For centuries, tales of mermaids have bewitched both sailors and girls. Now fish-tailed women are making those stories come true
A tail arcs up, spraying droplets of seawater over the people standing on the pontoon dock. The children rush forwards, enchanted. A mermaid, who has pulled herself up on to a paddle board, laughs, water streaming from her hair. Her tail colouring mimics the rich greens and browns of the local sea life.
The group on the dock have paid for a Meet a Mermaid session as part of Portland Week on Dorset’s Isle of Portland, an event put on to raise money for the environmental group Clean Jurassic Coast. But everyone in the surrounding marina is equally captivated. The mermaid slaps her tail down. The noise is loud and not human. The echoing fin smacks the water like a diving whale.
