Landels-Hill Big Creek Reserve, Big Sur Coastline
Monterey Co., CA – March 29, 2003

Hundreds of by-the-wind sailors, Velella velella, were washed up at the beach surfline. They are relatively harmless colonial hydrozoans, related to the dangerous Portuguese Man-of-War. They normally live in the open ocean but under some wind conditions can be blown on-shore, especially in southern California, more rarely to the north. They live in warm oceans throughout the world. From "Cool Facts" here: "Some sails are oriented to the right (right-handed), and some are oriented to the left (left-handed). On our coast, by-the-wind sailors are right-handed; the prevailing northerly winds keep them offshore. However, when strong, prolonged southerly or westerly winds blow, the jellies wash to shore in huge numbers. Scientists think both types of by-the-wind sailors mix together in the central Pacific, and that the winds sort the right-handed from the left-handed, pushing them onto different sides of the Pacific Ocean." See here for a cool rotating QuickTime movie of them. They catch and feed on mostly copepods and fish eggs and themselves are a common food item for many shore and especially oceanic animals, including the pelagic blue sea slug, Glaucus atlanticus, and loggerhead turtles. (Other links: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5)

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Image by D.J. Eernisse © 2003