Monday, 30 January 2023 03:13

January 27, 2023

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We don't take you just anywhere.

The things hoomans do to animals... This image from Forster a week or so back, grey nurses, one with a hook and thick line caught in its mouth, the other with a metre or so of plastic sheeting caught in its gills. See how thin the shark with the hook appears. Grey nurses don't hurt anyone.

Sun protection

The places you miss

Typical, you might say. The Sydney and Melbourne iterations of the Nine Publications daily newspapers peg story about how the application of sunscreen on an international super model. So very Herald! Or so very Age! But it was the headline that caught our attention: ‘Don’t forget these two areas when applying sunscreen’.

Now, we thought, this might, at last, be a useful story for us, indeed for all Strã’ans who, like mad dogs and Englishmen, go out in the midday sun. Ocean swimmers are particularly mad in this context.

But it was not to be. The story, as it said, talks about two points on the body that it says are often missed when sunscreen is applied – and they often are – but it fails to mention many others equally important and probably more often missed. Very usefully, it does also make the point that, amongst the rash of skincare products marketed to an affluent market such as ours, expensive products that promise things like SPF 50+ may not be that useful. That’s especially relevant to swimmers.

Why is it so?

This is because SPF50+ is not much use unless the product is water resistant, ie the product doesn’t wash off or break down when you go into the water. Also, the quantities of a particular skincare product applied to moisturise your face, for example, may not be adequate to also protect your skin from the Strã’an summer sun.

The story quotes Professor Adele Green, a public health specialist in melanoma and other skin cancer research, making this point.

'In general,’ says Professor Green, ‘sunscreens are superior to cosmetic products, especially those with a lower SPF rating that aren’t water-resistant (but) it’s very unlikely you’ll be applying the thickness needed to maintain protection.

‘You should be applying the equivalent of a heaped teaspoon to your face, which will seem quite thick. If you apply it too thinly, you’ll know about it.’

Our personal dermatologist, a pallid man who, nevertheless, is also an occasional snorkeler, in the tropics, says the same thing: people who apply sunscreen suffer sunburn because they don’t apply enough of it, or they apply the wrong kind. And because they miss relevant exposed places.

Professor Green also says, ‘The tops of the ears can be an issue, especially for men, who tend to have shorter hairstyles.

‘For women, the neck is often ignored. You will see women who have paid attention to protecting their faces but below the neck reveals the effects of sun damage.’

We, ourselves, don’t need to be told this. We have had treatment on our ears, from our pallid snorkeler, and we have stood in queues behind too many old farts with beef jerky necks not to be aware of the danger there. We’ve long felt that many of us often miss bits that are important. And we (‘we’ means people generally) often neglect to do it when we’re swimming at off-peak times, eg early mornings, when the sun is low and supposedly benign. How many of your comrades do you see applying sunscreen for early morning swims at 7am?

Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. You, too, could have this... if you're not careful. (Image from Healthline)

A little dab'll do us?

We do. Our early morning swims always include, before we leave home, little dabs on key extremities: nose, bottom lip, ears, temples, nose, etc. We still wonder how necessary it is in the early mornings, but we do it out of an abundance of caution, having already suffered treatment on the outer ear, and with a bottom lip that’s been ravaged by the sun over the years. Typical for Strã’an boofheads, we grew up on a beach but, until our late 20s, we rarely used sun cream... We are going back a bit now.

The areas people miss are those that are most exposed to the sun, but not obviously so. This is our list of relevant areas that we reckon many people miss:

