In the last 24 hours the ladies of Marcie's Mermaids have had to make the difficult decision to cancel their Santa Barbara Channel swim originally scheduled for Friday, September 20, 2019, due to unfortunate marine weather forecasts in the Santa Barbara Channel - high wind and swell. Needless to say, the safety of the crew and swimmers is everyone's number one concern.

Being the determined women they are, the Mermaids are planning a swim in place of the Santa Barbara Channel crossing. In late October, the Mermaids will swim 19 miles along the shore at East Beach - the equivalent distance of the original Channel swim - and will invite the swim community to join in! Heal the Ocean will be there with signs, cheers, and endless gratitude for the Mermaids and to celebrate the tremendous amount of awareness they have brought to the work we do to keep our ocean clean and safe.

Looking on the bright side, the Mermaids have raised over $9,600 for Heal the Ocean in memory of fellow swimmer and ocean-lover Marcie Kjoller. The money raised will be used to fund our part in the HTO/MarBorg Industries Styrofoam Recycling Project, which, will keep a LOT of harmful Styrofoam material out of the ocean.

The Mermaids are an inspiration and their drive and passion for the ocean serve as a great motivation for us to keep working hard to protect our ocean. We couldn't be more grateful for everything that Marcie's Mermaids have done and continue to do for our ocean!

The fundraiser will remain open until the end of October if you would like to donate or check out the Mermaids' story. Thank you all for supporting the Mermaids and Heal the Ocean, we look forward to celebrating this incredible group of women at the swim at the end of October!