How many of us spend our time sailing on, or flying over the clear waters of Blake Sea, content to drive our power boats, cruisers and racing boats, or pilot our sailing boats and ships, our men’o’war and battleships, or our piston and jet-engined aircraft across and over the waves, without even giving thought to what might lie beneath?

I know I frequently do, and I’m pretty sure I’m not alone; which is a shame, because the fact is that there is a vast underwater community within Second Life, many of whom use Blake Sea and provide a wealth of things to see and do if we simply put on our masks and snorkels and take a dive under the waves.

Hence why I was intrigued when Nber Medici passed me an announcement that one of the largest underwater communities in SL is throwing open its doors to everyone between Sunday, April 5th and Saturday April 11th, inviting people to come and explore their world and join in with a range of events and activities.

The week is being organised by, and is centred upon, the community of Fanci’s Deep, four regions of open water nestled between the residential islands located on the south-east side of Blake Sea proper. The four regions – Fanci’s Deep NW, Fanci’s Deep NE, Fanci’s Deep SW, and Fanci’s Deep SE – were established in late 2013, to commemorate the life and memory of Fanci Beebe-Leavitt who, prior to her passing, contributed a great deal to the mermaid community in Second Life.

The community caters to merfolk, and those wishing to spend some of their time as sirens, dolphins, whales and more, or who simply want to slip into their scuba gear and spend time under water, exploring, shopping, dancing and having fun. On offer throughout the week are a range of activities, including:

Dolphin rides

Mer dancing

Undersea tours

Pirate battles

The opportunity to visit the Safe Waters Foundation headquarters.

In addition, visitors are invited to avail themsevles of one of Blake Sea’s wider attractions, a 13-region undersea tour of many locations and underwater sights, and will have to opportunity to visit the homes of members of the mer community and gain further insights to the community’s activities.

The best place to start out, should you be interested in discovering what it is like to be a merman or mermaid, is to drop into the Fanci’s Deep welcome area. Here you can obtain assorted freebies to help you feel at home – such as mertails or a diving helmet and even a mini-sub. More importantly, you can gain advice on the best viewer settings by which to enjoy your underwater experiences, find out where to go and what to visit, both within the Fanci’s Deep regions and beyond.

A short hop (or swim) from this is the Safe Waters Foundation, which offers further information, complete mer outfits and transformation kits, and their own travel agency, which presents a range of undersea tours, including (for this week at least) the tour of merhomes in the Fanci’s Deep regions mentioned above.

For those interested in a more broad-ranging tour, a 13-region “on demand” tour can be enjoyed, starting at Aley’s eye-catching Freeport Township of Flotsam– do watch out of the Kraken, however!

All told, the Fanci’s Deep weekend is geared to offering people the widest possible introduction to life under the waves. So if you’ve ever been curious about spending time as a mermaid or or merman, or would be interested in discovering some of the many things that go on and can be found under the waves of Blake Sea and the surrounding waters, the week of April 5th through April 11th could be the ideal opportunity for you to do so!

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