Extremities –
- the ears – all over the outer ear, including ‘the tops’, as Prof. Green puts it, but not only ‘the tops’; we suffered skin issues inside ‘the tops’;
- the lips – particularly the bottom lip, which tends to protrude more than the top lip (in our case, anyway; maybe we’re pouters… we do have a Germanic smile);
Temples – between the eyes and the ears; when you’re swimming, rolling to breathe, one of your temples is continuously being directly exposed to the sun, especially if you’re a monolateral breather (yet another reason to teach yourself to breathe bilaterally), and even if you wear a swim cap, the cap often rides up as you swim, exposing the temples, and usually it covers only part of the temples anyway;
Neck – quite apart from the beef jerky back of the neck, don’t miss the base, sides and front of the neck; our uncle spent a lifetime on the beach without a cancer (he had good skin), but when he did finally get one later in life, it was at the front at the base of the neck;
Hands and forearms – the backs of the hands and forearms are always exposed to the sun; think of your stroke recovery… where are your arms? And—provided your stroke is not wrenching your rotator cuffs awry—where are the backs of your hands?
Upper legs – when you’re swimming, the back of your upper legs (backs of your thighs) float just below the surface, constantly exposed; this is especially the case if you’re an ocean swimmer of the female persuasion… this type of swimmer often floats higher than their boofhead counterparts; boofheads’ legs generally float lower (don’t ask us to explain why…), but that doesn’t mean boofhead legs are safe;
Feet – on the beach, the tops of your feet, including toes, under the toenails, and between the toes, always face the sun (Always!); there’ve been cases of deaths from melanoma of people whose primary melanoma turned out to be between the toes or under the toenail, and blokes especially, you should check the condition of the skin on your lower legs between visits to the beach;
Lower legs – like the tops of your feet, the lower legs, from the feet to the knees, are always exposed, not just to burn but to skin damage as they seem to cop the majority of heat and reflection of rays from the sand; we always ensure we coat the lower leg all around.

Types of skin cancer (Image from miiskin.com)

The other side

The other thing many people miss – blokes especially because they probably think it’s girly – is moisturiser. We regularly go over these parts when we’re not in the sun with a good moisturiser, as it happens one recommended by our pallid, snorkeling dermatologist (it’s called Dermeze... and we're not being paid for this... and it’s top stuff and it’s not expensive… we get it in 500g tubs, from our pharmacist, Faux June).

Most of these points, we’ll bet, never occur to the majority of people as meriting particular attention. We reckon that because we watch plenty of people applying sunscreen, and it’s rare that we see anyone applying it other than to their faces and their backs, and then only cursorily (and then only if blokes, for example, can find someone willing to apply it to their backs for them… what blokes wish to apply sunscreen to other blokes’ backs?): thin smears applied almost as an afterthought. Plenty of sunscreens also tell you to apply at least 15 minutes ahead of exposing yourself, to allow the sunscreen to sink in and provide the protection you need. But who does that?

We’re all used to the mantra, ‘Slip, Slop, Slap’, from a public health campaign in 1981. Yes, yes, we all slip, slop, slap. But do we do it properly?

For our part, we have dedicated our lives to avoiding the sun. That’s why we always wear a cap when we swim these days (we have absolutely no protection on our heads… none!). Maybe it seems counterintuitive in our position, professional ocean swimmers as we are, but we try very hard to minimise our exposure, and we try our very hardest to avoid it during the peak of sun exposure during the day.

And we’re not doing this because we’re told to by a super model; we’re doing it because it makes sense.

You reckon you reach?... This is reach... And with a noice head, too, and clearing the lungs appropriate... Niko Campbell at Forster.

Swimmers in San Francisco Bay (not South End Rowing Club swimmers). Image by Gabrielle Lurie (San Francisco Chronical/Getty Images)

Inclusion in Frisco?

Not when it comes to wetties

This story appeared in The Wall Street Journal of January 23, 2023.

By Robert McMillan (himself a swimmer with the South End Rowing Club)

SAN FRANCISCO—A year ago, Adele Gower used to cherish daily 90-minute swims in the frigid Bay here. Now she can only stand it for 30 minutes.

She abandoned her wetsuit after being shamed by fellow San Francisco Bay swimmers—a peculiar, zealous breed, who jump off boats near Alcatraz Island and swim with seals in the city’s Aquatic Park.

One day while struggling to take her wetsuit off, a swimmer friend—a burly former Marine—came in to help her. “He wades into the water and grabs my wetsuit and he just yanks it right off,” she says.

Ms. Gower recalls the swimmer saying: “You can just let the ocean take that. Let it float away.”

Cold-water immersion is having a moment these days, with growing numbers of fans plunging into low-temperatures to try to feel better. But in San Francisco, the chatter about chilly water goes much deeper than in most places.

