The venomous Portuguese man’o’war, or bluebottle, is commonly mistaken for a jellyfish despite it actually being a bizarre combination of four distinct organisms working in concert. No really. These little buggers drift through the water and deliver paralytic stings to fish and humans alike. Out of respect for the excruciating pain they are able to inflict, we bowed to their superiority as they usurped our surfing lessons three times during our stay in Durban.
And wouldn’t you know it – they’re actually blue.
Six hundred meters off the beach is a shark net to keep the Durban coastline safe from toothed predators, but the tentacly kind manage to find their way in.
Little shits eating into my surfing time.
The Menace of the Years 