Stingers

Sharks, stingrays ... now you can add Portuguese Man of War to the list of nasty sea creatures that can ruin a trip to the beach. A Clearwater lifeguard's recent encounter with a Portuguese Man of War that left him badly burned was not a typical occurrence.

"I can't remember ever having anybody hit by one of those before," said Joe Lain, who has been the Water Safety Supervisor for Clearwater for 19 years. "I have seen them before, but this was pretty unusual."

Man of war are more common on the Atlantic Ocean where surfers, scuba divers and swimmers learn to avoid their nasty sting. Isolated specimens are occasionally observed offshore in deep water, but seldom close to shore.

"We have had a strong west wind and maybe it got blown in from the Loop Current," Lain speculated.

But Floridians should consider themselves lucky. In Queensland, Australia, the other "Sunshine State," beachgoers must contend with the dreaded box jellyfish. These "nasties," as the Aussies call them, can send you into cardiac arrest.

Twenty years ago, paddling off Cairns, I ran into a former surfer-tuned-kayak guide who met with a "sea wasp" a few years earlier and still had the scars to prove it. This poor bloke actually died on the beach but was resuscitated by his mates.

So thank your lucky stars that you don't live in Oz and have to wear a lycra "stinger" suit every time you go for a swim.

(Photo: Dozens, if not hundreds of Portuguese man-of-war washed up on the beach at Pass-a-Grille in 2003. Times -- Lara Cerri. Click to enlarge.)