Jellyfish

We were at Carambola last October and there was a jellyfish infestation. They were everywhere. We didn't look in the water by the ship when we got off, but a fellow beach goer told us to look when we got back and WOW, they were in the thousands. Has anyone been there recently and were the jellyfish like that ? The locals said they had never seen that before, but they want you to use their facilities. I am a huge chicken, but having talked to a man at the beach who was stung, sounds like something I never want to experience !

Thanks

Speaking as someone who grew up at the shore (southern New Jersey), jellyfish blooms can be seasonal. For example, we always knew when I was a kid back in the '70's and '80's that we could enjoy the ocean jellyfish-free in June and July, but come August no chance. August was when the "swarms" of jellyfish would arrive. In the late '90's and early 2000's, we noticed blooms of jellyfish in August, but they were a different type than what we'd always had decades before. Not sure what was bringing in the new type of jellyfish, but it is clear to me that several factors can affect whether or not there are lots of jellyfish on a particular beach---temp of the water, time of year, wind, currents, etc. What you experienced could have just been a fluke.

We've always been to St. Kitts/Nevis in the Jan/Feb time frame and have never had a jellyfish problem.

On our SC coast they are a problem in Aug/Sept when the water is extremely warm.

LuLu

That was my second time in St Kitts both times in October and we have never seen them before so that's why I asked if anyone had seen them recently. I assumed it was something strange, like warmer waters or a unusual current pattern. Was just going to plan something different for St Kitts, but of course October could bring another strange occurrence so no guarantees. Thanks for responding :)

We were there last week on august 3rd and while I did get stung on 3 other islands last week (antigua, st lucia and barbados), I didn't get stung on st kitts. We had snorkeling gear and stayed in the ocean for virtually hours and while visibility wasn't very high, we saw very little sea life at all in the swimming area of South Friars Beach in front of the Carambola Beach Club. The fact that I got stung at 3 out of 5 beaches seems to make me feel that if there were any jellyfish here, they would have gotten me :)

That being said, The worse sting this trip was in st lucia on sugar beach, it hurt instantly while I was in the water and gave me a rash that still, a week later, hasnt gone away completely. The sting I got in barbados Gave me the biggest rash of the 3 but didn't hurt as bad as the one in st lucia. none of those compared to the sting I got in jamaica last year. It burns and on some people (like me) makes you break out in a rash of red bumps, but in hindsight its not that horrible (not pleasant either), and if you pour vinegar on it (or rum if you don't have vinegar), the stinging subsides pretty quickly.