Attack of the Jelly

Let me first retrack my last statement of "right place, right time". Don't get me wrong, I do feel very fortunate with all that we've been able to do, but read on and you'll find out my latest encounter with the creatures in the sea.

It's called the "blue bottle jellyfish". Tiny little sea monsters that have no vertebrae or spine. They have no real swimming capability other than the fact they use their bodies as a parachute and take them where the wind blows. With no natural predators, it seems strange they contain a poisonous venom (non lethal) inside them. These little buggers are often found in Queensland, but this year have found themselves as south as Sydney harbor.

My incident begins in Manly Beach. Going for my usual weekend surf, I failed to realize the several signs warning swimmers that there were several blue bottle's that afternoon. And even after I saw them in the water for my very own eyes, they still did not deter me from my surf. Looking back, it should have occurred to me that there was a good possibility of contact considering the people around me were getting stung and getting out of the water. It was the last set of the day, perhaps what could have been my final wave, only to be sabatoshed by the blue bottle as is wrapped around my wrist and released the poison.

I'm not going to lie to you, that bite was extremely painful. It ended up swelling up my entire wrist then leaving it's tentacle scarring embedded in me as a reminder. I was told that you really aren't a true Aussie until you've been bitten by one of it's deadly creatures. I think this was my ticket in.

Lessons for the day:

- read and obey signs that warn you of blue bottle jelly fish
- NEVER put vinegar on it as it will increase the pain
- the only real cure is to apply ICE to keep the swelling down

- the lone asian