'Dancing Fish Scales'! :D

:mermaid kiss:

[mermanmike]

Of course! Any chance to be a mer is a good chance! XD

[LouLouBelle]

I'm taking swimming lessons and my teacher lets me play with my fin at the end of each session. Last night I had great fun swimming through a hoop (with monofin) and picking up sinkers that the teacher had thrown from the shallow end towards the deep end. (She did get a bit of a reprimanding look from one of the pool attendants when she did that! [emoji38] ) I love those sort of lessons!


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[Mermaid Arabella]

Haha, sounds like a dolphin doing tricks! (OMG, that's totally what we all are......)

[Mermaid Lied]

In the summer of 2014 I decided that I wanted to take my tail to my local public lake. I was a little nervous at first thinking I was going to get a lot of negative reactions, but actually nobody really seemed to care which made me happy. It wasn't until a week later that I learned that they found a high level of E.coli in that lake. :jawdrop: I have never swam in it since......

[The Magic Crafter]

In the summer of 2014 I decided that I wanted to take my tail to my local public lake. I was a little nervous at first thinking I was going to get a lot of negative reactions, but actually nobody really seemed to care which made me happy. It wasn't until a week later that I learned that they found a high level of E.coli in that lake. :jawdrop: I have never swam in it since......


Oh my gosh! Yuuck! I hope you and your tail got a nice scrub-down afterwords! :sweat drop: Cool though, that you got to take it out for a bit!

[Dividedbyziro]

Oh hey! Casual mer thread! This is where I belong! Hi other casual mers! :D
Mermaid lied, I've had a similar situation, that I thought of bringing my tail to this beautiful lake, but ended up not being able to due to car space. I'm so happy I didn't, because
a, the mud all around the water was SUUUPER GROSS
b, a week later I see in the news that there's totally some kinda brain eating amoeba in the sand!! I'm so worried for all the kids who WERE out swimming. :(

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[Mermaid Nelly]

I'm a recreational mer too! As you can see in the picture... I don't actually get to go out and swim as much as I'd like, so I just settle for flopping around on the ground and doing videos! :lol:

I did get to a pool in Lansing once though! Stayed at a hotel with my sister, to go visit her boyfriend, and the hotel HAD THE NICEST POOL (Warm, nice atmosphere, glass windows that let me see the lobby... oh so dreamy... <3 )! I swam for 7+ hours over the course of the trip. My sister's boyfriend was just telling me the other day that people are still talking about the random mermaid they saw there, and he keeps showing people the pictures! Hahahha! Oops!

But Oh my gosh... what is this I hear about vampire fangs!?!?! YEEESS! DO IT!

36024

(P.S.) This photo looks awful big to me. If it's too big, I can delete it, no problem! I hope it's okay? :sweat drop:

Your tail is beautiful!!! You're beautiful!!! Love the pic [emoji5]

[The Magic Crafter]

Aww!! Why thank you, Mermaid Nelly! :hug:

[Fun123joker]

i wish i c0u1d g0 swiming m0re 0ften but swimming f0r fun is the best type 0f swiming

[Mermaid Lied]

Oh my gosh! Yuuck! I hope you and your tail got a nice scrub-down afterwords! :sweat drop: Cool though, that you got to take it out for a bit!

My tail probably got it's best cleaning session ever after I heard the news about the lake. I heard that the E.coli was caused by a near by dairy farm and something to do with the cow's feces going down a stream or something like that. I was just happy that I didn't get sick.

[Mermaid Lied]

Oh hey! Casual mer thread! This is where I belong! Hi other casual mers! :D
Mermaid lied, I've had a similar situation, that I thought of bringing my tail to this beautiful lake, but ended up not being able to due to car space. I'm so happy I didn't, because
a, the mud all around the water was SUUUPER GROSS
b, a week later I see in the news that there's totally some kinda brain eating amoeba in the sand!! I'm so worried for all the kids who WERE out swimming. :(

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Oh, yikes! Thank goodness luck was on your side! Those poor kids!

[Dividedbyziro]

I haven't heard of any mass deaths of kids since then, so in theory they're all okay.

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[mermanRoman117]

Oh, yikes! Thank goodness luck was on your side! Those poor kids!

At least your ok that's what's important


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[BubbleNeon]

Totally off subject, but I have a question for all of you guys.

My friend and I are really into mermaids, and we want to get our own mermaids tails, but we struggle.

I'm a little uncomfortable swimming in public with a tail. Just thinking about it makes me super nervous. I thought having a friend to mermaid with me would help, but she is so busy during "Swimming Season" that I would be alone most of the time.

Do you guys ever get nervous, and how can I just Shia Leobouf and just do it? :(

[Mermaid Jaffa]

Totally off subject, but I have a question for all of you guys.

My friend and I are really into mermaids, and we want to get our own mermaids tails, but we struggle.

I'm a little uncomfortable swimming in public with a tail. Just thinking about it makes me super nervous. I thought having a friend to mermaid with me would help, but she is so busy during "Swimming Season" that I would be alone most of the time.

Do you guys ever get nervous, and how can I just Shia Leobouf and just do it? :(
Ya know, I had the same exact problem when I first started mermaid swimming. Whenever I got to the pool, I'd hide in a corner to do my "swims". Granted then I didn't have any strength so corner swimming was more suited for me. All everyone ever saw of me, including the lifeguards, were a ton of splashing and a lot of catching my breath! Months later, I decided one day at the pool, stuff it, I'm hogging the whole lane! Then a year later after I'd move house, I started wearing tails because this pool is much bigger and deeper. Its a proper swimming centre as opposed to a club pool.

After awhile, you'll get used to it, have compliments, and even kids swimming along with you. Don't ever let your inhibitions get in the way of having fun. Who cares what people think as long as you're not getting in their way, or messing up the lanes or even chasing after kids. The latter, I just do my thing which is swimming, if the kids are interested they'll swim TO me.

[Dividedbyziro]

Nothing is off topic here<3
Think of the best and worst possible reactions for you, then rationalize how likely those scenarios are to happen!

Personally, I'm terrified about getting in trouble. Cops being called, sudden "pool rules", running into a nutria, ect.

An ok reaction is no one caring and me being left alone to swim.

But I love making people smile and having pictures taken. Especially when people get super excited, or I inspire others. My favourite thing is a shout of delight of "OH MY GOD A MERMAID"
yeah, technically I'm a merman, but I really don't care. I'm feminine and it doesn't bother me. Im not usually so extroverted, but man. There's just something about going swimming that makes me super outgoing and friendly.

