The water is cold, but I’m too nervous to shiver. Instead, I propel my arms forward and think graceful thoughts.

WEEKI WACHEE -- Barbara Wynns has never stopped thinking about the days she spent in an enormous water tank here, somersaulting and backflipping in a sequined tail fin while sucking air from a ...

He invented an air hose method for breathing underwater and enlisted the help of attractive women to train as mermaids. Perry built a theater submerged 6 feet below the water’s surface, and in ...

Mermaids have long captured the imaginations of humans, first appearing in Greek mythology more than 3,000 years ago. Although humans haven’t necessarily visited Weeki Wachee Springs for that ...

WEEKI WACHEE - The world-famous mermaids of Weeki Wachee Springs are holding their collective breath. Actually, they do that at times every day when they wiggle into their Lycra fish tails and ...

Experimenting at Weeki Wachee after World War II, Perry invented the technique of underwater breathing using an air hose instead of a scuba tank.

At Weeki Wachee State Park in Florida, mermaid performers are required to swim in 72-degree water in the depths of a natural spring.

WEEKI WACHEE, Fla. — The auditorium at Weeki Wachee Springs sits 16 feet underground. Wooden benches face a thick glass wall, which stays shrouded in blue curtains, resembling ruched swimsuits.