Weeks after they were first sighted in Northern California, pretty little marine creatures called Velella velella have washed ashore in La Jolla, delivered by fickle coastal winds.
“They first showed up on Monday evening, to my knowledge,” said Anya Stajner, a graduate student at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, which overlooks La Jolla Shores. “We can’t yet be sure if there are more velella to come.”
There have also been reports of velella washing up in Carlsbad.
These “by-the-wind sailors,” as they’re known to many, are propelled by ever-shifting currents and winds. And such shifts can be especially intense and difficult to predict during the spring months.
It is also difficult to know whether velellas, which are offshore creatures, are even nearby. The free-floating organisms are translucent, making them hard to see. Beach-goers are most likely to notice them when they wash ashore, where their deep blue and purple coloring fades as they dry out and die. They are not jellyfish but do resemble the creature. They can deliver a sting that is benign to humans.
Since late March, velella have been sighted on beaches in the San Francisco Bay Area, San Luis Obispo County, and along the coast of Ventura, Los Angeles and Orange counties.
Stajner hopes more velellas show up in the San Diego area to extend an interesting streak, noting that “the last four Aprils have all yielded notable velella strandings.”