STING RAYS== ENCOUNTERS IN BAJA

Got nailed at Punta Chivato. Did the hot water with a tequila chaser. It hurt but three hours later it was just itchy. The mexicans camping near us said to pee on the sting... didn't try that because my friends would have enjoyed it too much.

Dean, Your wife must be a stingray magnet. Getting stuck once is very rare, twice is downright odd?

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Cypress Dean, Your wife must be a stingray magnet. Getting stuck once is very rare, twice is downright odd?:?]________________________________________________ You are so correct! Lighting never strikes twice in one place--but Sting Rays?? I assume no one informed them. When she had the frist encouter he had about 30 years of diving experience with not even a scratch. Now she has two small scares and a good campfire storie of Sting Rays encounters DM

STING RAYS

A type of saltwater catfish called "hardheads", have smaller spines(usually less than 3"s), can be very painful if you're stuck by one.

Had a pair of rubber sandals on and was doing the "shuffle" at Shell Beach (vicinity of Punta Chivato) and was stung on my ankle. Again hot water, tequila and beer. No ill effects, if you don't count the hangover.

STING RAYS

My foot is still attached, and am on Antibiotics (sp???) again, x-ray should something, but they didn't want to go digging around. As I'm from the praries, and no ocean for about 1000 km west, the docs here have no idea what to do

Don't underestimate infections caused by fish etc.Almost lost a finger once due to "chum infection". Real nasty and hurt like all get-out. Started out with a fin-prick. too small to locate, ended up with a finger turning black and swollen twice it's normal size. Antibiotics cured it. There wasn't anything imbedded. X-Rays wouldn't have shown anything. Good luck with it.

Great advice thanx!!

sting ray punchure

now I am scared to go in the water at all....I do not want to loose a limb, suffer pain worse then childbirth...die if it should sting me in the heart......ask a stranger to pee on me...have to be evacuated (even though I work for Masa...Medical Air Service Association if I should need it....and for less then 1$ a day) carry viconden...even though I love it...tequilla to ease the pain even more....Jeeeeeezzzzzzzzzz it sounds like something out of a horror movie....and I am a serious chicken.....plud now a very paranoid one on top of it.....there goes my diving classes ....I think I will take up sewing instead. All kidding aside.....I pray your foot heals and you recover soon.....all this advice was very informative and will save me alot of money for those diving classes....anyone have a good price on a used sewing machine.....

NO WORRIES!! Kelly, once you start diving you get to know the dangers, and if you're not as careless as this Jeff Corwin was, then you should be fine. Of course sh**t happens, but not very often!
And I for myself had NEVER a bad experience, out of this one time experience where I WAS sole responsible for this to develope. I didn't wait for the wound( a scratch) to heal up, continued diving, therefore I had a secondary infection.
So keep going, get your OWD certification, so we can dive TOGETHER!!!!

Well by George...(who ever came up with that) I am totally convinced...even if I am petrified...to take diving lessons. But I can tell you for sure I am wearing my hiking boots to walk on the beach...lol...I feel horrible for all the pain and suffering one has to suffer as a result of stepping on them....in fact I felt so bad for a woman who had been stung 2 times just hours before departing from the most incrediable vacation stay (her farewell walk....) and used all her available cash for the emergency room and cab that I gave her a ride to the airport...BAD IDEA as I ended up being fined 250 pesos as it is illegale to give anyone a ride...it cuts down on the profits for the cab drivers....and in many ways I do understand...AND I HAD TO PAY the taxi the fair he would have made for he was next in line....let just say I paid big time for my soft heart as I felt responsible for not making her aware they were even out there....yeah yeah it is stupid...but in closing I have seen so many people stung on the beaches here that they should post signs....hmmmmmmm another project to save the world.... every little bit helps just like the fabulous information on this post.....MUCHAS GRACIAS!

Sting ray --Kelly Chapman

OH yeah - anyone who knows Kelly will have a good laugh at this ... especially Kelly herself

I'm sure she WIL give it a chance - as sewing etc... is ruled out already, AND she want's to go diving with me!!

