Velella velellas, or ‘by-the-wind sailors,’ spotted again in San Diego

Rhea Caoile
·2 min read
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SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — If you walked along San Diego’s beaches recently, you may have encountered blue creatures shaped like oval discs with a “sail” rising vertically from the center of their bodies.

These creatures are a species known as “Velella velella,” or “by-the-wind sailors,” which get their name from their sail-like appendages, according to the University of California-San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

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Although they look like a type of jellyfish, experts say they are not in the same group as true jellies.

Thousands of them were spotted in Southern California last April, including at beaches in Torrey Pines, Mission Beach, Coronado, Oceanside and Carlsbad. (Check out the photos from last year below).

Image of two Velella velellas, or By-the-Wind sailors, in the water near the Oceanside Harbor. (Image by Darwin Southard/Courtesy of Carleen Southard)
Image of two Velella velellas, or By-the-Wind sailors, in the water near the Oceanside Harbor. (Image by Darwin Southard/Courtesy of Carleen Southard)
Hundreds of Velella velellas, or By-the-Wind sailors, on the beach in Coronado. (Courtesy of Coronado Lifeguards)
Hundreds of Velella velellas, or By-the-Wind sailors, on the beach in Coronado. (Courtesy of Coronado Lifeguards)
Image of a Velella velella, or By-the-Wind sailor, on the shore in Mission Beach. (Courtesy of Adam Hatter)
Image of a Velella velella, or By-the-Wind sailor, on the shore in Mission Beach. (Courtesy of Adam Hatter)
Hundreds of Velella velellas, or By-the-Wind sailors, on the beach in Coronado. (Courtesy of Coronado Lifeguards)
Hundreds of Velella velellas, or By-the-Wind sailors, on the beach in Coronado. (Courtesy of Coronado Lifeguards)
A close-up image of a Velella velella, or By-the-Wind sailor, on the beach in Coronado. (Courtesy of Coronado Lifeguards)
A close-up image of a Velella velella, or By-the-Wind sailor, on the beach in Coronado. (Courtesy of Coronado Lifeguards)

Velellas are commonly seen in the late spring and early fall along the coast of the western United States in California, Oregon and Washington. They are moved by ocean currents and wind patterns, according to UCSD, and stay ashore until they are pulled back into the ocean by the tide or break down naturally.

Experts say the best time to find Velellas on the sand is during increased shoreward flow, although they can also be found while boating, surfing or paddling in the water.

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