What started out as perhaps the last ocean swim of 2016 without a wetsuit, Julie, Patrick, Alex and I decided not to wear wetsuits and entered the ocean at 8:18 am. The ocean temp felt like 67 and the sunny day helped us as we swam to the Marine Street buoy and then on to the first 26th Street buoy. We continued swimming north when I stopped to see the underwater yellow rope that was attached in the past to the second 26th Street buoy. At this point my Garmin watch had recorded 0.5 miles. The swim back to 18th Street went well, with many sting rays seen at the bottom, until back at 18th Street Patrick was stung by a sting ray at about thigh deep walking to the beach. Unlike Don's sting ray encounter 3 years ago, the bottom of Patrick's foot was bleeding, which, in retrospect, probably was a good thing.
Julie and Alex ran to the Marine Lifeguard station and within minutes 2 lifeguard vehicles parked at the 18th St. lifeguard tower to assist Patrick, although the only assistance the guards could provide was for Patrick to stick his foot in hot water for 30 to 60 minutes. One guard said he had been stung by a sting ray on 6 separate occasions. So at my house this is exactly what Patrick did. He felt comfortable enough to ride his bike back home in the tree section. Patrick said a sting ray sting is many more times more unpleasant than a sea jelly sting because the pain lasts longer.
I called Patrick later in the afternoon to inquire how he was getting along and was told after 3 hours his pain was largely gone but that those 3 hours were the most intense pain he had ever experienced.
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