But nicely spoken DEAN, and soooo true!! regards Farasha

OMG this is funny....Farasha is right about me not really being the type who can sit still for more then 5 minutes.....I appreciate all your information Dean and honestly I was just being dramatic and having some fun....and it truly was...
I am going to find a very good diving instructor and experience something beyond anything I have ever known. It may take some time...but the blessings of living in Loreto allow me that....and yes Farasha we are going to go diving and have some great times......but....thank you all....

The multitude of stings and punctures from the small skates (butterflys) that our camping bunch has received over years of splashing (high-stepping rather than shuffling..opps) through the shallow beaches of Baja have never been too serious, thank goodness...just a lot of pain and discomfort. Of course we treat the wounds quickly with urine, antiseptics and antibiotics if needed. (Has anyone else ever used Adolfs Meat tenderizer to draw out the bad stuff? ) Being a mite adventurous and often thrown into harms way, it helps to have a nurse as a mate.

I recall a wounding incident long ago at Punta Chivato, which is north of Mulege, when a young guy and his girlfriend were snorkling and free-diving off those nearby low islands..called Santa-something. Poking around in the many holes in some large caves and rocks, the girl encountered a large eel, agitated it somehow, and it bit her on the ankle/foot. It was a serious wound and very painfull.

There was a retired US Navy veteranarian living at the large house at Punta Chivato then who treated the poor gal for the gashes and infection. He suggested immediate hospital care, just in case. Luckily, she was then rushed back to San Diego in a small plane furnished by an aero-club that was having a get-together there on the airstrip. Her young man packed hurriedly and drove their pick-up camper back. We were told much later that she had some scars, but had healed okay.

The owner of the place told us that the eel was maybe a wolf eel and could inflict a severe bite..especially one that size. He showed us a skull of an eel he had for a momento. He said this was a wolf eel and it was very nasty looking with large canine teeth...fairly good sized, about the size of a grapefruit....brrr, would not like to be chewed by that thing.

This is just a recollection of a past event...Do not assume this will happen to you. Many types of eels.. morays, etc... are plentiful in the Cortez, but are very diver-friendly if not molested, as all experienced divers know.

I did a little research on these wolf eels and noted that Googled sites put thier distribution range in the Pacific... mostly in colder waters from Japan to US northwest coast down to Imperial Beach, Ca. I guess they range a little further..if this was indeed a wolf eel. Can anyone out there confirm seeing a true wolf eel in the Cortez?

This is what the toothy wolf eel looks like. Like a lot of things briney, best to look, but not touch.

I've been lucky til now, never been stung or bitten by anything, while diving. I touched once (on purpose) an electric ray (torpedo ray), I wanted to know if and how it feels like.
YES I'm VERY adventurous, thats why I became a nurse, saved me the hassle to run for a doctor all the time.
I found a small one ( was about 1ft and a half).
OH my,I touched it only with a fingertip on the side, and what a very intense electric sensation I felt !!

With the Moray Eels I usually never had any problems.
The only occasion I was PESTERED by one, was on a divespot where they used to feed them!! I didn't know that when diving there. While cruising around, at the end of my dive, I picked up a piece of paper that floated around.
The moment I had it in my hand, a Giant Brown Moray Eel came out of her habitat, and went straight to the hand where I held that paper. I could fend her off with putting my fins between me and her - and at the same time I stuffed that piece of paper in the BCD's pocket of the Divemaster next to me (my BCD doesn't have any pockets)
The moment that paper was out of sight she left us alone!

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Originally posted by dean miller Quote: Originally posted by FARASHA NO WORRIES!! Kelly,... ... So keep going, get your OWD certification, so we can dive TOGETHER!!!!" ________________________________________________ WELLLL! FARASHA, you promised the first dive to me...I have already placed your name on my dive card.. Off the post out of mind?.... DM No havn't forgotten about OUR dive - but one needs 1) a back up - dive buddy (you know things happen) 2) we can still have a 3some dive also ( you know nice things happen too) edited for biggrin [Edited on 10-11-2006 by FARASHA] [Edited on 10-11-2006 by FARASHA]