Jelly Fish

St. John Lover · Post by **St. John Lover** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 7:17 pm

Hi all but especially Pia,

Someone a few days ago had mentioned encountering a bunch of jelly fish out by Waterlemon Cay I believe. You (Pia) had mentioned it was 'the season' for them.

Being of the kind that would rather encounter shark or barracuda than jelly fish, I wondered if you could tell me if 1) are the jelly fish pretty prevalent all over still? and 2) what exactly is 'the season' for jelly fish?

Not that I wouldn't visit St. John WHENEVER I had the opportunity, but if it's considered 'jelly fish season' I would definitely come equipped with plenty of "Sea Safe" (a lotion I stumbled across that protects against jelly fish, sea lice etc, which has certainly worked for me). But of course, as a light-packer, I don't want to bring stuff I don't have to.

Thanks for any help you can give me!

Pia · Post by **Pia** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 8:29 pm

Hey St John Lover

I did encounter them at Waterlemon, there were probably 10 people out snorkeling and I guess they were not aware of them in the water with them - they were all having a great time

I on the other hand jumped in, swam towards the cay and saw probably 5 large ones so I high tailed it back to the boat - I hate them.

They are not really around close to shore so to speak, you will see them out alittle further - at Maho for example I will sometimes see them out at the point of the rocks (on the right side) and out by the "no boat" markers - so not a worry if you are just swimming or floating close to shore.

Season tends to be when the water is the warmest so end of July, Aug and Sept are "peak" times, have never seen them in the cooler water months (except 1 big one out at Pelican Rock this February - that was strange)

I always carry white vinegar with me just in case - it stops the stingers that are left on your body from firing - do not rinse with fresh water first - just apply the vinegar.

Sea Safe is a great product (I believe) but no need to bring it if you are here in the cooler water temp time of year.

Hope this helps

Pia

designbyroe · Post by **designbyroe** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 10:03 pm

My first time at Waterlemon I got stung by one. I remember telling my friend Andy I thought he was kickin me and so I kicked him back. Only to find it was a jelly fish.
I learned they look nothing like they do on the Jersey shore. Vinegar good idea.
I have never seen them close to shore just at Waterlemon way out...

RickG · Post by **RickG** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 10:32 pm

I just keep an eye out and try to swim around them.

Cheers, RickG

Adrienne · Post by **Adrienne** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 6:58 am

OK - just had to mention this cause it just aired a few weeks ago and I happened to catch it - it was a repeat of the old Friend's episode where I think it was Pheobe, Joey and Chandler were at the beach, one of them got stung by a jelly and they had this long argument about how to take the sting away...well, it was to pee on it! Its gross, I know - but funny - just had to LOL since it was the topic!

Cheers!

JT · Post by JT » Mon Oct 08, 2007 8:09 am

We were overwhelmed with them at Grootpan and Kiddle in June 2005! They certainly took some of the wind outta my sails! I never got stung, but they freaked me out by their sheer size.

waterguy · Post by **waterguy** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 8:38 am

I saw them at waterlemon and the caves at norman a week ago

liamsaunt · Post by **liamsaunt** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 9:20 am

There were so many at Haulover South that we had to get out of the water in June. They were moon jellies, which supposedly do not give a bad sting, but I really did not want to find out.

sea-nile · Post by **sea-nile** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 9:24 am

Shhhhhhh!
Now you are just going to give CypressGirl another thing to be scared of in the water!
It's bad enough with the shark scare.

Seriously, I never saw any. I'll keep my eye out this time.

sasky · Post by **sasky** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 9:29 am

Um, yeah. This thread is freaking me out a bit.

RickG · Post by **RickG** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 10:48 am

I've never run into the Moon Jellies in shallow water. This is not at all like the carpets of jelly fish/sea wasps that I see on the Mid Atlantic coast in August and September. If you are feeling freaked out, bring that bottle of vinegar and some meat tenderizer, my Mother does. That's bottle of vinegar must be 10 years old - never opened.

Cheers, RickG

cypressgirl · Post by **cypressgirl** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 1:44 pm

sea-nile wrote:Shhhhhhh!
Now you are just going to give CypressGirl another thing to be scared of in the water!
It's bad enough with the shark scare.

Seriously, I never saw any. I'll keep my eye out this time.

I'm not that big a chicken when it comes to Jellies. The ones I've seen around STJ look like little nothings compared to the Jellyfish and Man o Wars on the Texas Gulf Coast. Those guys will just about send you to the ER.

St. John Lover · Post by **St. John Lover** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 9:23 pm

Thank you all for your responses. (BTW, cool pic RickG; did you actually take that on STJ?). Some comments raised additional questions for me though...

I love Haulover North but last time I snorkeled there I ended up swimming through beds of the little jellies. (Maybe these are the sea wasps someone referenced?--the little ones that are clear and float right on or near the surface so you don't really see them until all of the sudden something catches your eye by the corner of your mask. My initial thought is usually that someone tossed a baggie overboard but then I realize it's a jelly fish & everytime I've seen these little ones, there's usually tons of them. So they really creep me out--because they're so close to my face, neck & eyes).

The big moon jellies I usually see way ahead of time & can avoid--plus I'd heard that their stings really aren't as bad as the little ones. (true?) The good news is that the Sea Safe, for me so far, has worked. I just hate smearing it all over me if I don't have to.

I did get stung once--Trunk Bay in the summer or fall, and it did really sting. Funny thing is it was on my calf & I hadn't noticed anything on the surface. The lifeguard there put a vinegar poultice on it which helped the pain considerably and quickly. But the long red mark stayed for a long long time. (My understanding is that it's the acid in vinegar or pee that alleviates it so either is fine--the vinegar just seems a bit more civilized while of course the pee might be a bit handier

)

Anyway, I don't want to concern anyone. Really, getting a minor sting just one time considering the thousands of hours I've spent swimming and snorkeling in that beautiful water makes it a very rare event. And my sting came BEFORE I discovered the Sea Safe so I think I'm protected. But please let me know if anyone's used it and still had a problem?

Thanks again for all your good and 'on the mark' detailed info.

RickG · Post by **RickG** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 10:16 pm

St. John Lover wrote:(BTW, cool pic RickG; did you actually take that on STJ?).

Haulover South in November!

Cheers, RickG

chrisn · Post by **chrisn** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 11:41 pm

I'm scared shi*less of jellies. Give me a shark anyday over a Jelly!

usvi-on-line

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Jelly Fish

Jelly Fish