A group of swimmers participating in the Scilly Swim Challenge were left with painful injuries after encountering two large swarms of jellyfish, believed to be mauve stingers, off the coast of the Isles of Scilly.
The incident, which occurred during a group swim, saw nearly all 120 participants stung, with some swimmers describing their experience as comparable to “chemical burns.”
The challenge, an annual event where participants swim between the Isles of Scilly, took a perilous turn when the group came across the jellyfish while swimming near the southeast side of St Mary’s.
One swimmer, Nikki Cullis, described the sudden encounter as a “wall of jellyfish” that blocked the group’s path. “You could hear screaming involuntarily because the stings were quite painful,” she said.
Cullis, who was wearing a wetsuit, explained that while she was stung on her wrist and neck, other swimmers wearing only swimsuits were far more vulnerable.
“I think everybody had got stung in some way, shape, or form,” she said. Event organisers quickly pulled all the swimmers from the water when a second swarm appeared, preventing further injuries.
Cullis, whose symptoms worsened after the initial sting, said the pain and discomfort continued to intensify.
“I started getting sores that were getting worse and were getting bigger. It was like my skin was eating itself,” she explained. A doctor later compared her condition to “second-degree chemical burns.”
Mauve stingers, typically found in the Mediterranean, are known for their painful stings, which can cause blistering and irritation. These jellyfish are rarely seen in such numbers in British waters, making the swimmers’ encounter a particularly unusual and dangerous one.
Kerry Friend, another swimmer who was stung during the event, said her arms, face, and nose were badly affected. She had been wearing a sleeveless wetsuit, leaving parts of her body exposed. After the swim, she experienced a secondary reaction as her skin “flared up.”
Friend noted that some swimmers had to seek medical treatment due to the severity of their injuries, with some being treated with antibiotics after their wounds became infected.
“Other people in our group went to A&E because theirs had actually opened up into pus,” she said. Despite the ordeal, Friend emphasised that the event organisers had prioritised safety and that the jellyfish swarms were an unfortunate, unpredictable occurrence. “It is just one of these things you can’t control,” she added.
Another participant, Steve Brindley from Bath, also suffered stings, which worsened days after the swim. “The stings flared up big time about eight days after the swim and have been itching like hell until the last few days,” Brindley said.
“It was so bad it was waking me up in the middle of the night.” He credited his wetsuit for preventing even more severe injuries, particularly to his wrists and ankles.
While the Scilly Swim Challenge is usually a celebrated and scenic event, this year’s encounter with thousands of jellyfish left many participants nursing painful injuries. Though some swimmers were severely affected, the organisers’ quick action likely prevented further harm.