It is home to the great wetsuit divide.

We’re here, we wear gear. Get used to it!’

The wetsuit has a long history in San Francisco, popularized by Jack O’Neill in 1952 to ward off hypothermia in surfers. With the water hovering just above 50 degrees this month—and air temperature in the 50s too—that is just one of many hazards Bay swimmers face: they could exhaust themselves fighting strong currents, be bitten by aggressive sea lions, or even cross paths with the occasional ocean tanker. And yet, some Bay swimmers refuse to wear these potentially lifesaving devices because they consider them a form of cheating. Or, even if they like them, as did Ms. Gower, they don’t want the hassle of wetsuit shaming.

The wetsuit split is legendary in Bay aquatics. Some local triathlete pages call wetsuits “wuss suits.” Over the years, in actual cold cases, wetsuits have mysteriously vanished from the changing room at the South End Rowing Club, a 150-year-old home to many Bay swimmers.

Later, the suits turned up in garbage cans or, in one case, hanging outdoors from a nail on the second floor of the building, according to Bill Wygant, a member and past club president. He denies involvement in the disappearances, but adds: “They knew the risk.”

(Image by Jillian Savage)

Tom Linthicum (above), a swimmer called “Reptile,” has made the mile-and-a-quarter water trek from Alcatraz to San Francisco more than 200 times, but never in a wetsuit. With a wetsuit, he says, “you’re not really enjoying the cold.” For swimmers such as Reptile, the bone-numbing cold of the water is the whole point, and never something to be avoided.

“It’s an amazing feeling to be in that water and to let your body react,” Mr. Linthicum explains. “There’s nothing like it. I have no desire to ever wear a wetsuit.” He says he harbors no ill will toward those who do.

Mr. Linthicum’s wetsuit-less code has led to tough moments. On some days, he concedes, he stares into the dark cold water of an early-morning swim, and a part of his mind he calls his “land brain” begins whispering.

“The land brain wants to go home, take a nap, forget about it,” he says. During times like this, he instead channels his “reptile brain,” which he believes to be an evolutionary vestige.

“The reptile brain just comes out and says, ‘enjoy the water; enjoy the cold,’ ” he says. “Our ancestors may never have had a warm shower in their entire life.”

Swimmers have been known to drop in the South End Club’s showers due to the effects of cold and Mr. Linthicum has seen more than one sent to the hospital. From time to time he can’t feel his feet when he emerges from frigid water. But that is neither here nor there. “Whatever happens to you after the swim—as long as you got the swim in—it doesn’t matter,” he says.

South End swimmer Adele Gower. (Image by Jeff Cooperman)

The South End Club’s president, Fran Hegeler, says while hypothermia is a serious condition, regular Bay swimmers learn to identify early signs and get out of the water, and to swim with a buddy. San Francisco’s annual Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon recommends participants wear wetsuits.

In 50-degree water, the first stages of hypothermia can kick in after just 10 minutes, according to John A. Downing, a professor of biology with the University of Minnesota’s Large Lakes Observatory. “Wetsuit shaming. I find that hysterical,” he says. “Why would you shame someone for trying to stay alive?”

The UK-based Channel Swimming Association, which keeps official count of English Channel crossings has set the gold standard on what is and what isn’t permitted in competitive open-water swims. For a channel journey, swimmers may wear goggles, one cap, a nose clip, ear plugs and one swimsuit. Wetsuits and any material offering “thermal protection or buoyancy” are forbidden. Body grease is OK, according to the organization’s website.

The South End Club, which currently has about 1,700 members, including this reporter, has likewise maintained a minimalist attitude toward swim gear. Goggles only became standard in the 1980s.

“In the old South End, people used to think you were a sissy if you swam with goggles,” Mr. Wygant says.

Around 25 years ago, the South End’s anti-wetsuit culture sparked a rubber rebellion, he recalls. Protesters, angry with a club policy that bumped wetsuit-free members to the front of the line for certain swims, protested the rule in the only way they knew how. “They all dressed up in wetsuits,” Mr. Wygant says. They were chanting, ‘We’re here, we wear gear. Get used to it!”