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[Mermaid Keena]

http://mernetwork.com/index/attachment.php?attachmentid=36133&stc=1 this is my little sis (on the right) and myself practicing our "Mermaid Shelfies" =D

Below is from Treasure Hunting at our local "reefy" beach! <3 <3
36140 36141 36142 36143

[Dividedbyziro]

Awesome!

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[BubbleNeon]

I think a lot of it has to do with age.

I feel like it's more normal for an adult, rather than a teenager. I have no idea why either.

Ugh, I struggle so much though. I wish I could just throw myself in the pool, but all of it just makes me so nervous.

Teenagers are "Too Old" to do it, but Adults "know what they are doing, and are having fun."

Also Keena, Love those "Shelfies"!

[Dividedbyziro]

I'm a teenager

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[Dividedbyziro]

you wouldn't happen to live in Oregon, do you?

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[BubbleNeon]

I'm a teenager

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And no one gives you problems?! I feel like where I live everyone expects teenagers to be super "mature"/Boring

[Dividedbyziro]

Not really. A few have, but then I just smile because I'm having more fun than them and they're just afraid to admit it. ;)

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[Mermaid Jaffa]

I think a lot of it has to do with age.

I feel like it's more normal for an adult, rather than a teenager. I have no idea why either.

Ugh, I struggle so much though. I wish I could just throw myself in the pool, but all of it just makes me so nervous.

Teenagers are "Too Old" to do it, but Adults "know what they are doing, and are having fun."

Also Keena, Love those "Shelfies"!

I am an adult and I didn't know what I was doing!!! My memory is pretty bad. I watched youtube vids but by the time, I get to the pool, I can't remember how the trick goes!

[PearlieMae]

Not really. A few have, but then I just smile because I'm having more fun than them and they're just afraid to admit it. ;)

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Jaffa's right, and your attitude is great! I'm way older than most here, and if you want advice from an Old, life is short, and in the end, you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the ones you did.

Own it! Be fierce! You're MER!
:mermaid kiss:

[Merman Dan]

This is a thread dedicated to adventures of amateur mermaids... Some of us even showed up at N.C. MerMania! So much fun.

That was the entire premise of NC Mer-Mania. Greensboro has a fun pool and I wanted to share it with my friends. :)

This was Tom, Shannon, and me just goofing around with a GoPro while plans were still being made:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bmDFgh13Zk

[Mermaid Alea]

Totally off subject, but I have a question for all of you guys.

My friend and I are really into mermaids, and we want to get our own mermaids tails, but we struggle.

I'm a little uncomfortable swimming in public with a tail. Just thinking about it makes me super nervous. I thought having a friend to mermaid with me would help, but she is so busy during "Swimming Season" that I would be alone most of the time.

Do you guys ever get nervous, and how can I just Shia Leobouf and just do it? :(

Just go for it. Many people don't even seem to notice and the few that say something usually have a nice comment. I think many of us are nervous at first, but once you take that first swim in public you will see that it isn't really that bad.

I agree with Dividedbyziro - There is something about swimming around with a tail on that brings out something new in your personality. I feel more outgoing when I am a mermaid. I am not a big fan of kids, but when I am a mermaid I am more than happy to talk to curious kids and let them pet my tail.

It is so fun swimming as a mermaid that it outweighs the worry of what people will think or say. At least for me it does. I get worried before I put my tail on, but once I have it on and I am swimming in the water it is all good!

[Dividedbyziro]

I really wanna know where our shymer is so we can get them with friends!

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[Calizaire]

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did so. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."Mark Twain

I'm 40 (next month) and I don't give a rat's ass what anyone thinks about me playing mermaid. It makes me happy and it makes other people happy. Life's too short to worry about restricting your own joy. :)

[Mermaid Alea]

Calizaire you are going to be 40? :jawdrop: I thought at most you were in your 20's!

[Calizaire]

Calizaire you are going to be 40? :jawdrop: I thought at most you were in your 20's!

Haha! Thank you! Yes, the big 4-0 is right around the corner. People usually guess me as younger, usually late 20's.
Happiness keeps you young! ;)

[Mermaid Jaffa]

Calizaire you are going to be 40? :jawdrop: I thought at most you were in your 20's!

Nope. I'll be 46 next yr.

[Merman Andrew]

Totally off subject, but I have a question for all of you guys.

My friend and I are really into mermaids, and we want to get our own mermaids tails, but we struggle.

I'm a little uncomfortable swimming in public with a tail. Just thinking about it makes me super nervous. I thought having a friend to mermaid with me would help, but she is so busy during "Swimming Season" that I would be alone most of the time.

Do you guys ever get nervous, and how can I just Shia Leobouf and just do it? :(
If you are feeling nervous it definitely helps for your first swim to have a friend accompany you, or try to find some other mers in your area and get them to join you (put a shout out in the appropriate pod group here on mernetwork). Once you have broken the ice so to speak, you will find it much easier to go on your own and will be less self conscious when you know that there is nothing to worry about. Of course it's better and more fun if you can swim with friends or other mers, but as you say that is not always possible.

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[Mermaid Jaffa]

Yep. Throw the rule book and your inhibitions out the window. You don't need them to have fun.

[Dancing Fish]

Here's how I got the guts to do publicly swim in a tail: I brought my daughter. You can get away doing anything if you're doing it with a little kid. ;) But however you get there, in the end you'll be glad you did!

[Mermaid Lied]

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did so. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

Mark Twain

I'm 40 (next month) and I don't give a rat's ass what anyone thinks about me playing mermaid. It makes me happy and it makes other people happy. Life's too short to worry about restricting your own joy. :)

Holy cow, that's amazing! I would of put you in your early 20's! Way to go for doing what makes you happy and not worry about what other people think, by the way. :)

[Mermaid Lied]

At least your ok that's what's important


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Oh, yes, definitely!

[BubbleNeon]

:blush:
I'm dying. You guys are all so kind. TBH Just kinda acknowledging the problem really helped!

Thank you guys!

[MerChemi]

@BubbleNeon
I'm in the same boat as you. I've had my tail lying in my closet for at least a month now and the weather is great but I'm terrified to go for my first swim.
Especially with all the tail bans going around, I think I'm scared of people judging me and by extension the rest of the community. Also social anxiety, that plays a big part. Like I know I should just jump in the deep end and do it, but it's so much harder said than done!

