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Diving Bonaire: Mysterious jellyfish stings (?)
Bonaire Talk: Diving Bonaire: Archives: Archives 1999-2005: Archives - 2000-12-29 to 2002-08-31: Mysterious jellyfish stings (?)
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dave Bessmer on Wednesday, March 28, 2001 - 11:17 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Just back from 8 nights in Bonaire and wish we weren't. Will post full trip report later, but have a question for those more experienced.

We did the drift snorkel to No Name on Kelin Bonaire off the Sea Cow. As we made the run from No Name to the drop point, someone on the boat remarked about jellyfish in the water. The Sea Cow guy said if they were the brown spotted jellyfish, they were harmless.

Sure enough, the water was full of these little guys, in places. In the course of the drift, my wife was stung about a dozen times, a couple so severely that she cried. The stings seemed unrelated to the brown spotted fish. (I.e., when she got her worst stings, I went under water and saw nothing in the area to which I could attirbute the stings. Also, I touched some of these little jellyfish without consequence.) The problem was severe enough that we finned, rather than drifted, to No Name so we could get out ASAP.

I never received a single sting. I encouraged my wife to stay away from the reef, as I was snorkleing out over the droppoff (better coral, 4 turtle sightings) and not being stung. She got stung anyway.

The stings raised small, faint whitish welts and stopped hurting soon after.

I know very little about jellyfish. I'm guessing maybe she became entangled in long, hard-to-see tentacles that stayed with her, rather than being stung by several different organisms, which would explain why she got stung and I didn't.

Any better ideas as to what got her, and why it didn't get me? Thanks.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Linda Richter - NetTech on Wednesday, March 28, 2001 - 3:07 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

The brown spotted jellyfish were probably the same four-spot wing jellies we saw on the web cam a few days ago. Those don't sting.

Jake got stung about a month ago by another kind of jelly that was almost invisible. A swimmate of my daughter was stung during swim lessons on Monday but none of the other children or instructor were hit. Unfortunately, you may get stung but never see the culprit. They recommend that you see a doctor if a large area is stung or it seems like a severe reaction.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dave Bessmer on Wednesday, March 28, 2001 - 3:43 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Linda, thanks for the info. She didn't have any reaction & has been fine since minutes after her last sting.

And thanks for maintaining this site. It has been a wonderful source of information in helping make our trip to Bonaire a success. Maybe next time down we can meet you and Jake.

BTW when we were having dinner at It Rains Fishes last Thursday there was an American or Canadian couple dining with a somewhat older Dutch couple next to us. Didn't listen in much (too hard of hearing even if I was that nosey) but the American Couple seemed to be people who lived in Bonaire. It wasn't you and Jake was it?

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Linda Richter - NetTech on Wednesday, March 28, 2001 - 4:20 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Nope, wasn't us.

Glad to hear your wife recovered quickly.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By nancy edison on Tuesday, April 3, 2001 - 12:33 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

At Klein Bonaire, on 3/27, doing a snorkel around or at Nearest Point, we came across stinging organisms, as well. I got a tiny very temporary sting on my knee (wore a long-sleeved shorty), but a young man wearing swimming trunks and a tee shirt got several stings that became small welts, which he tolerated well. In the water I twice saw single white-clear round jellyfish, about 3-4 inches in diameter, maybe 2 inches long. Beautiful, graceful - stingers? I don't know if they were the culprits or not. I did hear of a pair of families running into jellyfish around Klein Bonaire the week of 3/14, as well, and the children experienced painful stings that seemed to have no lasting effect. All a part of visiting with the marine world, I suppose.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ed Brylczyk on Sunday, April 8, 2001 - 1:10 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

On April 4th my wife and I took the water taxi over to Klein to do a drift snorkle. We dropped our stuff off at No Name and then were taken up current to Ebo's Reef. My wife went in first after asking about jellyfish and getting a reply from the captain that there would be no problem. He then went over to the side of the boat as I dropped in and told us both to look under water. Three feet from us there was a wall of Jelly Fish, from surface to floor, hundreds of them. They were about two inches in diameter, clear heads and flourecent purple tenticles about 3 to 4 inches long. Lisa got stung on the back of her leg and said it felt like a bee sting. The captain was cool about it and brought us back on and then returned us to No Name. At no name I got stung 3 times and it was about like a bee sting. The next morning some friends did a dive at Jerry's Reef on Klien and had the same problem, stung right through the wet suit. In the afternoon we went on a snorkle trip to Jerry's reef and did not see one jelly fish, so maybe it's just a morning phenomenon. We did see three turtles on this trip so a sting or two would have easily been tolerated

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Linda Densmore on Monday, April 9, 2001 - 11:34 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

We were there the last two weeks in March and had simular stinging experiences at No Name on Kliene Bonaire. Our 8 year old went crazy and screamed until we got her out(I think the idea of it scared her more than anything). My 10 year old tolerated the stings until one got her face.The stings just left a slight redness when we got out. I saw some like Nancy and they were beautiful. I was surprised to hear they went through someones wet suit because a nylon top protected me. Those ones mentioned above sound like what my son was playing with at Lac Bay. A little boy who lives on the island got stung by a very big one of those at Lac Bay on the 29th. Does anyone know them and is he okay? A few minutes later everyone else was back in the water playing. Nancy is right--its part of the ocean experience. Next time I think I'll always keep a bottle of vinegar with me.

 


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