Letting your wetsuit float away can prove costly. Ms. Gower, who was encouraged to do just that, held on to hers. It sells for $600 new, although she got it used for $125.

The South End Club still doesn’t allow wetsuits in its changing room. Ms. Hegeler, the president, says she isn’t entirely sure of the reason for this rule.

“It’s an old club,” says Ms. Hegeler, a former wetsuit-wearer herself. “There are certain traditions that are upheld.”

(Editor's note: We've been a guest of the South End Rowing Club, and we've known a couple of them for many years. They are a decent bunch of characters: oss.c)

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Swim start in Ocean Swimming Stadium, Mana Island.

Travel to swim in exotic locales in 2023

Vigorous response to travel packages

We're rapidly filling travel packages for our oceanswimsafaris in 2023. Packages are online for The Philippines (May-June), Sulawesi in Indonesia (June – just one room left), whale swimming in Tonga (August), Mana Fiji (October) and for Heron Island (three dates in June, October, and November).

What’s on…

Sea life in French Polynesia. You, too, can swim here.

French Polynesia, May, 2023 (Both oceanswimsafaris now full, we're sorry) – We have two oceanswimsafaris to French Polynesia. These have been rolled over several times since the pandemic hit, but we'll to get them away finally in 2023. One is full, but the other (May 18-27) has two spots available. Check the details and get in touch quick and smart… Click here

The Philippines, May-June, 2023 – We’re off to The Philippines to swim with whale sharks, etc. We stay on the island of Negros Oriental in a five-star resort, which we use as our base for swims around the area over some of the best coral reef you will ever see, and in some of the clearest water. This location, at the northern end of the Celebes Sea, offers the highest diversity of marine life in the Indo-Pacific. We already have good sized group booked. Looks like it will be much fun. Dates are May 29-June 6… Click here

Very nice water in Sulawesi.

Sulawesi, June 9-17, 2023 (Just one room left – Hurry!) – We’re heading to get back to Sulawesi, the weird-shaped island in the nor’-eastern Indonesian archipelago. This is at the southern end of the Celebes Sea, the other end from our venue in The Philippines (see above), again in the area of the greatest diversity of marine life in the Indo-Pacific. More glorious coral reef and tropical water, lots of turtles, different banquet every night, and some of the most panoramic views you will ever get from a resort room. Just 1-2 spots (1 room) left… Click here

Tonga, August, 2023 – Come with us to swim with whales in Tonga. This has proved to be one of our most popular oceanswimsafaris. In 2023, we have filled our first set of dates; now we have a second set of dates open (August 7-15). We spend three days swimming with whales and two days ocean swimming around and between islands in the Vava’u archipelago. Dates are August 7-15, 2023… Click here

The end of a big day, San Sebastián.

San Sebastián, Spain, August, 2023 – Back to Spain! We’re planning on running our San Sebastián oceanswimsafari over the week of August 22-28, anchored by the annual 3km swim around the island of Santa Clara. San Sebastián is one of the ancient world’s most colourful cities. San Sebastián sits at the point on the Basque/Spanish Atlantic coast where the Gulf Stream hits the coast, so the water at that time is comparable with NSW-SE Queensland and Perth in summer. Have you heard of pintxos? Excellent food in San Sebastián, and we make it another focus of our visit there. The Basques have their own, very special cuisine… Click here

Dr Lanie Campbell explores the entrance to a sea cave off Catalonia's Costa Brava. Not many punters get to experience this.

Costa Brava, Spain, September, 2023 – And back to the Costa Brava, the wild coastline of Catalonia between Barçelona and the French border. We’ll swim from France to Spain around the end of the Pyrenees, follow the most spectacular coastline in the world, and sample some of the best food and wine you will find anywhere. We’ll immerse ourselves in the world of Salvador Dalí, who was native to this area. And we'll visit our favourite wine bar in the entire world, run by Pau, a cigar-chomping (outside only, thankfully) sommelier and ex-war photgrapher. There’s something for everyone on this oceanswimsafari, whether or no you’re a swimmer. Sadly, 2023 dates are full, but we've had already considerable shows of interest for 2024. Dates September 12-20… Click here

Mana Fiji, October 17-22, 2023 – We are off to Mana Fiji for a five-day carnival anchored around a 10km (solos or 3 x 3.3km relay) swim on the Thursday, and a choice of 5km, 2.5km, or 1km on the Saturday. Mana’s North Beach is Ocean Swimming Stadium of the Pacific, one of the best stretches of water in which you’ll ever do a swim event… Click here

sporades yacht
We sail around the Northern Sporades, in the wake of Jason and his Argonauts.

