I am sure that most of you have heard of this creature. It is a jellyfish that belongs to the Cubomedusae family and is found in subtropical and tropical waters. We usually do not have a problem with them on the North Shore but as I have written in my previous blogs, the Spring surfing has been very good here this year. And as the Spring rolled along, the water kept getting warmer and warmer. Our ocean temperature now is 80′ plus and this attracts jellyfish.
Box jellyfish have almost perfectly shaped square bells, with their tentacles hanging from each corner of the box. In parts of the world other than Hawaii such as the South Pacific and Australia, the sting from the Box Jellyfish can be fatal. It kind of short circuits the electrical system in your body. But, here in Hawaii we have only the non-lethal type that sting but do not kill.
Last week I was surfing Rocky Point and after “duck diving” a wave, I felt a tremendous burning sensation on several parts of my body. The worst was on my right leg just above the knee. I looked down and was surprised to see about 40 stings from the Box Jellyfish. This was the first time and hopefully the last time that I will get stung. I got out of the water and drove directly to the local fire department. Since I was familiar with the lethal type of Box Jellyfish from my travels, I went to there to make sure I wasn’t going to die. My leg started swelling and it felt like someone kicked me very hard in my groin with a size 18 shoe! The guys at the fire department informed me that as long as I didn’t have difficulty breathing I would be alright. As you can easily tell from this story, I did survive and am writing to you to tell you of this experience.
Tomorrow we will have great surf again as a nice NW swell hit this evening and the wind is perfect. It will be Gas Chambers at dawn with my friend Bob and hopefully no one else out. At least for awhile… So even though there are a few more hazards associated with the warmer water, I will gladly exchange a few hours of pain and suffering for more surf. Keep it coming-the surf that is. Please!
Please!
OUCH!!!! on many accounts.
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