As a child, Skye Kermode watched the “mermaids” at work at Bermuda Aquarium, Museum & Zoo and wanted to join in.

But when she talked to grown-ups of her aspirations, they all laughed and tried to direct her towards a more realistic career.

“It is just like a natural instinct for me,” she said. “I [instinctively] knew how to do the movements. All it really takes is some core strength and willingness to be a mermaid.”

This summer her dream came true. The 26-year-old was hired to perform alongside Tara Sapien, a performance artist with Cirqle Circus Arts Collective, whenever NCL ferries were in port at the east end.

“We started doing it to show some love for St George,” said Ms Kermode, a resident of the Olde Town. “We would swim out to the ferry dock and wave to the ferry as it came in. The people on the ferry were really surprised to see us, but they loved it.”

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They would also swim in front of Wahoo’s Bistro & Patio and White Horse Pub & Restaurant. Their performance was sponsored by the Bermuda Tourism Authority through an experience grant given to the St George’s Stakeholders Committee.

Ms Kermode loved the questions from the children who spotted her: “Where do you live? Is that tail real? Can you teach me to be a mermaid too?”

The backstory that she has developed is that she lives in a cave at Blue Hole and is only able to understand children.

At certain times of the year she is able to leave the water and walk on land.

The self-described “water rat” swims daily, even in the winter. And when the water is rough, all the better.

“Sometimes I seek out rough patches to body surf,” she said. “I come from a family of freedivers and spear fishers. I don’t do any free-diving myself, but I never had any problems holding my breath or any problem swimming.”

She admits to having once had a phobia of deep, blue water because of the toothy creatures she believed lurked there.

She learnt how to free-dive from her father, Marcus Kermode, who would “disappear for minutes” mid-lesson.

“I slowly started to get over it,” she said. “And wearing a tail made me feel more confident. When I got in the water I thought, ‘Nothing can mess with me now.’”

The sergeant majors and parrot fish – fattened on French fries from nearby restaurants – she sees while swimming are hardly threatening.

“Sometimes the fish are curious, and sometimes they book it,” she said. “I’m thinking of taking my tail to places like Church Bay to see how the fish react there. I’ve heard the fish there are really tame.”

She recalls how she was once at Tobacco Bay in mermaid costume surrounded by four children who refused to leave her side.

As she did not want them to see her transform into a human she had “to figure out how to navigate without breaking their little hearts”.

In the end, she swam around a rock where the water was too deep for them to chase her.

The gig in St George’s has led to freelance work as a mermaid for hire.

“I did a party on the beach at St Regis, just recently,” she said. “I do children’s birthday parties. All I need is a kiddie pool with some water.”

She feels blessed that her life has taken this direction. Her hope is to inspire young people to follow their dreams, no matter how unlikely they seem.

“If you are good enough at what you do you can do anything full-time,” she said. “A lot of people in Bermuda want to go into insurance and reinsurance and stuff like that. We need to learn more, as an island; we need to play and have fun. We need to find joy in what we do.”

Ms Kermode said it is important for people to follow their heart and be happy.

“You don’t have to just trudge in the footsteps of everyone else,” she said. “We have so much potential as an island. We could play on its attributes and its beauty.”

Ms Kermode, a bartender and a make-up artist who also has a huge interest in resin art, art with wire and murals, says she has always enjoyed performing.

“I like to throw myself into the experience and take it as it is,” she said.

She started working with Ms Sapien when she was 18 but has mostly taught herself how to work with fire.

“I also work with Chinese optical illusions which we call buugeng,” said Ms Kermode, who sees performing as a service to the community.

“I am not just doing this to say I am a mermaid. I am doing this because it brings joy to people and also helps to inspire them. Even with fire dancing, or just dancing, learning all these things helped me integrate my body and brain after rocky teen years. It helped me learn how to use my imagination and bring things together. There needs to be a lot more tools like that.”

She wants to be a “mermaid” for the rest of her life.

“I will be an old and wrinkly mermaid, but I will do that,” she said. “Maybe one day I will open my closet and just have 12 mermaid tails in there – and lots of different bikini tops.”

For more information about Cirqle Circus Arts Collective: www.cirqlebda.com; 705-2787. Follow Skye Kermode on Instagram @skyart111