When PADI-certified diver Elaina Garcia was in a mermaid certification course to further her water safety skills, little did she know that she would need to use her powerful fluke tail to rescue an unconscious man nearby.
A Distressing Situation
Three divers showed distress while Elaina was in her advanced PADI Training certification class at Catalina’s Casino Point. She and another trainee were practicing mermaid rescues with PADI Mermaid Instructor Elle Jimenez.
Wearing colorful tails and pretty shell bras, they noticed two divers struggling to bring an unconscious diver up to the surface.
“We flipped our fin tails strongly to get to them quickly to help them all up to the surface,” said Garcia. “When I noticed one man unconscious and foaming at the mouth, I took his heavy weighted dive gear off of him and got him on land.”
An EMT’s Quick Action
As a trained EMT, Garcia quickly gave him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation until the paramedics arrived, helping to save 73-year-old Pablo Avila’s life.
“I think he ran out of air, panicked and came up too quickly,” said Garcia. Since Catalina Island is such a popular dive area in Southern California, they do have a USC Catalina Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber for situations like this.
PADI Mermaid Course
On the PADI website, it states that the PADI Mermaid course includes knowledge development and at least two water skill sessions.
These sessions develop more dynamic skills beyond Basic Mermaid, including many skills that make mermaiding an underwater self-expressive art, separate from other types of diving.
To enroll in a PADI Mermaid course, you must be at least ten years old. You need to be able to swim at least 50m/160ft without swim aids, be able to float comfortably at the surface for at least 5 minutes and be in good physical health.
For the entry-level mermaid diving course, no prior experience with diving of any kind is required.
Recognition and Awards
Photo by Jill Weinlein
Mermaids saving a life got the attention of People Magazine, Inside Edition and The Drew Barrymore Show.
“I had my 15 minutes or a little longer of fame,” said Garcia in front of her newly opened Catalina Island Mermaids store. She teaches water safety and drowning prevention classes to locals and visitors to Avalon, the largest populated city on Catalina Island.
Walking into her new Catalina Island Mermaids shop, she proudly pulled a frame off a shelf displaying a PADI Certificate of Excellence. Awarded on October 27, 2022, it honors her meritorious actions and service to her community.
Elaina said she has never seen one of these before and is so proud to be awarded this certificate as a thank you for her courage and for rising up in an emergency situation.
She also retrieved another framed award from Love Catalina Island, the ‘2023-2024 Harvey Cowell Business Of The Year Award’ for Catalina Island Mermaids’ extraordinary contributions by a business to the furtherance of tourism between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024.
Catalina Island Tours & Excursions
Mermaid Dreams
Inside her shop, there are wetsuits, mermaid-inspired jewelry, art, mermaid hats and a photo studio.
“Visitors can come in and dress in a colorful mermaid tail, put on one of these beautiful shell bras and accessories for a photo shoot and keepsake photo,” said Garcia.
She also offers photo shoots for aspiring mermaids down by the beach along the water’s edge and underwater action shots in the beautiful Casino Point kelp forest.
From Utah to Catalina
I learned that Elaina arrived at Catalina Island from Utah when she was 18 years old.
Working for a dive company, she and Harbor Master Mike Garcia started filling dive tanks and soon fell in love. They married on the beach at Little Harbor and now the Captain and mermaid live a fairytale life on the island.
Becoming a Certified Mermaid
For those who would like to become certified mermaids, Elaina and her team teach classes to those with no experience and to PADI-certified divers.
They provide all of the equipment and will guide you from your first splash in a mermaid tail to doing flips, spins, bubble tricks and safety techniques. They even teach some basic freediving techniques to increase your breath-hold.
Elaina also offers a two-night Catalina Island Freediver Certification Weekend with an optional Spearfishing Workshop. For $888, it includes 2–3 nights’ accommodations, instructions and a PADI-Freediver or Advanced Certification.
There are two of these weekends coming up in March and May. Go to catalina-island-mermaids.com to learn more.
Connect and Learn More
Check out her class schedule, and find out more on Instagram @catalinaislandmermaids.
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Author Bio: As an avid traveler, Jill Weinlein flew, drove and cruised to 47 destinations in 2024. When she is home, she likes to walk the foothills with her dog Peanut.
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