Greece's Northern Sporades – We pioneered oceanswimsafaris around these lesser known (to Antipodeans) Greek islands, around locations for the movie, Mama Mia. Imagine, lazing around these islands, in some of the world's clearest water, on a yacht for a week. We live aboard, but we have some nights on land, and we dine each night at a different taverna by a different little cove. We can take groups of 6-8, but if you have around double that number, we can use two yachts. This is an oceanswimsafari done to order. Give us a yell... Click here

Lots on offer; lots to do; lots of swimming in some of the world’s most beautiful water.

Heron Island, Great Barrier Reef, June, October and November, 2023 – See below.

Our advance deposit scheme

You can reserve your place in any oceanswimsafari with an advance deposit of $500 per head. When we finalise the packages for each trip, we’ll give you the option of accepting or declining. If you don’t wish to proceed, we’ll refund your advance deposit in full. But in the meantime, you will have your space set aside.

See oceanswimsafaris.com for more.

Get your View gogs

Best gogs, etc, at best prices

V820ASA BR and all colours 600 Yet again, still, we're continuing our 'never-before' offer of View gogs. The folks at View have adjusted their prices in a small way recently, so we have had to adjust ours correspondingly, but we've kept prices down. We reckon these are the best value gogs you will get, in terms both of quality and price. This is in our our experience, mind you, bu this does go on a bit.

Some of our bargains…

View Selene Swipes – $36
View Wide-eyes Swipes – $36
View Wide-eyes Swipe Mirrored – $42.50
View Xtreme semi-masks – $37.50
Prescription goggles – Swipe Optical goggles – choose your lens strength in each eye – $68.50

Here's the link to order your new gogs. Click now and we'll get them away to you quick and smart… Click here

heron 1410
Not a bad joint for a swim.

2023 Heron Island

Dates open for June, Oct, Nov

Our Heron Island oceanswimsafaris were heavily booked in 2022. We've had some terrific groups come with us, and we're looking forward to tip top conditions in 2023. We're heading to Heron in June, October and November. June is the beginning of Manta ray season around Heron. October and November are early in turtle-laying season.

Best get in quick and smart. It would be good to have you with us.

We're taking bookings now for our 2023 Heron Island dates –

June 14-19
October 25-30
November 8-13

Find out more and book… Click here

heron island 12 600
Fish school.

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New model Swipes

Prescription gogs now in Swipes

Big news from View: our very popular prescription goggles now also come with high-anti-fog Swipe technology.

Our Swipes, so far in both Selene and Wide-Eyes versions, have been a big hit, offering what View (the makers) describe as 10 times the anti-fog capacity of other gogs. We've been using them for almost two years now, and we know that it works. We've sold over 1,000 pairs of Swipe gogs since their release just prior to Xmas 2019, so many of you must agree, too.

Now the Platina prescription goggles come in Swipe versions, too. Lenses come in strengths ranging from -1.0 to -10.0, and +1.5 to +6.0, and you can have different strengths in each eye. Just select the strengths you want when you order your gogs online.

View's new Swipe prescription gogs are available at $68.50 a full pair, which is cheap compared with how you will pay at a spectacles shop.

You can order your new Swipe Optical (prescription) gogs online now… Click here

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Friday, 13 January 2023 04:11

January 16, 2023

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We don't take you just anywhere.

bluebottle DH Bluey... The iconic image, by David Helsham (@glistenrr)

Our Bumper Bluey Number...

Bluebottles are the perennial menace of ocean swimming (not sharks, in our view). But despite research, we have still to hear an authoritative explanation of what makes them be there, floating around at sea, ready to be blown onto the beach by an onshore breeze. Why are blueys there sometimes, but not at other times? Why are they available to be blown into some beaches, but not others, even though beaches may be next door to each other? The jury is still out on this (we hope the jury is out; we hope someone, somewhere is doing research into this).

