Matty Wilko, Tamarama, Sydney

Don’t y’just hate bluebottles? Otherwise known as Portuguese man-o-wars, the little jellyfish are a completely helpless existence, their destination dependant on wind, current and tide and with no purpose other than to ruin summer for many beach-goers. Sure, they’re bearable, but a stinger wrapped around your arm, injecting miniature spines into your skin and sending a slightly numbing poison straight to your glands can really put a dampener on a fun, warm water beachie.

With nor-east winds creating bluebottle-infested waters around Sydney last week, the jellyfish finally backed off around thursday. Matty Wilkinson (pictured here) had been staying with buddy Damien Wills, surfing Tamarama beach all week. On this afternoon, the tide had gone out and taken a lot of the little blue annoyances with it. Wilko dived straight into the stinger-free water and went about painting the narrow beachie red. Punts like the one pictured above were a frequent occurrence.