[Dancing Fish]

I have a really close relationship with our local pool manager, and have always been honest about the tail bans and safety concerns. It helps I think that we were tailswimming before it started getting big enough to ban. She may just be a cool lady too. Honestly the biggest reactions I get are positive or bemused. Only a few eye rolls now and then. Social anxiety's like any other anxiety-- it decreases with exposure! I find it far more awkward when everyone wants to try on the tail too!

ETA people wanting to try on the costume was true when I was a belly dancer, too. I'd come in after a show, literally dripping with sweat, and some girl would beg me to try it on. Eeeeeeeew!!

[Merman Andrew]

@BubbleNeon
I'm in the same boat as you. I've had my tail lying in my closet for at least a month now and the weather is great but I'm terrified to go for my first swim.
Especially with all the tail bans going around, I think I'm scared of people judging me and by extension the rest of the community. Also social anxiety, that plays a big part. Like I know I should just jump in the deep end and do it, but it's so much harder said than done!

MerChemi! We have a pod in Melbourne, come and join us!! We meet every Wednesday evening at a Waves Lesuire Centre in Highett! They are totally cool with Mers and if you come swimming with us other mers you will feel totally at home!

[BubbleNeon]

@BubbleNeon
I'm in the same boat as you. I've had my tail lying in my closet for at least a month now and the weather is great but I'm terrified to go for my first swim.
Especially with all the tail bans going around, I think I'm scared of people judging me and by extension the rest of the community. Also social anxiety, that plays a big part. Like I know I should just jump in the deep end and do it, but it's so much harder said than done!
I know, I hope that somehow I can just throw myself in. I think if I get a couple a friends to do it with me, it will help. [emoji17]

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[BubbleNeon]

I find it far more awkward when everyone wants to try on the tail!


Do they not understand that it might not fit, or ruin the tail?[emoji33]

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[mermanmike]

I've swam in a pool for a couple years with a local friend who was fine with me wearing a mertail. One time, I was up at his parents lake house swimming around with some friends of ours. At random, his father's friends came over unannounced. For some reason I froze and was trying to pose myself where they couldn't see I was in a tail. They dove in and swam around, then one of them swam up to me and looked down, then asked "are you wearing a mermaid tail?" They wanted to see me swim around in it and I did.

Of course, this ended up being the last time I've been in a pool with my tail. Think my friend saw me get a bit nervous about it. I was a bit at the time, but now that I've been on these forums for a while, I wouldn't care if that incident happens again. I'd just keep swimming like I normally do.

[Dividedbyziro]

Mind if I ask why you were so embarrassed at the time?

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[mermanmike]

Mind if I ask why you were so embarrassed at the time?

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Probably because I can be shy about things at the time. Here I thought I was only showing an inner circle of friends my mertail and then suddenly random strangers showed up.

[Merman Andrew]

Probably because I can be shy about things at the time. Here I thought I was only showing an inner circle of friends my mertail and then suddenly random strangers showed up.

I sense you feel ashamed or embarrassed for others to see you in a tail. Be proud of being a mer, and don't worry what other people think! It sounds like they weren't even worried about your tail but you started to worry before they even commented.

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[PearlieMae]

When you start to feel shy, ask yourself...WWRDJD?

http://replygif.net/i/231.gif

[mermanmike]

I sense you feel ashamed or embarrassed for others to see you in a tail. Be proud of being a mer, and don't worry what other people think! It sounds like they weren't even worried about your tail but you started to worry before they even commented.

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It's the way I've always been, I'm afraid. With every hobby I've been into, I slowly roll myself out and eventually it gets out there for everybody to see. Back then, I didn't have a forum like this one to hear from other mers and almost felt like one of the few mermen out there so it probably seemed odd in the back of my mind that I was doing this. If that situation happens again, I guarantee that result won't happen again. I'll just keep swimming around! :)

[BubbleNeon]

About how much fabric would you need if you're making a tail? I heard something like 2-3 yards?

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[Merman Andrew]

About how much fabric would you need if you're making a tail? I heard something like 2-3 yards?

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Well it's however much fabric length would be needed to reach from your hips to about a foot or so past the tip of your feet (if you point your toes). That's for the fluke obviously. So yea about 2 yards should be OK, unless you're unusually tall.

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[Luna Dreamtide]

Here's my little sisters and I at the resort pool we're staying at. We met a bunch people that were really interested in our fins including two girls who asked to try mine on.
(Pink sister was in fabric tail, the littlest one and I are just in our Merfins)
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160329/6b13cdc035ae2d55cdacc28112cad9ac.jpg

[MermaidRainne]

We had a cute encounter today ^.^
Went to a local resort to swim in their pool and it turned out there was a birthday girl swimming for her party who just loves mermaids! So they were super excited when I got into the pool and started swimming. And another little girl walked by and her eyes went all wide and she hopped in the pool and asked her mum if there were any other mermaids around and got super excited when I smiled and waved at her.
definitely made the birthday girl's day too :)

[Merman Andrew]

Interestingly as a merman I don't seem to get very much response from kids when they see my tail. There is the occasional comment but mostly it's the adults who smile and say something to me!

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[The Magic Crafter]

So... ummm... It's been snowing non-stop... the lake is freezing, and there's no pool within walking distance... :cry:Sooooo.... I created a video... kinda? It was a bit of an accident though, I will admit, as the ranting came after the filming of a different video.... but I made it into it's own video anyways. :p https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRteaUv6-DA

Anyone else getting this weather? What do the rest of you do when you are bored silly? My mom's now painting the closet that this was filmed in... so now I have absolutely no clue what to do with myself! XD

Recreational Mers, UNITE! Hahahaha!

[mermanmike]

That was really clever! I'm in the same boat here where the weather keeps flip flopping between wintery conditions and sunny conditions.

[The Magic Crafter]

Thanks Merman Mike! But I know, right!?!? Maybe if we get enough space heaters....:lol:

[Merman Andrew]

So... ummm... It's been snowing non-stop... the lake is freezing, and there's no pool within walking distance... :cry:Sooooo.... I created a video... kinda? It was a bit of an accident though, I will admit, as the ranting came after the filming of a different video.... but I made it into it's own video anyways. [emoji14]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRteaUv6-DA

Anyone else getting this weather? What do the rest of you do when you are bored silly? My mom's now painting the closet that this was filmed in... so now I have absolutely no clue what to do with myself! XD

Recreational Mers, UNITE! Hahahaha!

