Re: [Paddlewise] Comfort and the roll

I wonder if PMoW differ around the world??
I've always had a paranoia about jellyfish. Swimming as a kid, I 
imagined coming up through a wave and finding one splayed across my 
face!!! I've continued that paranoia into kayak rolling! A few years 
ago, we had an infestation where giant red and black jellies were so 
prevalent in Newport, you couldn't plant a blade without hitting one! I 
can assure you, it dampened my desire to paddle!!
That being said, I had an encounter with a PMoW on a beach in Hawaii 
several years ago. I guess they tend to wash up on shore there with the 
full moon or something! Someone else had left the beach in a hurry with 
a sting a while before I met mine, so I figured he'd reduced my odds! 
Fat chance! It got my arm and as I swung to throw it off, it got me in 
the back as well! Not a pleasant feeling! I'd heard all the folk 
remedies were bogus, so I didn't bother peeing on myself!! It curtailed 
my swim session and I drove home with nasty red welts on my arm at least.
While it was painful, the pain didn't last as long as I thought it 
would, so I wondered if I had met a sissy!?! The long tentacles make 
sure they contact with quite a bit of skin, so they seem a nasty piece 
of work. I'd just as soon NOT be able to compare them with one of our 
local variety, having been able to avoid them through my whole life here 
growing up by the beach.
I definitely don't want to find one sharing a ride with me after a roll!!!

Mark Sanders
www.sandmarks.net

On 1/15/2011 4:00 PM, PeterO wrote:
> Having disposed of the offensive foam and preparing to leave the beach, my
> right side nether regions started to feel strangely warm. As the pain went
> from strange to uncomfortable I removed the spray skirt and there it was, a
> distraught bluebottle sharing my seat! The pain intensified and spread,
> almost like sitting on a stove top. Resisting the urge to rip off my pants
> and run across the beach and into the sea, I paddled away fast to remove the
> blue bottle and as many tendrils as possible at a discrete distance. Then
> paddled away from the dishevelled monster so I could roll over, exit the
> boat and cool my fiery backside. It was not to be. As I tilted the boat a
> sensation like a branding iron along my thigh and buttocks caused me to
> execute a fantastic knee lift and roll up, only to experience the pain
> repeatedly making me tip over and roll again six times in rapid succession.
> I have witnesses!
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