Surf instructor said it was a man o war which are abundant here. Fortunately for me it was small and dead. I can imagine getting stung by a live adult. My whole leg up to my groin is red and swollen.
Discussion
Yeah looks like the same thing. From Wikipedia:
The Portuguese man o' war (Physalia physalis), also known as the man-of-war,[6] is a marine hydrozoan found in the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean.
It is considered to be the same species as the Pacific man o' war or bluebottle, which is found mainly in the Pacific Ocean.[7] The Portuguese man o' war is the only species in the genus Physalia, which in turn is the only genus in the family Physaliidae.[8]