Watching this video I felt very sad for you! Here in Australia we don't have the snow or the the winter problem, we have a different problem, pool bans! So I totally get what you are saying about landlocked mermaids and how hard it is not to have a nearby pool to swim at!

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[Dividedbyziro]

Guysguysguys i was gifted one of the exciting cozy knitted fabric tails for my brithday! The kind for indoor lounging? The ultimate in casual mermaiding, right? I'm so excited about it, but the fluke needs to be bigger. Its almost comically small. Like the leggys on a blue tongued skink.
Luckily sewing will fix the problem. Any design ideas?

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[Coral Corey]

I've swam in a pool for a couple years with a local friend who was fine with me wearing a mertail. One time, I was up at his parents lake house swimming around with some friends of ours. At random, his father's friends came over unannounced. For some reason I froze and was trying to pose myself where they couldn't see I was in a tail. They dove in and swam around, then one of them swam up to me and looked down, then asked "are you wearing a mermaid tail?" They wanted to see me swim around in it and I did.

Of course, this ended up being the last time I've been in a pool with my tail. Think my friend saw me get a bit nervous about it. I was a bit at the time, but now that I've been on these forums for a while, I wouldn't care if that incident happens again. I'd just keep swimming like I normally do.Just remember that being you is a good thing..... especially if you are a mermaid lol. :)

[mermanmike]

Just remember that being you is a good thing..... especially if you are a mermaid lol. :)

I'm definitly way over that now. Just last month, I finally got to take my new tail for a swim at a convention I was at. The pool was located where people in the back of the lobby could see me swim around. XD

[Sabrina the Selkie]

Well that's good!

Anyway. I am a graduating senior in HS, so, I'm planning on wearing my tail on the last day of school. I will let you all know how it goes.

[Coral Corey]

I'm definitly way over that now. Just last month, I finally got to take my new tail for a swim at a convention I was at. The pool was located where people in the back of the lobby could see me swim around. XDThat's awesome!

[Nerdmaid Faith]

Well that's good!

Anyway. I am a graduating senior in HS, so, I'm planning on wearing my tail on the last day of school. I will let you all know how it goes.
Haha amazing! I should do that

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[MermaidSasha]

I just had a terrific encounter yesterday! My friend(whom I've turned into a mermaid as well lol) and I were at her apartments, working out at the gym. We saw that the pools there were cleaned out so we went and asked the front desk if they were open, which they were. Our next question is if they allowed tails and they did!!!

We immediately rushed to her apartment and grabbed out tails and hopped in the water. We swam around a bit, it was a lot of fun and our first swim for 2016. We worked on everything since we haven't had our tails very long.... Anyway, I was splashing around and I saw this girl and her father approach the pool. The little girl was grinning ear to ear and her father asked if he could take a picture. I said sure and asked if the girl wanted to sit next to me for the picture. She was extremely excited and they both left with smiles on their faces. That was the happiest moment of my mer life ^.^

I'm the one in the green tail. My friend is the one in the blue
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[Kait]

Yay for finding a pool Mermaid Ava! It can certainly be a challenge in recent times.

[Merman Andrew]

I just had a terrific encounter yesterday! My friend(whom I've turned into a mermaid as well lol) and I were at her apartments, working out at the gym. We saw that the pools there were cleaned out so we went and asked the front desk if they were open, which they were. Our next question is if they allowed tails and they did!!!

We immediately rushed to her apartment and grabbed out tails and hopped in the water. We swam around a bit, it was a lot of fun and our first swim for 2016. We worked on everything since we haven't had our tails very long.... Anyway, I was splashing around and I saw this girl and her father approach the pool. The little girl was grinning ear to ear and her father asked if he could take a picture. I said sure and asked if the girl wanted to sit next to me for the picture. She was extremely excited and they both left with smiles on their faces. That was the happiest moment of my mer life ^.^

I'm the one in the green tail. My friend is the one in the blue
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Nice! You might have just created another Mermaid! What brand tails are those?

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[Merman Andrew]

So I think the following photo fits in with the theme of 'non professional mermaids goofing off' - Here is myself and TheMermanDan at the pool on Saturday having a bit of fun! http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160509/8ec0c6bb4d8dd787436b337948bd4b13.jpg

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[MermaidSasha]

Yay for finding a pool Mermaid Ava! It can certainly be a challenge in recent times.

Indeed it can. I clapped when the lady in the office said we could swim in our tails lol. Also, not sure why my friend's picture went sideways. I was the one that bought her the tail for Christmas xD

[MermaidSasha]

So I think the following photo fits in with the theme of 'non professional mermaids goofing off' - Here is myself and TheMermanDan at the pool on Saturday having a bit of fun! http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160509/8ec0c6bb4d8dd787436b337948bd4b13.jpg

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Oh my Gosh!! Best picture ever lol! I really like your tails. What brand are they?

And to answer your question, I bought mine and hers from The2Tails.

[Merman Andrew]

Oh my Gosh!! Best picture ever lol! I really like your tails. What brand are they?

And to answer your question, I bought mine and hers from The2Tails.
Both FinFun! And thanks! :)

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[Mermaid Jaffa]

Neat pics mers! :cool:

I've found mermaiding also gives you skills you can use in the workplace and get over some hinderances, like if you have trouble talking to customers, or are scared to approach people, stuff like that. You've already practiced it with swimming in your tail, and talking to people of all ages. So that you're not as fearful of random strangers as you once was. Well for me anyways, I now enjoy talking to people and have even done a customer service course to help me get a job in that industry.

[Echidna]

I love how Merman Dan pulls off to look that butch in a pink/purple tail lol.

[MermaidSasha]

Both FinFun! And thanks! :)

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Thank you :) Might have to get a Fin Fun one next

[Mermaid Alea]

I am moving to a house on the bay with my family. We have been going back and forth from both houses moving stuff in so I took my tail with me over to the new house so that I could go for a swim. The water was nice and calm and from the dock it looked clear. I walked down to the shore and it was clear when I was looking out from the beach. Unfortunately when I was in my tail and level with the water, it was a lot harder to see the random obstacles in the water (I forgot my goggles). After a lot of eyeing the water I determined where I could swim without hitting something, so I went for it but eventually I ran into a stump which really startled me so I stayed in the shallow water after that. When winter comes and the bay gets really clear and shallow we will most likely move a bunch of the logs out of the way so that I can swim without fear of bumping into something. On the plus side I had fun watching little fish trying to figure out if I was dangerous or not when I was being very still in the shallows. Most of them were too afraid to swim over my tail and they instead opted to swim all the way around very quickly haha.

