"The Kaiwi Point Mermaid"

Photo ©1998 Jeff Leicher

Other then century old moldings, no strong evidence of the magical mermaid could be presented. Until, finally on April 12, 1998 a man encountered a real life mermaid and presented evidence. KAILUA-KONA, HAWAII - A dive-boat captain finally captured the half-woman, half-fish on film! Dive master Jeff Leicher, 43, photographed the creature known as the "Kaiwi Point Mermaid", as he and six other divers were exploring the deep ocean floor. Leicher and the other divers had heard of the legend of the mermaid on the beach, but they had not experienced anything like it; until that very second. He and his divers were on the way to the point when they were suddenly being followed by a school of dolphins. Weekly World News’, writer quotes Leicher, “"Suddenly one of the men on the port side starts yelling and pointing.”I couldn't believe what I saw. There, not 10 feet from the bow, was what looked like a nude woman. Then she leapt into the air and my heart almost gave out on me. The entire lower half of her was covered with scales and tapered back into a huge fish tail. "She jumped once more, then disappeared under the surface."” An hour or so later, Leicher arrived at the point and began to dive with the other men. He was taking pictures of some colorful fish with his underwater camera. Suddenly, he felt something brush quickly against his legs. To his surprise it was the mermaid. Thinking on his feet, Leicher quickly began photograph as many pictures as he could. 

Photo ©1998 Jeff Leicher







Weekly World News had Leicher's pictures analyzed by three noted photography labs. All three labs say the photos are genuine and have not been tampered with.





Work Cited:
Hassam.Mysterious Myths About Mermaids.2010.Web.2 December 2010.
<http://hubpages.com/hub/Mysterious-Myths-About-Mermaids>.

Victoria,Ann.World Weekly News: "Image of Half-Women Half-Fish Dazzles Tourists in Hawaii".1981.Web.3 December 2010.http://www.jacksdivinglocker.com/new/mermaid.htm.

 

"Mermaid in Israel"

Dozens of excited visitors have been gathering on the seashore near the Israeli town of Kiryat Yam near Haifa to catch a glimpse of the area's latest star attraction, a mermaid.

(Stone/Getty Images)

          Mermaids have continually been sighted over and over again. Witnesses from mermaid sightings worldwide mainly contain of fishermen, sailors, people at sea and civilians living near the sea. As New York Daily News states, just last year (2009) in a beach town in Israel, a mermaid was believed to be seen. The Jerusalem Post reports, “In the town of Kirvat Yam, Israel, where dozens of people have reported mermaid sightings, a $1 million reward is on the line for anyone who can prove by photo or capture that mermaids do exist.” The civilians and tourists are truly convinced that the creature they each witnessed was no figment of imagination, or lie. Each of the witnesses have swear to have seen the mermaid over numerous months during times of sunset, flipping around in the water, laying on the beach, then suddenly disappearing. Yet, not one of the witnesses has evidence to proof their story. According to IsraelNationNews.com, witness Shlomo Cohen was one of the first to identify the mysterious creature. “I was with my friends when suddenly we saw a woman laying on the sand in a weird way,” he said. “At first I thought she was just another sunbather, but when we approached she jumped into the water and disappeared. We were all in shock because we saw she had a tail. At least five of us saw it and we all couldn’t believe it.” The town council, which is offering the million dollar (£609,000) reward, believes that the sightings are nothing more than just another host to attract tourist. The news of the sighting quickly spread cross country in Israel, then globally.  Coinsedently, as the town council suspected, thousands of tourists are now visiting the Israli beach hoping to catch a glimpse of this mystical woman. Whether or not the witnesses were stating the truth, remains a complete mystery.

 

Work Cited:

"mermaid." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 2 Dec. 2010 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

Lapowsky, Issie. “Mermaid Fever Makes A Splash in Israel.”NY Daily News. 2010. Web. 2 December 2010. <http://www.nydailynews.com/travel/2009/08/12/2009-08-12_mermaid_fever_sweeps_israel_beach_town_of_krivat_yam_as_many_report_sightings_of.html>.

Waghorn, Dominic. “Mermaid Fever Makes A Splash in Israel.” Sky News HD. 2010. Web. 3 December 2010. <http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Israel-Mermaid-Fever-Makes-A-Splash-Mythical-Creature-Spotted-Near-Haifa/Article/200908215358515 Mermaid Fever Makes A Splash in Israel by Dominic Waghorn, Middle East Correspondant>

The Official Verdict

In conclusion, I honestly think that mermaids are not a myth, but a mere fact. My endless researching on different articles, sightings ,and history of mermaids has proved that these mystical creatures probably did exist at one point in time. Through out, centuries and decades this legend have been documentated and passed down to generation to generation. Not just here in America, but globally. In countries all over the world, different forms of mermaids have been included in religious beliefs, tales, stories and mythology. I concluded with  my verdict, because of the suprising fact that legends of the mermaids have been told for such a long period of time. The different stories and legend all lead to the key fact that they are no fantasy but a true reality.