While monitoring 11 on the VHF, I hear “(garble static garble)… to harbor traffic” and then a vessel appears, this guy at the helm, all part of this one-day mermaid invasion. His vessel?

No doubt this represents state-of-the-art amphibious mermaid special ops, with low fuel consumption. I need to add his figurehead to my collection.

As was true last year here, the mer-parade units on maneuvers came with a full range of reptilian allies,

propaganda in the mermaid realism style,

canteens,

precision drill teams,

camouflage and dress uniforms,

trojan fish,

and trojan macaws,

even a specially-trained hippocampus contingent,

Believe you me, the best strategy was to lay down all defenses and join then. Spread your towel on the sand and offer hospitality. Greet them in their native languages, and give them free reign of the beach for as long as they want to stay.

Here’s a link to a flickr set I put up.

Update:  Check this link for the Queen Mermaid’s hunger strike.  Seriously.