[Dividedbyziro]

Yesterday I went with my pod to a dive-in movie. It was super awesome but the chlorinated the bjeezus out of the water. Probably in preparation of how many small children might be there, and knowing they have a tendency to not run to the bathroom. Ewww. Anyway, this meant i couldnt bear to have my eyes open in the water. (Id neglected to bring any goggles) and so when trying to dart to the side of the pool i ended up swimming full speed into a wall! It made a pretty cool smack sound, i must say. Luckily i got checked out immediately and was given a clean bill of health, but this morning i woke up to find a very cartoonish lump on my head. Note to self: ALWAYS HAVE GOGGLES. or put my arms in front of me....

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[Dancing Fish]

Ouch! Glad you're all right. And I'm totally a goggle-wearing mer too- both because of chlorine and because I'm blind as a bat without my contacts. There's five pairs in my pool bag for me and the kid, because her friends always forget theirs.

[Dividedbyziro]

Oh do you have perscription goggles? Ive heard those to be pretty expensive! I cant imagine them not being worth it though. It would suck to go swimming and have to blindly dive for your glasses if they'd fallen off.

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[Sunset Nereid]

I'm still trying to find out where to go to go swimming somewhere in public. Working from 1 pm to 9 pm makes it difficult to go anywhere to swim. Some time soon, I hope! Especially now that I'm getting a second tail (It should be here by Monday! Eee! I'm excited!)

I have a four foot pool in the backyard and that's where I'm practicing atm. I'm living with my parents, so it's like every night for 30 minutes I'm in the pool practicing. I've only been doing this for roughly two weeks. Any tips or tricks on how to stay under the water without floating up? I swear my bum is a bubble! lol.

[Dividedbyziro]

Exhaling all of the air out of my lungs generally does it for me. Another is just knowing how to angle yourself so you sink. But i think accidentally floating is way better than accidentally sinking. :X especially when strapped into a tail!!

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[Sunset Nereid]

Exhaling all of the air out of my lungs generally does it for me. Another is just knowing how to angle yourself so you sink. But i think accidentally floating is way better than accidentally sinking. :X especially when strapped into a tail!!

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Thank you for the tip! I've been doing that more and more. I've got moderate to severe asthma so it's something that I'd have to really focus on and build up to to stay underwater for any length of time. Yes, I'm doing this safely - my mom's a respiratory therapist. If I ever have an issue, I bring it to her. If I can't ever go underwater for longer amounts of time, it's not like it'll be a life crushing experience. I can be a top dwelling mermaid.

[Dividedbyziro]

Best of luck!<3

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[Mermaid Jaffa]

Oh do you have perscription goggles? Ive heard those to be pretty expensive! I cant imagine them not being worth it though. It would suck to go swimming and have to blindly dive for your glasses if they'd fallen off.

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I got mine from a local brand. Its a general style with two eye cups. Pretty dorky looking but at least I can see.

[Merman Andrew]

I'm still trying to find out where to go to go swimming somewhere in public. Working from 1 pm to 9 pm makes it difficult to go anywhere to swim. Some time soon, I hope! Especially now that I'm getting a second tail (It should be here by Monday! Eee! I'm excited!)

Yay! What brand tail is it? Bummer about the work situation, could you find time to swim before work, since most pools open early?


I have a four foot pool in the backyard and that's where I'm practicing atm. I'm living with my parents, so it's like every night for 30 minutes I'm in the pool practicing. I've only been doing this for roughly two weeks. Any tips or tricks on how to stay under the water without floating up? I swear my bum is a bubble! lol.

Whenever I go for a swim in the pool I'll do a duck dive first (head down, bum up and dive down!) so I can swim along the bottom of the pool or as close to the bottom as I can get. I find that once I get swimming with my tail I end up finding a natural stroke that keeps me swimming at the same depth. I feel like the deeper you go the easier it is stay deep, I think due to the increased pressure, so that's probably why I naturally prefer to swim along the bottom throughout my swim. You may also just be naturally buoyant or it could even be your tail that is making you more buoyant if it is made from Neoprene.

Most free divers use weight belts to stay neutrally buoyant, and some even use neck weights which is kind of like a giant necklace made out of lead balls encased in waterproof tape. Whilst it does feel awesome swimming along at the same depth without having to make any effort to stop from rising up, I think I'm going to try to master being able to swim without a weight belt, so I look more natural. Though when I get to making my neoprene/lycra hybrid tail I might have to invest in some weights.

[Echidna]

The shallower the water, the harder to stay down.
If you are not a sinker, you might want to experiment with weights.

Be careful with exhale dives tho.
While nothing should happen in such a shallow pool, if you go deeper while on exhale, you can squeeze your lungs.

[Merman Dan]

I'm still trying to find out where to go to go swimming somewhere in public.

The local aquatic center opens at 5am and closes at 8pm. I wish they'd have a midnight swim now and again. Granted, they do host swim meets so you never know when you'll end up on social media. ;)
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[Sabrina the Selkie]

That is kinda fantastic, Dan.

[Sunset Nereid]

Leomar - The first tail is from Mermaker which is a taobao brand. It's a little on the cheap side. Second tail coming on Monday is from Suntails. I can't wait to start swimming with at least the monofin!
The only pools close to me are about a 30 minute drive from my home. And work is further away. I think I can go to the pools on my day off and keep just exercising at home for the time being.

Thank so much, Echidna, Leomar for the tips. I just have to be careful with this sort of thing due to my asthma and taking in air. I will keep getting stronger and go from there when more muscle and stamina is gained. This is an awesome way to get in shape imo.

[Sunset Nereid]

That is amazing, Dan!!!

[Mermaid Alea]

Yesterday I finally got to swim with another mer! I met up with Merman Marlin and we swam at Ponce De Leon Springs. Marlin's girlfriend and my boyfriend were there as well. Marlin also brought one of his friends to show his friend his FINtastic hobby. :D

Marlin has a Finfolk tail and I hadn't seen a silicone tail in person before, so I of course asked him if I could touch it lol. To be honest his tail is so much more breathtaking in person, especially in the water, and Marlin was super nice about letting me touch the tail and ask questions. The seams were very well done and he showed me where Finfolk had to add extra silicone to the back because when he first bought it, he said it was too low in the back so he sent it back and they did a super amazing job adding on to it. You couldn't tell until he pointed it out and showed you the interior of the tail. He also let me feel how heavy the fluke is.