In this edition of the oceanswimsafaris.com newsletter, we present a couple of views of what humans regard as a beach menace, one the result of research into how punters may be able to reasonably authoritatively predict the likelihood of bluey presence at a particular beach; the other on how to treat bluey stings.

Meanwhile, if someone can tell us what makes blueys spawn, thus be bob-bob-bobbing about on the ocean's surface, available to be blown in by the next onshore, then please let us know... Email us here

How likely are blueys on your beach?

In this first piece, Amandine Schaeffer and Jasmin Lawes help you to work out how to predict the likelihood of blueys at particular beaches. You also need to know the general layout, topography, and orientation of your beach, and the prevailing wind direction, then apply the principles below.

By Amandine Schaeffer
Senior lecturer, UNSW Sydney (right, at right)

Jasmin C Lawes
Adjunct associate, UNSW Sydney (left, at right)

This story ran first in The Conversation, March 28, 2022

If you’re among the one in six Australians to experience the bitter pain of a marine stinger such as a bluebottle, you’ll know how quickly they can end a fun day at the beach.

We can’t stop the summer winds that deliver these creatures to our shores, but we can choose the safest spots to swim.

Our recent research provides the first evidence of what transports bluebottles to Australian beaches.

We found the direction a beach faces, relative to wind direction, largely determines how many bluebottles are pushed to shore. We hope these findings will help beachgoers safely plan where to take their next dip.

Image by Tim Miller (AP) bluey on beach

Delicate ocean drifters

The bluebottle is a jellyfish found mostly along Australia’s east coast.

Most bluebottle stings occur while swimming, and are the top reason people seek assistance from surf lifesavers.

Bluebottles aren’t a single animal. They’re a floating colony of individual organisms, each variously responsible for reproducing, capturing or digesting food and catching the wind.

The bluebottle’s long, trailing tentacles are designed to sting prey and creatures they feel threatened by, including humans.

Bluebottles do not swim, but drift on the ocean’s surface. Their inflated blue bladder is sensitive to aerodynamic forces and acts as a sail.

Currents drive a bluebottle’s long tentacles below the ocean’s surface and wind drives the sail above it.

The bluebottle as a sailboat

A bluebottle’s body, including the tentacles, is not aligned with its sail. Some sails point to the left of the body, and others to the right. This quirk is thought to help populations survive. If all bluebottle sails pointed the same way, an entire group might pick up a prevailing wind and be blown to shore. But when half the group has sails facing the other way, some individuals are blown in a different – and hopefully less perilous – direction.

Our previous research sought to shed light on bluebottle drift by examining physical equations that determine how sailboats respond to winds and currents. That research found wind force can cause right-leaning bluebottles to drift around 50⁰ left of the downwind direction, while left-leaning individuals drift around 50⁰ to the right.

Choose your swimming spot wisely

Our latest research explored how winds and other environmental factors affect bluebottle beaching. We analysed daily bluebottle numbers and stings at three Sydney beaches – Maroubra, Clovelly and Coogee – over four years. The project was led by Masters student, Natacha Bourg.

Bluebottles numbers were highest during summer, peaking a few weeks before maximum ocean temperatures. Cold temperatures have previously been thought to hinder bluebottle movements. But we recorded bluebottles on beaches in winter and spring, which suggests other factors are at play.

Our research found wind direction was the main factor driving bluebottles onshore. On Australia’s east coast, both northeast and southerly winds bring bluebottles towards the beach.

Crucially, we also found the shape of the coastline, and its orientation relative to prevailing winds, affects the rate of bluebottle arrivals.

Maroubra faces east and is the longest and most wind-exposed of the three beaches. We found a summer north-easterly wind at Maroubra led to a 24% chance of bluebottles the following day.

But at nearby Clovelly beach, the chance was just 4%. Clovelly faces south and sits relatively protected at the end of a narrow bay. However, after southerly winds, the chance of bluebottle encounter there increased to 12%.

