Tag Archives: Velella velella

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Dara Otwell wrote, “These were at Bowling Ball Beach Monday, 17 March.”

When I wrote back, I told Dara I had never seen so many washed up - her photos showed thousands of these animals - and she responded, “I’ve never seen so many either. It was wild; as with Nature, it changes constantly as the beach was back to normal the next day.”  

Carl Shapiro found a newly washed up Velella at Black Point Beach. It still had its vibrant blue color.

You can see the "sail" on top of this animal. About half of Velella velellas have sails tilted one direction, and the other half have it tilted in the opposite direction. This way, when the spring winds blow, half of them get blown further out to sea, while the unfortunate ones get washed up on the beach. Other creatures will eat them, and the tide will take some of them back into the ocean to be a part of the food chain.

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Strong spring winds can sometimes drive By-the-wind-Sailors, or Velella velella, onto local beaches. DeDe Plaisted found a group of these animals mixed with Kelp that had also been tossed up on the beach. They are a vibrant blue which tells us they had very recently been stranded.

They have a small sail that catches the wind and blows them over the surface of the sea. Under certain wind conditions, they may be stranded on the beach, as DeDe found out recently. Mother Nature gave these animals an edge - about half of them have the sail tilted in one direction, and the rest have it tilted in the opposite direction. This way, some are driven out to sea where they can survive, while others sometimes perish on the beach.

Thanks to DeDe for allowing me to share her photo with you here.

There is no wind today at my place and it's warm and toasty.

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By-the-Wind Sailors, Velella velella, have been washing up on beaches recently. They are a relative of Jellyfish and are quite beautiful. Roberta Chan noticed one that still had life so she picked it up and carried it to a tide pool. Unfortunately for the Sailor, the wind slowly drove it directly to a hungry Sea Anemone.

An anemone and a by-wind-sailor 1 by Roberta ChanAn anemone & sailor 2 by Robert ChanAn anemonee & sailor 3 by Robert Chan

It just wasn't that Sailor's day.

Thanks to Roberta for allowing me to share her photos with you here. To see a photo of a Velella velella and to learn more about them, here is the link to a previous post: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2014/08/26/velella-velella-by-the-wind-sailors/

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A fascinating creature of the sea, Velella velella, has been seen washed up on local beaches. Paul Horn recently photographed one that ended up in a tide pool.

By-The-Wind-Sailor, Velella velella, by Paul Horn

They are a distant relative of Jellyfish, though they don’t go underwater – they feed from the surface.

They are dependent on the wind for movement, hence their common name, By-the-wind-Sailors; their upper crest acts as a sail. Sometimes the wind shifts and drives them on shore. Paul is correct that this one was lucky to land in a tide pool. They must be in water to survive. I’ve learned that if a wave comes in and returns them to the sea, they will survive being beached for a short time.

Thanks to Paul for allowing me to share his photo with you here. We have much to learn about the creatures that reside in the ocean.