When we got into the spring and started putting our tails on, I was able to see how long it takes to put a silicone tail on. I just about had my fabric tail fully on and Marlin still had a good bit of his tail to get on. He used coconut oil to get the tail on. Honestly though, while it did take him longer to get his tail on versus my fabric tail, I thought he was very fast. It helped that his girlfriend was there to help him pull the tail up but really I thought he did a great job getting in quickly.

Then we took off swimming and it was awesome to be able to see another mer in the water and see their fluke flowing. Marlin did some good tail slaps which was also awesome to see.

Unfortunately I found out that I probably shouldn't bring my boyfriend to another meetup. He didn't talk much and he sat out on a picnic table looking at his phone most of the time. :( Then at one point he wandered off and I had to go find him.

The day basically built up to one of my favorite moments of the whole trip which was when Marlin let me put on his silicone tail for some photos. It was weird because I couldn't tell where the foot pockets were (I had to feel for them with my feet). Marlin and his girlfriend were helping me and they told me to keep pushing my feet down. I am pretty sure I did get into the foot pockets eventually, but we ended pulling the tail down so that my feet were not in the pockets because since the tail did not fit me it was wrinkled so we pulled it down to get the wrinkles out. Marlin's girlfriend had to pick me up and put me on the steps for photos. Since my feet were no longer in the pockets they had to position the fluke for me. I can't wait to get the photos and show them! Marlin is going to email them to me. After the photos it was really funny because they decided that since the tail is big on me they could just pull me out of it. So I had one hand grabbing onto the railing and the other holding onto my swimsuit bottoms while they were pulling at the tail trying to get it off. They got it off and it must have been really funny to watch. I was laughing. :p

Thanks sooo much Marlin! :highfive: I can't wait to swim with you again!

Even though I finally got to see a silicone tail and wear it, I still love my fabric tail to bits and I can't wait to make more fabric tails in the future!

[vicemage]

This definitely looks like the place for me! I'm casually swimming for fun and fitness in my apartment's swimming pool (honestly, the fantastic pool was a big selling point on picking this apartment over the other top contenders), and it's great reading about other people's experiences with swimming for fun!

I was pretty nervous about swimming around other people at first, myself (I even packed it in and walked back to my apartment once because there were other people in the pool), but now I'm going down whether or not someone else is there and just asking if I can use the side of the pool for laps. Everyone's been very nice about letting me have one edge, and the kids generally get really excited as soon as they see me pull my tail out of its bag! There's even a couple of people here who're looking to buy them now that they've seen them in action, one mom looking for her daughter, and the other the wife of one of the office managers!

[Dividedbyziro]

This definitely looks like the place for me! I'm casually swimming for fun and fitness in my apartment's swimming pool (honestly, the fantastic pool was a big selling point on picking this apartment over the other top contenders), and it's great reading about other people's experiences with swimming for fun!

I was pretty nervous about swimming around other people at first, myself (I even packed it in and walked back to my apartment once because there were other people in the pool), but now I'm going down whether or not someone else is there and just asking if I can use the side of the pool for laps. Everyone's been very nice about letting me have one edge, and the kids generally get really excited as soon as they see me pull my tail out of its bag! There's even a couple of people here who're looking to buy them now that they've seen them in action, one mom looking for her daughter, and the other the wife of one of the office managers!
Nice! I love seeing these stories! Kudos to you for getting out there and doing your thing!<3 mind telling us about your tail? What kind, what monofin, ectect. :D

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[vicemage]

Nice! I love seeing these stories! Kudos to you for getting out there and doing your thing!<3 mind telling us about your tail? What kind, what monofin, ectect. :D

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It took some guts the first time, but it's getting easier now! :D Right now I'm using a Swimtails "Sea Dragon" tail with a Finis Aquarius monofin, which has lost a ton of glitter already so it looks a lot more worn out than it is. The nice thing is that I don't feel bad about just getting in and using it, because it already looks rough, and when people see me swimming they generally don't notice all the patches where the foil's worn away on it.

I've since fallen in love with the designs from SunTails, and I'm planning to order one whenever I can make up my mind on which one to get. I'll probably end up with multiple skins from them, honestly!

[Merman Andrew]

It took some guts the first time, but it's getting easier now! :D Right now I'm using a Swimtails "Sea Dragon" tail with a Finis Aquarius monofin, which has lost a ton of glitter already so it looks a lot more worn out than it is. The nice thing is that I don't feel bad about just getting in and using it, because it already looks rough, and when people see me swimming they generally don't notice all the patches where the foil's worn away on it.

I've since fallen in love with the designs from SunTails, and I'm planning to order one whenever I can make up my mind on which one to get. I'll probably end up with multiple skins from them, honestly!
I was seriously considering getting that sea dragon design, do you mind sharing the pics of the wear so I can get an idea of how much the wear is an issue? And how many swims it took to wear down?

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[mermanmike]

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Hope this posts right but up at a friends lake house for a party and I had to take advantage of their pool!


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[BubbleNeon]

Just swam for the first time in my monofin!! I am so incredibly happy. I look a little rough, but hopefully I'll get more graceful. [emoji7] [emoji7] https://vimeo.com/173824594

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[mermanmike]

Looking good! And don't worry... I'm far from graceful myself. I tell that to everybody before they watch me swim in mine. XD

[BubbleNeon]

Looking good! And don't worry... I'm far from graceful myself. I tell that to everybody before they watch me swim in mine. XD
Haha we'll get there! I got some awesome surface slaps in, those were good distractions from the ungracefulness. [emoji38]

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[Dividedbyziro]

AHHHH SO PROUD GO MAKE YOUR TAIL, BUBBLENEON

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[Mermaid Arabella]

I brought my tail to a group cosplay photoshoot at a creek today so real pictures coming soon, but here's a shellfie! ;)
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Edit: making picture smaller now that I'm on a computer
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[Sabrina the Selkie]

Pretty!

[Dividedbyziro]

About to take the new metal tail on its first swim. Cheers to me not dying. Will update soon.
Note its not fully finished, but im getting impatient and also everyones criticism and warnings of doom are starting to get to me. So if this flops, imma toss in the towel.
Or drown. Who knows.

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[PearlieMae]

As the quote in my signature says:

"Please don't fucking drown."

