Rebekah Mermaid

Hi my name is Rebekah Mermaid, I'm a stand up paddleboarder, surfer, diver and wild swimmer. An all round lover of the sea. It's a place I feel most alive and in awe of the magic of nature. It's my release from everyday life, a place I feel a real sense of freedom.

Through my interest in the sea I've spent the last few years on the Wirral working as a regional rep with marine conservation charities Surfers Against Sewage and British Divers Marine Life. I feel connected to the sea, and working with these charities it's helped me grow in ways to help protect the ocean, and consider the environmental aspect we have on the sea. We need to work together to protect the oceans for our future generations.

This year to help raise funds for British Divers Marine Life Rescue I'm doing a 'Dip a Day' for all of 2020. I also work as a RNLI beach lifeguard and have been trained and equipped to help prevent and rescue loss of life at sea.

I started swimming from a young age and fell in love with the weightless feeling of being in water. Although I use the sea a lot, I am also hugely respectful and fearful of it too. The sea is a place where I can learn and play and somewhere I feel most humble. But also a place that needs a huge amount of respect, as it is relentlessly powerful.

As mentioned before I am based on the Wirral and it's beautiful. We are a peninsula surrounded by three big bodies of water. We have the River Mersey, Irish Sea and the River Dee. We have a huge tidal range of up to 10 miles with these bodies of water moving together all at once. We dont have rip currents but we do have a constant tidal flow with lateral currents and eddies that can be fatal.

Although the sea is beautiful, it's a place that needs to be respected. My work with Swim Secure enables me to connect with an environment that I love and help others enjoy it in a safe way too. I use a tow float when open water swimming and paddle-boarding as an essential piece of kit so I can be seen when I'm in the water. Even the most experienced water users can still get into trouble out at sea.

I want to encourage others to enjoy the water but safely.

#StaySaltyStayConnected

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