Millions of Bright Blue "Sailors" Wash Ashore

very vivid bright blue color have washed ashore along the Western coast of the United States of America. This phenomenon usually happens every spring, but the amount of these very vivid bright blue creatures this year is higher than the average amount. These creatures’ scientific name is Velella velella, and many people think the creatures are invading the beach, but the Velella velella can’t help it, since they lack locomotion.

People on the beaches in the states of California, Oregon, and Washington have reported sightings of massive blankets of these shimmery, indigo-colored organisms covering the yellow sand of the beaches the people bask in. “You can see whole beaches that are just blue, where it looks like somebody put grape jelly all over the whole beach,” said Joe Mueller, a professor of marine biology at college of Marin.

“Within a couple weeks, they will probably be desiccated and just blow away, like a piece of rice paper,” said Steven Haddock, a marine biologist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. These Velella velella (a type of zoo plankton) will drift or be blown onto the beach, making it a very beautiful view, before they start decomposing and becoming pretty smelly and disgusting. They will then start to become so dried out that they become as thin as a piece of rice paper. They will then be blown away by the coastal wind since they have become so very light.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/millions-of-bright-blue-blobs-called-by-the-wind-sailors-are-littering-beaches-along-the-west-coast-180988759/

https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/north-coast/oregon-beach-blue-jellyfish-sail-velella-seaside-aquarium-what-are/283-74f9aed8-c235-4ca2-a371-817d8caaa27a

https://www.dogonews.com/2026/6/1/millions-of-bright-blue-sailors-wash-ashore-on-us-west-coast-beaches

https://people.com/thousands-of-mysterious-blue-creatures-suddenly-wash-up-on-california-beaches-11959981

https://www.nps.gov/pore/learn/nature/otherinvertebrates-velella.htm

https://www.thecalifornian.com/story/news/local/california/2026/05/12/neon-wind-sailors-velella-velella-stunning-spectacle-california-central-coast/90032583007/

https://www.businessinsider.com/by-the-wind-sailors-jellyfish-blobs-washing-up-california-shores-2023-4