[Dividedbyziro]

Will do my best. Swim time

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[Dividedbyziro]

I DIDN'T DROWN

My fluke accidentally did fall off at one point because i'd only safety pinned it instead of actually sewing it. But i discovered that I can easily swim in the "oh so heavy" tail without it! HA! HA HA HA I DID IT
However i did pop a few seams at one point doing a strange flop in order to avoid getting a bug on my face. But still! Everything works and i wont drown! Also it looks prettier than i could have possibly imagined when the sunlight hits it. Pics will be uploaded when the final thing is done, so keep your fins on, im inspired again! :D

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[Sabrina the Selkie]

I'm glad it was okay!

[Merman Andrew]

I DIDN'T DROWN

My fluke accidentally did fall off at one point because i'd only safety pinned it instead of actually sewing it. But i discovered that I can easily swim in the "oh so heavy" tail without it! HA! HA HA HA I DID IT
However i did pop a few seams at one point doing a strange flop in order to avoid getting a bug on my face. But still! Everything works and i wont drown! Also it looks prettier than i could have possibly imagined when the sunlight hits it. Pics will be uploaded when the final thing is done, so keep your fins on, im inspired again! :D

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I knew you wouldn't drown! Your tail sounds like it's pretty light, and I think the bouyancy is going to be more determined by the underlay material you used in your tail.

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[Mermaid Livou]

.....goof goof ^^
So I tried first time my tail in april in a small spa near town, water was like 120 cm deep; I swim in it second time yesterday in our pool wich is 160 cm deep, still not drown :D slowly slowly getting into deeper blues :)
So lets see the pic "when oxigen shortage hits"
38047

and a relativly good pic too:
38048

[Dividedbyziro]

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160718/075c1a458185c2a91fcde5108fa0f057.jpg
Tease tease

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[mermanmike]

Got a chance to do another swim while I was at a convention in Columbus this past weekend. Did it early in the morning as it was mostly quiet, just a few people hanging around. Nobody seem to mind me swimming around in a mertail. Although, one of my roommates pointed out somebody on Facebook caught a photo of me in a relax position with the tail on in the pool. Thought I got away unnoticed, guess I was wrong!

[kirstenR]

This is so fun guys! I hope to join you. If only I live near. Anyway, I really want to try professional mermaid swimming someday.


P.S. Just want to share my video swimming in fins. https://youtu.be/hPR3qsYo7kI

[MermaidSasha]

So yesterday was an awesome day for me ^.^ My mother works as a dispatcher for a local trucking company called Melton. Well the company had a contest going on and it was to decorate your office with a Hawaiian/summer theme. When my mom called and told me about it my first reaction was "I bet you'd win of you had a mermaid at your desk,". She liked the idea and so Friday morning at 7 I was dressed up and having fun. So many of the co-workers kept coming down and wanting to get pictures. A lot of new drivers were there as well and I can't help but wonder what was going through their minds that day lol!!

38506
38507 One of the new drivers
38508 Shark attacks one of the drivers and as you can see I am quite shocked indeed lol

And the best part? My mom's group won ^.^

[PearlieMae]

A real mermaid sure beats a couple of tiki torches and a piece of fishnet! Congrats!

[Sabrina the Selkie]

Fun!!!!

[Rebela Hunter]

I am saving up for a mermaid tail - but only for recreational use!
I've read through this thread and all the pool tail bans don't sound fun, but hopefully my nearby swimming pools will allow me some amount of time to swim! If not, there's always a 2 hour drive to the beach C:

I'm also saving up for my custom mermaid tail [orca themed!], which I learned today will cost $5,000 ! But it's no biggie, as I'll have that amount soon : D

Can't wait to show it off !!!

[MermaidSasha]

A real mermaid sure beats a couple of tiki torches and a piece of fishnet! Congrats!

Lol indeed ^.^ It was so much fun and I'd honestly love to do it again sometime xD

[Mermaid Alea]

A few weekends ago I went to Vortex Spring and finally got to test out my underwater "Action Camera". Sadly the photos didn't turn out that well but there is one that I kind of like which is the photo below.

38859

[Iamonlyme@me.com]

Here are some photos of my daughter and two of her tales I made both of them one is just a slip that goes over her mahina merfin and other one is silicone caulk hybrid 38860 388613886238863https://vimeo.com/180095483


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[MermaidAdrine]

My name is Mer-Crazy and as a casual mer I approve of this thread haha. On that note my fave things to do in my tail are make videos. Here's one from last year (hope it's okay I share this here):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtUBjgq5T8g
Absolutely love the video :)

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[Nerdmaid Faith]

Forgot to post this here, but through a friend I got connected with another mermaid in my area!
https://youtu.be/mTb9GrqpFeA

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[Sabrina the Selkie]

Ooh, fun!

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[AmbrGlows]

Here are some photos of my daughter and two of her tales I made both of them one is just a slip that goes over her mahina merfin and other one is silicone caulk hybrid 38860 388613886238863https://vimeo.com/180095483


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Lovely tails! Job well done. I'm curious about the slip tail over the Mahina. How do you get it to stay down over the foot pockets?

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[Iamonlyme@me.com]

Lovely tails! Job well done. I'm curious about the slip tail over the Mahina. How do you get it to stay down over the foot pockets?

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We use valcro that is on the mahina and the inside of the fabric on both front and back it only looks seamless because I edited my photo but it holds very well each piece of valcro holds up to 10lbs down fall is having to glue the valcro to the fin


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[AmbrGlows]

We use valcro that is on the mahina and the inside of the fabric on both front and back it only looks seamless because I edited my photo but it holds very well each piece of valcro holds up to 10lbs down fall is having to glue the valcro to the fin


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I can see the annoyance of having a velcro strip permanently attached to the merfin but I rarely wear my mine without a tailskin so it wouldn't bothing me too much.

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[Iamonlyme@me.com]

That is what my daughter said she wears it with the skin or inside her full tail very rarely does she swim just in the mahina the original skin had a fluke that attached the same way but that didn't work as well so that is why we bought the merfin and she doesn't use the fluke that we made


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[Rayne Mermaid]

Here are some photos of my daughter and two of her tales I made both of them one is just a slip that goes over her mahina merfin and other one is silicone caulk hybrid 38860 388613886238863https://vimeo.com/180095483


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I love the purple tail!

[Iamonlyme@me.com]

I love the purple tail!