Coogee faces south and is smaller than Maroubra. A small rocky outcrop limits exposure to the ocean and therefore exposure to bluebottles.

Overall, bluebottles were most likely to be found at Maroubra, followed by Coogee then Clovelly. This reflects their varying beach lengths and orientation with respect to prevailing winds.

beach break mooy aap
Image by Sam Mooy (AAP)

Planning your day at the beach

These conclusions can be applied beyond the beaches we studied. By checking beach orientation with wind direction, we can make an educated guess as to whether the chance of encountering bluebottles is high at any beach.

We know bluebottles are pushed around 50⁰ left or right of the wind direction. So a quick drawing in your head or on the sand may tell you which nearby beach is likely to be safest.

But there are exceptions to this rule. Strong ocean currents, for example, can influence bluebottle drift, especially when winds are weaker.

Rips and the circulation of water in surf zones are also linked to bluebottle beaching.

And bluebottles can extend and contract their sails and stinging tentacles which may change the direction of their drift.

So before entering the water, take plenty of precautions against bluebottles and other dangers. Surf Life Saving Australia urges all beachgoers to:

stop and check your surroundings
look for rips, large waves, rocks and other hazards
plan to stay safe, including swimming at a patrolled location
visit beachsafe.org.au.

maroubra mooy aap
Stomp, stomp, stompin' at Maroubra (Image by SamMooy,AAP)

Learning more

Further research is needed to better understand bluebottles, including how climate change, and subsequent warming oceans, will affect their drift.

Citizen science provides a powerful opportunity to learn about bluebottle distribution, size and arrival at our beaches.

Next time you see bluebottles at the beach, take photos and upload them to this project in the iNaturalist app.

In this way, you can help researchers discover more secrets of these beautiful marine creatures – which will hopefully lead to fewer painful bluebottle encounters.

Bluebottle on sea 600

Preventing, Recognizing, Treating Bluey Stings

Now, James Roland discusses treatment for bluey stings. Note that research into this is on-going, and science appears yet to find the perfect answer. One thing does seem clear: weeing on a sting does not help. This report has been medically reviewed.

This story was published on Healthline on January 7, 2020

Despite their harmless-sounding name, bluebottles are sea creatures that you should steer clear of in the water or on the beach.

The bluebottle (Physalia utriculus) is also known as a Pacific man o’ war — similar to a Portuguese man o’ war, which is found in the Atlantic Ocean.

The dangerous part of a bluebottle is the tentacle, which can sting its prey and creatures they sense as threats, including people. The venom from bluebottle stings can inflict pain and swelling.

Treatments for a bluebottle sting range from a hot water soak to topical creams and ointments to traditional oral pain medications. Some home remedy solutions, such as urine, aren’t recommended, despite being widely believed as effective treatments. Here’s what you can do.

What to do

If you’re unfortunate enough to be stung by a bluebottle, try to stay calm. If possible, ask someone to stay with you and to help treat the injury.

Find a place to sit

If you’re stung in the foot or leg, walking may cause the venom to spread and expand the painful area. Try to stay still once you reach a place where you can clean and treat the injury.

Don’t itch or rub

Even though it may start to itch, don’t rub or scratch the site of the sting.

Rinse, rinse, rinse

Instead of rubbing, wash and rinse the area carefully with water.

Hot water dunk

Research shows that immersing the wound in hot water — as hot as you can stand for 20 minutes — is a proven treatment to ease the pain of bluebottle stings.

Be careful not to make the injury worse by using water that’s too hot. Ideally, water that’s about 107°F (42°C) should be tolerable to the skin and effective at treating the sting. The heat helps kill the protein in the venom that causes pain.

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The ocean can appear so benign... But dangers lurk. (Image by oceanswimsafaris.com)

Ice pack

If no hot water is available, a cold pack or cold water may help ease the pain.

Take a pain reliever

An oral pain reliever and anti-inflammatory, such as ibuprofen (Advil) or naproxen (Aleve), may provide additional comfort.

First-aid boost

Boost your beach first-aid kit with these tips:

Vinegar. ResearchTrusted Source suggests that using vinegar as a rinse can disinfect the site of the sting and provide pain relief.
Tweezers. While rinsing should help remove any invisible stinging cells, you should also look for any tentacle fragments and carefully remove them with tweezers.
Gloves. If possible, wear gloves to avoid any further contact with your skin.

