YouTube version
I went down to Stanwell Park Beach in the early hours and looked forward to surfing some fun waves with offshore winds. I did end up catching a couple of fun waves and put together some footage. Too bad the morning surf came to an abrupt halt from blue bottles. I was able to capture the culprit that stung me on the arm. I saw quite a few blue bottles and one of the other surfers was swearing as he had just got stung on the arm. I believe there were quite a few victims today. Another surfer mentioned while out the back, it may be a good time to get out.
I foolishly decided to continue surfing. I caught another wave and began to paddle back out; unexpectedly I felt a sudden sting on my arm, and I yelled ‘aaaah F% #ck’. I saw the blue tentacles and started picking them off. I then paddled out for more waves and caught another, then again ‘ahhhh F%#cK’ . I reached to the back of my knee where it had wrapped around my leg. Funnily enough I decided to quickly paddle into shore to wash my leg with salt water. I noticed that within a couple of brief minutes most of the other surfers had decided to paddle in as well and were all watching from the shore. The blue bottles all of a sudden appeared in vast numbers, it was a shame, as it was pleasurable surf conditions.
The thirty minute drive home was very uncomfortable to say the least. My thigh started cramping along with my left shoulder. It was kind of amusing, I was not sure if the leg or arm hurt more and tried to laugh the pain way. I was acting hysterically to numb the pain. Once I got home I ran to the shower to run hot water over the stings. My girlfriend boiled a jug of water and gave me a bucket. I then grabbed the vinegar as it seemed to help last time; I just wonder if it will work this time. I noticed when I used the vinegar last time; the itch was nonexistent for the next few days preceding the sting. I have been stung four times in 3 weeks, so I am testing different ways to treat the pain and itchiness. So far vinegar diluted in hot water has worked a treat; I just have to make sure there are no blue tentacles present on my skin. Apparently the vinegar can react and is why they say not to use vinegar. I will just try a few methods and see what works best for me.
The blue bottle treatment set up. No it is not hard liquor but it should be :)
The arm was rather easy to dip into the bucket, while the back of my leg was unfeasible to fit into a bucket. These are times when I wish I had a bath and not a shower. In the end I used a cup filled with hot water and vinegar, then poured the solution on the side of my knee. Thank goodness for capillary action, as it would run under my leg to soothe the pain. Was very awkward but ended up doing the trick.
Sting on the arm is starting to appear
And the leg
hope you enjoyed the Go pro footage. I am beginning to improve my surfing and performed a backside cutback which is in the video, and would like to thank @nudimar for his great tips and good posts on surf training. I have been using the carver skateboard to practice and will post up some footage of the carver skateboarding shortly. Have a great weekend and stay tuned for more go pro clips!!
The Carver
