By ARIADNE WILL
Sentinel Staff Writer
For the self-titled Salty Mermaids, any day is a good day for an ocean dip.
Sitkan Marg Parsons texts nine other women daily to invite them to go into the ocean with her.
“There are very few places that as adult women you can run around outside with few clothes on and yell,” Parsons told the Sentinel Monday.
Parsons was joined by four other women for that day’s morning dip at Sandy Beach.
She sets a time to meet that is dictated by the tides. The lower the better, as Sandy Beach is rocky at higher tides.
“You want to get in when it’s sandy,” explained fellow mermaid Phyllis Hackett. “You want to walk in on the sand.”
The women don’t wear wetsuits and move quickly. They call it jumping in, and a swim lasts less than five minutes.
Parsons says the cold water gives a feeling of euphoria that makes the rest of the day feel better.
“(I jump) to wash it all off,” she said. “The rest of the day is crystal-clear – to just get all that other crap out of your body.”
Mermaids must show up on time, or they risk missing the day’s swim.
“I didn’t start anything 20 minutes before the jump today,” said mermaid Ellen Frankenstein.
She arrived minutes late on July 17, to find a handful other ocean-soaked mermaids leaving the beach.
“Sometimes you’re on time and they’re already in,” added Hackett.
Members of the Salty Mermaids group run to the water at Sandy Beach Monday. The women have been taking short cathartic dips in the ocean on a spontaneous schedule. (Sentinel Photo by Ariadne Will)
Showing up and jumping in are the only requirements for becoming a Salty Mermaid, the group said.
“We’re just a bunch of friends,” said Parsons.
“The only initiation is that you get in the cold water, and probably that you’re a woman,” added mermaid Beth Caffrey.
The Mermaids were joined Monday by a few wetsuited and supervised youngsters who were playing on surf and boogie boards.
The women said they enjoy watching the community use the beach.
“We’re here alone day after day, and then there will suddenly be a sunny day and it feels like Coney Island,” said Frankenstein. “Especially for people who don’t have boats, if you come here on a sunny day ... it’s a big thing.”
After a winter hiatus the group resumed swims in early May.
This is the third year Parsons has led the group into the sea - she not only texts the group, but is often the first to run into the chilly waves.
“It’s hard to get in. (Marg) runs ahead,” Frankenstein said.
“I rip the band-aid off,” Parsons added.
Parsons was inspired to begin daily ocean swims in 2017: “I bumped into Tess (Heyburn) three years ago and said, ‘what are you up to?’ She said, ‘I’m going to jump in the water. Want to come?’ And I thought, ‘Yes!’”
Now, the Mermaids get their daily dose of vitamin sea, rain or shine.
“It’s not weather dependent,” Hackett said. “It doesn’t matter if you get wet after because you’re going to get wet, anyways.”
The group’s consistency has allowed them to observe changes in the ocean – and the beach
“The water temperature’s gone up a little bit,” Frankenstein said. “When we started it was about 50, 51 degrees. I think it’s over 55 now, which really helps.”
Caffrey said she’s personally observed ocean warming, and not just between seasons.
“It used to be you jumped in the ocean and it was so cold that you had to get out,” she said. “You can really feel the ocean has warmed up.”
Hackett said she notes changes in the beach from day to day, like those she observed between July 17 and Monday.
“Seeing these mounds of rocks is a reminder of how powerful the ocean is,” she said. “It’s an amazing difference – it was all flat and fairly uniform and now it’s complete upheaval. It’s remarkable.”
“It feels like you’re a part of nature,” Caffrey said. “It’s what makes you a part of the whole scene that’s happening.”
