20 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2018 WWW.HOUSEBOATMAGAZINE.COM
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By Heather Magda Serrano
Mermaid Sighting
Mermaid Sighting
Tami the
houseboater
& professional
mermaid
What young girl hasn't
dreamed of being a mermaid,
swimming around with a shiny
tail and enchanting everybody
around her?
That's pretty much what Tami
Baker does for a living alongside
her human job at a property
management company. She's what
you would call a professional mer-
maid, and for the past four years,
Mermaid Tami has been making
a splash in the Mansfield, Ohio,
area, doing meet-and-greets and
appearing at various events such
as birthday parties and charity
fundraisers.
Just last year, Tami decided
to take things to the next level
when she and her husband Andy
Baker bought a 1964 Drift R-Cruz
houseboat so they could spend
even more time on the water in
the warm months of summer
when mermaid requests are at
their peak. Tami and Andy love
living on the houseboat and Tami
has had a blast decorating it with
a mermaid theme.
When Tami first started out as
a mermaid her popularity came as
a pleasant surprise because she
did it as a personal hobby. Then
as people continued to notice
her and request her for differ-
ent events, she realized she'd
stumbled (or unknowingly yet
gracefully swam) into something
truly special. She decided to
jump in with both feet (fins?) and
chase her dream as a professional
mermaid.
