drrich2
Contributor
Tonight I decided on a night dive off the pier at Buddy Dive Resort. Geared up, and walked part way down the ladder, sat and started to get my fins on. Something stung my legs; not agonizing, but alarming. So I get up, turn around & shine my light in the water. See nothing. Turn and go in, and my right hand gets stung hard. I turn, and see a small jelly fish with 4 tentacles.
Oh, crap! I'm thinking I remember Bonaire box jellyfish look like that. What now? Can't pee on it underwater. Doubt anybody's standing around lending vinegar on the pier, if you believe that helps (from what I understand it's fallen out of favor). So, I'm supposed to rinse with sea water, right? Which means if I keep diving, the steady wash of water over my hand will rinse it. So I dive. Pain feels like a cross between a wasp sting and a cut, spread around. Gets a bit worse, then levels off. Not drawing tears or preventing me from focusing on or enjoying the dive, but I wish it'd go away.
I head up to that boat wreck past Captain Don's that sits around 30-40' deep, find a couple of crabs, come back, count 6 tarpon handing with me, and end up hovering in the shallows quite awhile to drag out bottom time. I want that hour. I get it. Head back along the bottom to the pier; swim right over a scorpion fish, but see it so no problem.
There are 2 ladders at the pier. Every time I get near one, somebody makes a loud banging racket & shines a light around, warning me. So I surface at the end of the pier to talk. There's a group, and a guy tells me there are sea wasps and a girl's already been sent to the hospital. By now, I've noticed them at the surface. But I've got to get out of the water. I point that out, and someone encouragingly shouts 'Go for it!'
Which I did, and despite coming up between 2 of the little suckers, I had no more stings. People helped get me out quickly, and a lady offered me a choice of Windex or vinegar to spray on the wounds I already head. I saw a sign that said Warning Jellyfish' or some such on a rope; I don't know whether it was up when I went in earlier.
There were quite a few of the little beasts hanging around, it seems. From what I understand they occasionally swarm, and are drawn to lights.
So, one more thing to have in mind when diving. Besides the moon jellyfish, lionfish, scorpionfish, bristle worms and the 2 big southern stingrays I've seen this trip...
Richard.
P.S.: I'm writing this awhile later, and the pain is subsiding quite a bit. Kind of reminds me of a sunburn now. No trouble breathing, light-headedness, dizziness, etc... A friend once told me that in time, even the bad things that happen to special trips become 'part of the memory.' I guess I've got one more conversation piece.
Oh, crap! I'm thinking I remember Bonaire box jellyfish look like that. What now? Can't pee on it underwater. Doubt anybody's standing around lending vinegar on the pier, if you believe that helps (from what I understand it's fallen out of favor). So, I'm supposed to rinse with sea water, right? Which means if I keep diving, the steady wash of water over my hand will rinse it. So I dive. Pain feels like a cross between a wasp sting and a cut, spread around. Gets a bit worse, then levels off. Not drawing tears or preventing me from focusing on or enjoying the dive, but I wish it'd go away.
I head up to that boat wreck past Captain Don's that sits around 30-40' deep, find a couple of crabs, come back, count 6 tarpon handing with me, and end up hovering in the shallows quite awhile to drag out bottom time. I want that hour. I get it. Head back along the bottom to the pier; swim right over a scorpion fish, but see it so no problem.
There are 2 ladders at the pier. Every time I get near one, somebody makes a loud banging racket & shines a light around, warning me. So I surface at the end of the pier to talk. There's a group, and a guy tells me there are sea wasps and a girl's already been sent to the hospital. By now, I've noticed them at the surface. But I've got to get out of the water. I point that out, and someone encouragingly shouts 'Go for it!'
Which I did, and despite coming up between 2 of the little suckers, I had no more stings. People helped get me out quickly, and a lady offered me a choice of Windex or vinegar to spray on the wounds I already head. I saw a sign that said Warning Jellyfish' or some such on a rope; I don't know whether it was up when I went in earlier.
There were quite a few of the little beasts hanging around, it seems. From what I understand they occasionally swarm, and are drawn to lights.
So, one more thing to have in mind when diving. Besides the moon jellyfish, lionfish, scorpionfish, bristle worms and the 2 big southern stingrays I've seen this trip...
Richard.
P.S.: I'm writing this awhile later, and the pain is subsiding quite a bit. Kind of reminds me of a sunburn now. No trouble breathing, light-headedness, dizziness, etc... A friend once told me that in time, even the bad things that happen to special trips become 'part of the memory.' I guess I've got one more conversation piece.
