The strange blue creatures swarming West Coach beaches this summer simply go wherever the wind takes them.

Droves of Velella velella -- also known as "by-the-wind sailors" -- have been washing ashore in droves this summer along the West Coast.

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The marine animals, which float on the surface of the Pacific Ocean, have a small sail and oval shaped bodies about the size of a palm of a hand -- leaving them at the mercy of the wind and ocean currents.

Steve Lonhart/NOAA MBNMS

PHOTO: A few Velella velella, also known as by-the-wind-sailors, were seen on Pescadero State Beach, Calif. on May, 14 2003.

Once they reach land, the blue, translucent velella die and decompose into cellophane-like corpses, according to National Geographic.

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