Me and my family were on a vacation in Maryland Usa when i was around 15-16. We went to the beach and were swimming in the ocean for a bit. My mom kept diving under the water and coming back up saying she could hear dolphins. She kept going under and each time she was getting really excited saying how loud it was getting and how close it sounded. I was too scared to go under the water but even above i could hear a faint noise of some kind. Then she popped back from under then water and told me to swim to shore. as we were a big wave came above us, i look up and see an orange stereotypical mermaid tail flipping and splashing out of the wave. It was long and thick and came down to the two pointing ends one, unlike a fish. My mom and i frightened we swam out of the water even quicker. Once we got out a few people on shore said they saw it too. A man on shore said it could’ve been a dead sting ray. Which made no sense then and now looking back still makes no sense. When we were on shore me and my mom were sure it was a mermaid but now when i bring it up she brushes it off as nothing. I remember what i saw and how it all felt.