Thanks :)


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[Nerdmaid Faith]

Here's a video of myself and Mermaid Ripple chilling (quite literally) in a lake near Vancouver!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHXwMIgzK7w&amp;feature=youtu.be

[Iamonlyme@me.com]

Here's a video of myself and Mermaid Ripple chilling (quite literally) in a lake near Vancouver!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHXwMIgzK7w&amp;feature=youtu.be

Very nice loved the video :)


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[Nerdmaid Faith]

Very nice loved the video :)


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Thank you 💙💙💙

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[moniee]

.....goof goof ^^
So I tried first time my tail in april in a small spa near town, water was like 120 cm deep; I swim in it second time yesterday in our pool wich is 160 cm deep, still not drown :D slowly slowly getting into deeper blues :)
So lets see the pic "when oxigen shortage hits"
38047

and a relativly good pic too:
38048

Livou your tail is to die for - so much love! And I'm loving your pose as well!:jawdrop:

[Nerdmaid Faith]

At camp this summer there were some new mermaids that I did a swim with! Nothing fancy, just us having a good time!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjPIYjBkoTA

[Mermaid Arabella]

The file is too big to post (and I've resized until it's frigging tiny and it's still too big) but here's a link to my Mermaid Pirate photo for International Talk Like a Pirate Day, which happened to fall on Mermaid Monday this year! :D
https://www.facebook.com/PixieGoddessCosplay/photos/a.1640288219533498.1073741830.1639048079657512/1814361402126178/?type=3&theater

[Nerdmaid Faith]

Not really a mermaiding video, but I had a fun time creating this little vlog/skit about what my experience has been as a mermaid these first few weeks at college!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbHyxRFs5-U

[Nerdmaid Faith]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meolFvXyNqY
Myself mermaiding last summer in the deathly cold waters of northern canada and Alaska

[Nerdmaid Faith]

Trevor being awesome as a merman!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIH1b8yMccw

[SirenAngel]

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161215/1b5ad875c93c32576e3abe0a40f5d325.jpg a photo of my mermaid leggings from a spontaneous beach trip lol

I'm on mobile!

[Mer Coralia]

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161215/1b5ad875c93c32576e3abe0a40f5d325.jpg a photo of my mermaid leggings from a spontaneous beach trip lol

I'm on mobile!

Are Those Finfolk Leggings? They look super cute.

What beach did you end going to? (I remember you asking in another thread? If you're okay with sharing, if not that's cool)

[SirenAngel]

Are Those Finfolk Leggings? They look super cute.

What beach did you end going to? (I remember you asking in another thread? If you're okay with sharing, if not that's cool)
Yes those are the fin folk! My aunt hot them for my birthday [emoji1]

This was at Newport Beach when I ran away with a friend lol

I'm on mobile!

[mermanmike]

A couple weeks ago, I got to meet up with a couple other mers as we were all at the same con. Was the first time I got to swim with others. I was nervous to do this, mostly because I'm a large person so I probably wasn't what they expected in the size of a merman. We also got some pics done so I got some good pics of me with my tail on finally. Just posting a pic of me by myself as I don't want to post the others unless they are ok with it. Was a fun evening to finally do that and get to swim with others!

39765

[MermaidMermeron(Cameron)]

What would make me be considered unprofessional

[Saelyyia]

No unprofessional, Non-professional. As in those of us who do not use mermaiding as our job.

[SirenAngel]

Just derping in my dorm after sewing pearls on a bra lol

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170115/8b04ad077cab18a7e030dabe824dd91a.jpg

I'm on mobile!

[Agent Dragon]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170115/4d874663e7e1507d486893b591e3a4f1.jpg

Okay but seriously is there a secret to taking good selfies that show off your tail?! Lol
This is my first tail, it arrived a few days ago and I'm super excited! Gonna swim in it tomorrow.


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[Saelyyia]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170115/4d874663e7e1507d486893b591e3a4f1.jpg

Okay but seriously is there a secret to taking good selfies that show off your tail?! Lol
This is my first tail, it arrived a few days ago and I'm super excited! Gonna swim in it tomorrow.


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I tend to opt for the "hands free" timer option on my phone camera for Tail selfies. Find good way to prop it up and then set the timer and pose.

[Merman Storm]

My wife and I decided on a Christmas cruise vacation to Hawaii. Naturally I took my tail. To avoid weight and bulk, I took the Fin Fun, the one I had modified with a stiffer, polycarbonate insert. I expected to swim in the pool during the At Sea days (9 total) and in a pool at a waterfall during one of the shore excursions.

So what happens during my first swim? Five minutes after entering the water: Pop! The insert breaks. The break was left to right, right under the arch of the foot.

I went to customer services on the ship to see if they could do anything. They offered to take it away and see if their maintenance folks could fix it. I declined, as I had no idea what they would actually do. They could give me a roll of duct tape.

I went to the on-board gift shop and bought some novelty pencils. They had a large diameter, over half an inch. At that point I knew I had a chance; the pencils were decorated with drawings of mermaids.

Half an hour of tape work later, and I had a useable fin. The repair would only last about an hour in the pool. The tape would work lose, and once wet, would no longer stick. On top of that, the cheaply made pencils were put together with questionable glue, and had splices. But, it was good enough for a few swims on the way over, during the waterfall excursion, and a couple while coming home.

No more polycarbonate. Polypropylene from now on. It’s cheaper in any case.
39987

[Sabrina the Selkie]

Looks great, though!

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[mermanmike]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170115/4d874663e7e1507d486893b591e3a4f1.jpg

Okay but seriously is there a secret to taking good selfies that show off your tail?! Lol
This is my first tail, it arrived a few days ago and I'm super excited! Gonna swim in it tomorrow.


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I've used my mirror on the wall before to take selfies.

[Siren_Eclipse]

My first tail swim was at a hotel's pool with my family. A kid and her brother saw me and thought I was a mermaid. Even after I took my fabric tail off and swam with my weak human legs, they just thought that I was a sick mer.

[PearlieMae]

My first tail swim was at a hotel's pool with my family. A kid and her brother saw me and thought I was a mermaid. Even after I took my fabric tail off and swam with my weak human legs, they just thought that I was a sick mer.

Gotta say...that sounds freaking adorable!

[Astridia]

Hee I like this thread. I joined the mer-community not so long ago so I'm still totally in awe of all of this. I've yet to get my tail wet (UK pools are .......well they barely allow anything save a few very specific ones where there are local swim meets...which my work has managed to make me miss all of them up to yet...) I'm in the middle of MAKING a fabric tail for myself ( I bought a fin fun as a beginner tail and am already making a sequin one before i've even swum XD) Hope to go soon!

[Mermaid Nia]

Same XD Lol![emoji1]

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