Stingrays

[mastman]

Is it me, or do they seem to be EVERYWHERE?!  Maybe us SUPers see so many because we stand above the water and can look down, but I am seeing so many dozens of stingrays every time I got surfing, I can’t believe the proners (or dogs or kids) aren’t getting hit constantly.  It is just a matter of time before I step on one (yes I shuffle my feet) 

Is it one of those things where they have always been there but the strikes are somehow still rare? Given how many I see from my board, I can’t believe the strikes aren’t more common than they are.

[TN_SUP]

I've seen a lot more skates than stingrays on the gulf coast beaches, thank goodness. A friend did get stung on the ankle by a ray at east coast Myrtle Beach, definitely ruined their vacation.

[breakbad]

I see them every time I go out around the Destin beaches, and see schools of them in the bay. Not sure if they are stingers or skates...my guess would be skates.

[komsup]

yes, I have a similar observation: I very seldom saw them (skates/rays) before - occasionally whilst diving or from foredeck of yacht while leaving marina. Now from SUP sightings are frequent (depending on location). I NEVER saw rays whilst surfing, Now commonly see them whilst SUPping same breaks with surfers... who still seem not to see the rays, even when I have remarked or tried to point them out. a case of perspective?

[Bulky]

If the surface is smooth, I see 4-6 every morning on my paddle.  Most are 18in to 2ft wingspan, but I did see a 4ft one about a week or so ago.  Beautiful animals.  I guess they could sting but they seem pretty interested in giving me a wide berth.

[AJR]

I've been told that the diamond shaped ones that float around and flap their wings are harmless - I see them all the time. The round ones that sit on the bottom are the stinging kind...

[SCruzSUPr]

We've seen a few between First Peak and New Brighton, but they depart in a hurry when they spot us.  There are probably scads more who see me first and are long gone before I get a chance to lay eyes on 'em.... like most of the critters below the surface.

[PonoBill]

Most stinging rays are diamond shape and swim freely. There are many species with lots of differences in appearance. If you see a long tail with a side barb it's probably a stinger.

The reason there aren't more people and dogs stung is that it's a defensive weapon. If you step close to them they generally won't zap you. No guarantee though. I've balanced them on my hand and swum (with scuba gear) under hundreds of them, being constantly bumped but never stung. They seem to like to have their undersides rubbed. They're also very tasty.

[SUPcheat]

We've seen a few between First Peak and New Brighton, but they depart in a hurry when they spot us.  There are probably scads more who see me first and are long gone before I get a chance to lay eyes on 'em.... like most of the critters below the surface.

\

Oh, great, something else to be paranoid about.

[Zooport]

I got stung really bad just before New Years.  I did not step on the ray.  I was punching through white water with a foot hanging off the board and he nailed me mid-water.  Hurt like crazy.  Wasn't my first sting though, knew exactly what happened and managed to continue my surf session for about 45 minutes until the pain became unbearable.  Such fun little waves that day.  Went home and soaked in very hot water for over an hour and was fine after that.  The only problem is that I developed a serious infection from the sting and had to do a round of antibiotics to get rid of it.  After about a week, my foot swelled up to double size and turned purple.  After a week of antibiotics, I was OK again. 

[breakbad]

I got stung really bad just before New Years.  I did not step on the ray.  I was punching through white water with a foot hanging off the board and he nailed me mid-water.  Hurt like crazy.  Wasn't my first sting though, knew exactly what happened and managed to continue my surf session for about 45 minutes until the pain became unbearable.  Such fun little waves that day.  Went home and soaked in very hot water for over an hour and was fine after that.  The only problem is that I developed a serious infection from the sting and had to do a round of antibiotics to get rid of it.  After about a week, my foot swelled up to double size and turned purple.  After a week of antibiotics, I was OK again.

I kept an eye out today to verify, and now I'm pretty sure most of what I see are stingrays....in abundance. After reading this, I realized how many times I fell off my board today and blindly planted my feet on the bottom. Its a new motivation to practice, and stay up, thanks!

[Zooport]

I later learned that low tide is the most likely time to get stung by a ray.  I was told that rays do not move with the tides, they stay in the same place no matter what the tide is doing, so low tide brings you out into their territory in shallow water.  At high tide, you are usually not out far enough to get nailed and even if you are because the surf is bigger, the water is deep enough for a sting to be less likely.  So now at low tide, I am extremely careful, maybe even a little paranoid about it.

[Old School 213]

Stingrays are here!  Saturday at Bolsa Chica I talked to two people that got stuck and watched the park workers taking a third to the guard head quarters for a soak.

Anyone ever see them or get stuck around golden west, power plant or river jetties? 

[Zooport]

Yeah, I got hit at PowerPlant.  Tide was very low.  That's when they are at their worst there and other places. 

[SUPcheat]

I finally saw TWO rays today around Shark's break. I saw and heard something flutter on the surface.  I used to think those surface flutters were just fish or seals, but the water was clear and it was a ray and it swam around under the surface for a while. It was a ways out by the outer kelp. Then later, I heard the same kind of water flutter and saw another one.  Now I kind of know how they sound when they disturb the surface, and I can be all paranoid about them.  Wish I had never heard about them.

On the way back around Privates, a guy passed me on a SUP staring down into the water and asked me "Did you see it? A big shark down there, wow!"

I don't really fear sharks because the stats are negligible. Another guy at the beach mentioned he would like to SUP fish and he was curious about my board because he thought I was handling the short board OK, and he wanted a light board because of a bad back.  He said that Shark's cove (Duh, again!) is in fact a breeding ground for a lot of the more harmless varieties of shark, and they can be out there in the hundreds.  Don't know if I really wanted to know that, either, but at least they are the common harmless ones and not the man in the grey suit type.