Wow, that's monofin swimming!

[AptaMer]

I so wanna be able to do this, have to start training ;)


http://youtu.be/z09RmuaPyVU

[Nykur]

Now I would LOVE to do THAT!

[Morticia Mermaid]

I think this was actually shared in the swimming thread too

[Mermaid Kassandra]

Do you think that with a mermaid tail with a competitor monofin inside I can do something similar?
I want to do it fo my meet & greet of this summer in Portovenere :) I think that people would be amazed seeing a mermaid jumping out of the water like this <3

[AptaMer]

Do you think that with a mermaid tail with a competitor monofin inside I can do something similar?
I want to do it fo my meet & greet of this summer in Portovenere :) I think that people would be amazed seeing a mermaid jumping out of the water like this <3

Hmmm That's a good question! I can't claim to be an expert, but I've read that a mermaid tail actually makes you more "hydrodynamic" than just wearing a monofin with human legs.

The space between your legs supposedly creates eddy currents that result in more drag in the water than a smooth mer tail, so you might even be able to get up to a higher speed. I've looked at some of the reviews of the mermaid wetsuit that Otter Bay makes, and people who had worn it said they could swim way faster than other divers, no matter what type of fins the other divers were wearing.

You'd have to make sure your tail fits really well, though, and can stay in place when you're dolphining really hard and travelling at high speed like the guy in the video was. I've also read that rippling of the surface of a suit can also increase drag, so you'd want to make sure it fits smoothly and the material won't start to flap or ripple when you move really fast through the water. I've actually seen that happen on poeple's bathing suits or wetsuits. I guess maybe that's one reason they make those competition swimsuits fit so tightly?

I don't know how much other factors affecting hydrodynamics might hinder you getting out of the water, but you probably wouldn't want to wear decorative things that would increase drag in the water. I don't know how much hair is a significant factor in increasing water resistance. Oh well, it'll be fun to try. Unfortunately, they don't allow you to wear tails at the pools around where I live, let alone to try jumpin straight up out of the water. The lifeguards will kick you out. It may have to wait for next summer when some lakes I can get to warm up.

[Mermaid Kassandra]

WOW!!! Well i have to wait for this summer too....but early summer fortunately :D because my meet & greet is on August so I have a lot of time to practice :)
Thank you very much AptaMer :) you told me a lot of things I didn't know :D