Mermaids come ashore at Huntington Beach to the delight of onlookers

Four-year-old Layla only ever thought she would see mermaids on television. She never imagined she would see five of the mysterious sea creatures on an average day in Huntington Beach.

“Mommy! Look! Mermaids!” cried out the child, who was visiting Surf City with her mother on Saturday and often watches the movie “Aquamarine.”

Five people decked out in silicone and latex tails, as well as seashell bras, flaunted their quirky hobby in the water near the shore.

Layla jumped with excitement, pointing at one in a blue-and-pink silicone tail while declaring the mermaid her favorite.

“I’m just so happy because she can say she saw them at the beach and not just in a movie,” said Layla’s mother, Salina Garcia, 32, of Whittier.

The merfolk — four women and one man — are part of a community of more than 250 California residents who participate in “mermaiding,” dressing up as a mermaid and swimming in the ocean. The group will often gather every few months at Southern California beaches and pirate-themed events.

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For these women and men, being a fan of the mythical beings goes beyond simply enjoying films like Disney’s “The Little Mermaid.”

On land, they’re regular people with jobs, but when they’re in their tails — or flukes — they consider themselves mermaids.

“I know I’m a real person with two legs, but when I go out in the water, I do feel that transformation and I feel very comfortable,” said Kim Turcotte, who lives in Huntington Beach and owns the business HB Mermaids, which hires out performers for parties and events.

She added her position as a mermaid allows her to help make people more environmentally aware.

Turcotte, who considers herself the “Flower Goddess of the Sea,” will often speak — while dressed in her tail — at aquariums and events to tell people about how pollution affects sea life.

“I feel that being a mermaid gives me the power to make awareness to that and have people do the right thing,” said Turcotte, whose family worked in the fishing industry when she was a child.

Paul Beyer of Laguna Hills — the only merman present that Saturday — said he found out about the mermaid community a few months ago online and was interested in joining in on the hobby, so he purchased a tail.

On Saturday, he swam in his fluke for the first time and said it was like a calling back to his youth when he would watch “The Little Mermaid” regularly.

“It’s great to indulge your inner child and go back to that time when you were a kid and saw the world in a completely different way,” said the 24-year-old, who runs his family’s construction company. “It’s like an escape.”

One of the mermaids, who prefers to only go by Mermaid Callie, has been dressing up for about two years, said she and her “mersisters” feel free while swimming in their tails.

The 40-year-old psychologist from Riverside said she has always been attached to the water.

When she was 7 , while “obsessed” with Greek mythology, Mermaid Callie almost drowned in a swimming pool.

“I honestly didn’t care if I died in that moment,” she said. “My ankle was trapped but being underwater in that moment was the most at peace I’ve ever been.”

The lifestyle has been ingrained into her everyday so much so that her patients will often refer to her as a mermaid, and her office is decorated with fish tanks and other themed items. She also performs as a mermaid for parties and events on the side.

The hobby has turned into a business venture for other participants as well.

Juliet Owen, 41, of Huntington Beach, began designing and constructing wearable mermaid tails about two years ago.

Her tails, which weigh about 35 pounds, are made from a special type of silicone called Dragon Skin, which is typically used for prosthetic masks.

The substance, which can be dyed any color, is then poured into a mold of a tail.

Each tail, which can cost upwards of $1,500, is tailor-made for its customer for a snug fit.

The tails can also be made from latex for about $900, she said.

Other companies sell their tails for even higher prices, Owen said. Some weigh up to 70 pounds, but Turcotte said that because of the buoyancy of the water, the tails are much harder to move around in on land.

Because of the weight of the tails and how they bind the wearers’ legs, mermaids will often put the tails on close to the water or sometimes have a “merhandler” carry them out to the water. They also must moisten their legs with lubricant to put on the tight-fitting costume.

On Saturday, Owen lay on her stomach on top of a towel as a group of friends dragged her across the sand to the water.

More than 80 spectators on the pier and sand watched the four mermaids and one merman flop their tails and swim in the water.

Many questioned why the quintet was there and seemed baffled to learn they were just indulging in a hobby.

Jessica Heilman, visiting from Seattle, can say she had a unique experience in H.B..

“This is the first time we’ve ever even been on a warm beach, so seeing something like this is super surprising,” the 23-year-old said. “I’ve seen mermaids at comic conventions but never at the beach. I feel like I’m at Disneyland right now.”

Turcotte said while she admits her “pod” can be an unusual sight for average beach-goers, they shouldn’t be looked at as weird.

“I was really private about my mermaiding until a couple of years ago,” said the woman who goes by the nickname “Mermaid Flower.” “It’s just like anything you do. I could relate it to this. If you’re into hockey or whatever sport, you would join a club. I kind of teetered on that. It was a little awkward when I would tell people that I was a mermaid at first. But when I found something like this to join, it was really refreshing. It was so cool that we had all this in common.”

Mermaid Callie said those in the mermaid community look out for one another.

“I didn’t even know until about a year ago that other mermaids were out there,” she said. “They’re my mersisters. They support me when hard things happen.”

Owen, who is known as “Mermaid Julz,” said unlike the cosplay community, which she said can be judgmental toward people if they don’t look exactly like the characters they are portraying, mermaids are allowed to come as they are.

Mermaids don’t judge each other for being too big or too small, she said.

Owen, whose girlfriend will often dress as a pirate alongside her, added mermaids often feel at peace while in the water.

“It’s very relaxing,” she said. “It allows me to pretty much forget all the problems of the world. Granted, when I get out of the tail, I have to go back and face reality. But while I’m in the tail, in the water, life is just amazing.”

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Brittany Woolsey, brittany.woolsey@latimes.com

Twitter: @BrittanyWoolsey

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