Jelly Fish in Abundance

It's that time of year again, when we get spring storms and the Jelly fish start washing up in droves. Supposedly this is the time of year to look for Japanese glass floats.....and several years ago that worked for me. I found a small float, right in the tide line floating among the jelly fish. That particular year, they washed up about 4 inches thick, as we had some very windy storms and rough seas. According to at least one book I've read, the same wind that blows up this particular Jelly fish also breaks the floats loose from the current pattern they're trapped in. - By-the-wind-sailor Velella velella

These jellyfish live in the open sea but are commonly stranded on local beaches after storms.


They are under four inches long and are a distinctive deep blue. They possess a float with small blue tentacles on the underside, used to catch their prey.
To aid transportation they have a transparent sail, which can be either left or right handed. Winds tend to distribute them into groups comprised of the same handedness, so strandings tend to be made up of one group.