Stingray Shuffle

Kevin_in_MDKevin_in_MD Senior Member
edited April 2014 in General Discussion
At Tampa a couple of weeks ago, I was reminded about it when I saw jcmalick headed into the water doing the shuffle.

I saw two of them during the swim, just laying there on the bottom doing their thing.

Here's Ray Maker's story of getting stung in Tampa this past weekend. He's a very popular blogger on the subject of swim bike run gadgets.
http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2014/04/failed-openwater-hospital.html
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Comments

  • jcmalickjcmalick Wilmington, DEMember
    Thanks for sharing this Kevin and I reposted it to FB with Kurt Ott, the Event Director of Frogman, already reposting/sharing. Stinks this happened to him but also a good life lesson to always do the shuffle where stingrays may be present...guess wearing wetsuits around "men in gray suits" might make for a good story too!
  • loneswimmerloneswimmer IrelandCharter Member
    The shuffle is also recommended in Ireland, south UK and European Atlantic seaboard when swimming off sand beaches, from about half tide to low tide, due to similarly painful weeverfish which hide under wet sand (remember our big tidal range of 4.5 to 7 metres). Treatment of weever toxin is also immersion in very hot water (between 85C & scalding).

    loneswimmer.com

  • rosemarymintrosemarymint Charleston, SCCharter Member
    I stupidly googled "stingray barb" after reading that guy's story.

    I'll be hiding in the closet in a fetal position for the rest of the day.
  • ttriventtriven Senior Member
    Happens in the Santa Monica Bay quite a bit. I am shuffling all the time now. Of course that's pretty much my regular stride anyway.
  • Leonard_JansenLeonard_Jansen Charter Member
    Several years ago, I was scheduled to do the 7.5 mile Potomac River swim. The water was too rough and so they decided to hold a token 3-ish mile swim in Lake Conoy (I think that's the name) which is near the finish area. The water was totally turbid and during the swim, I kept feeling things swimming underneath me and once contacted something with my arm. I later asked what it could be and was told there were a goodly number of stingrays that lived there and it was undoubtedly they. Yikes.
    At least it wasn't lampreys.

    -LBJ

    “Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess.” - Oscar Wilde

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