Marine Life My first jellyfish sting

[John the Pom]

Got stung on the palms of my hands a few weeks ago in Sydney when pulling up the deco weight line, probably a bluebottle but never saw anything. Took about a week to scab and another week to sort of disappear. We are used to getting stung here, common occurrence.

Some of the Northern Beaches were visited by small jellyfish we call "jimbles" a few weeks ago. Quite a few surfers got stung.

I was diving off one of the beaches in summer, wearing a full wetsuit, gloves, booties, and a hood. A bluebottle still managed to get me, on the wrist and around the neck!

I know this confusing for British divers, because, in Britain, a "bluebottle" is a sort of blowfly. But here, "bluebottle" refers to a kind of small "Portuguese man-o-war" stinger - an essential part of the Aussie beach experience!