See a doctor

If you still experience pain, itchiness, and swelling after the treatment outlined above, you should see a doctor. They may prescribe cortisone cream or an ointment to help reduce inflammation and ease your symptoms.

You should definitely see a doctor if:

the area of the sting covers a wide area, such as most of the leg or arm
you’re stung in the eye, mouth, or other sensitive area — in these cases, seek immediate medical assistance
you’re unsure if or what you were stung by

If you’re unsure whether you’ve been stung by a bluebottle, jellyfish, or other sea creature, you should see a doctor for an evaluation. Some jellyfish stings can be fatal if left untreated.

grey nurse hooked forster 600
Another danger lurking? No way. Grey nurse sharks are docile. This one is suffering: hooked by a stray line, it mooches about with a big hook in its lip and 2-3m of heavy line hanging beneath it. We did a story with Channel 7 News on how we swim with grey nurses at Forster. Have a look at it... Click here

Can you be allergic?

Though rare, allergic reactions to bluebottle stings can occur. The symptoms are like those of anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction that can follow the sting of a wasp or scorpion. If you’re stung and experience chest tightness or difficulty breathing, get medical attention immediately.

Sting symptoms

If stung by a bluebottle, you may experience the following symptoms:

Pain. A bluebottle sting typically causes pain right away. The pain is usually quite severe.
Red line. A red line is often visible, a sign of where the tentacle touched the skin. The line, which may look like a string of beads, will usually swell and become itchy.
Blisters. Sometimes, blisters form where the tentacle came in contact with skin.

Other symptoms, such as nausea or abdominal pain, are unlikely.

The size of the wound and the severity of symptoms depend on how much contact the tentacle had with the skin.

How long will the pain last?

The pain of a bluebottle sting can last up to an hour, though multiple stings or injuries in sensitive parts of the body can make the pain last longer.

Bluebottle behavior

Bluebottles feed on small mollusks and larval fish, using their tentacles to pull their prey into their digestive polyps.

Stinging tentacles are also used defensively against predators, and innocent swimmers and beachgoers can seem like a threat to these unusual creatures. Multiple stings are possible at one time, though a single sting is most common.

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Swimmer with visitor, Forster. (Image by Rachel Dodd)

Prevention

Bluebottles can sting in the water and on the beach when they appear to be lifeless. Because of their blue color, they’re harder to see in the water, which is one reason why they have few predators.

Though bluebottles resemble jellyfish, they’re actually a collection of four distinct colonies of polyps — known as zooids — each with its own responsibility for the creature’s survival.

What this means for people is that stinging happens on contact with the tentacle, almost like a reflex.

Your best strategy to avoid a bluebottle sting is to give them a wide berth if you spot them on the beach. And if there are warnings about dangerous animals in the water, such as bluebottles and jellyfish, heed caution and stay out of the water.

Children and older adults, as well as people who are allergic to bluebottle stings, should exercise greater caution and be accompanied by healthy adults in areas inhabited by bluebottles.

Where are bluebottles found?

In the summer months, bluebottles are usually found in the waters around eastern Australia, while in the autumn and winter months, they can be found in the waters off southwestern Australia. They can also be found throughout the Indian and Pacific oceans.

A bluebottle’s main body, also known as a float, is usually no more than a few inches long. The tentacle, however, can be up to 30 feet long.

Because of their small size, bluebottles can be washed ashore easily by strong tidal action. They’re most commonly found on beaches after powerful onshore winds. Bluebottles are less commonly seen in sheltered waters or on the banks of sheltered coves and inlets.

The takeaway

Because their blue, translucent bodies make them difficult to spot in the water, bluebottles sting tens of thousands of people in Australia every year.

Though painful, the stings aren’t fatal and don’t usually cause any serious complications. Still, it’s worth paying close attention when you’re in the water or on the beach to avoid these unusual but dangerous creatures.

If a bluebottle tentacle does find you, be sure to carefully clean the sting and soak it in hot water to start the healing process.