Size of Object(s)

60 feet wide, 15 feet height

Distance to Object(s) & Altitude

100 yards

Shape of Object(s)

Football, changed to rectangle

Color of Object(s):

Glowing Orange

Full Description & Details

I saw this object on Oct. 24, 1973. At that time there was a huge UFO flap going on across the country, especially in the Southeast where I lived. Just one week earlier there had been the report of two fisherman in Mississippi being abducted. When I heard these reports I was determined to see a UFO if possible. I was spending 2 or 3 hours every night looking at the sky. I got more than I bargained for.

On this night I was sitting in a lawn chair, just watching the sky. Around 11 P.M. I saw an object to the north that got my attention. It was just a small bright red object. It got my attention because it was sitting still in the sky. I could not tell what is was however, because it was pretty far away. We had Mayport Naval Base about 5 miles north of my house, and this is about where this object seemed to be. I watched this object for about 10-15 minutes and it never moved. So I knew it wasn't an airplane, and it is even doubtful that it was a helicopter or blimp. Even helicopters and blimps rarely sit in one position for very long. I tried to get my father to come out and look, but he was tired and it was late.

Then the object started moving slowly eastward toward the Atlantic Ocean which was only one mile from my home. I went in and told my father I was going to drive down to the beach and see if I could get a better view of this object. I drove down to the beach and parked beside a Holiday Inn right on the oceanfront. I walked out on the seawall and looked for this object. I did believe I spotted it out over the ocean to the Northeast. But it was still just a small red non-blinking star-like object. I really couldn't tell what it was. It was sitting still again, maybe 30 degrees above the horizon. I watched it for about 10 or 15 minutes and honestly, just got bored looking at it. It was obvious I was not going to get a close look at this. So I decided to go back home.

As I turned around to walk back to my car, I saw this very large, roughly football shaped, bright orange object coming right down the beach! It looked like a solid object. It glowed the way steel glows in a furnace. It also had a haze or fog around it that was also orange. But the object was very clearly defined. It was maybe a half-mile away. I knew this because we had a pier about one mile south of my location. This object was about halfway between. I could see it's reflection in the water below it. It was just about over the waterline. When I first saw it, it looked about the size of a quarter held at arms length. This thing was pretty big, I estimate maybe 60 feet across. It was very low, maybe 100-200 feet altitude at most. It was completely silent and was slowly approaching me. There was a car driving up the beach. This object looked like it was right above the car. But the car was moving toward me faster than this object, so it was only moving maybe 20 MPH at most.

The car exited up a ramp, but this object kept coming straight toward me. At this point I began to get a little spooked. It was late at night and there were not many people out. I also remembered the stories in the news. Now this object was only a few hundred yards south of me. Now it looked about the size of a tennis-ball held at arms length. There was a stairway from the seawall down to the beach, I was going to go down in there and hide from this object. Then, I spotted a man standing in front of the Holiday Inn smoking a cigarette. I do not believe he was aware of this object at all. He was just looking out at the ocean. I was glad to see him. I ran over to him and said, "Look at that!", pointing. He was very surprised and said, "What is that??" I told him, " I don't know, but I think it's one of those UFO's!" Then we just both stared at it.

Now, this object was about 100 yards away. Very big and close. It stopped moving toward us and just sat still for about a minute or two. It appeared as though waves travelled up through it. It would glow slightly brighter and then dim. We just looked and said nothing. Then, somehow it just changed it's shape. It went from football shaped to a long narrow rectangle. It still had the fog or haze around it, and it still would glow slightly brighter and then dim slightly. It stayed this shape for a minute or so. Then, very suddenly, it shot off to the east at the most amazing speed I have ever seen. It moved so fast that it appeared to stretch like taffy. Then it turned into a little orange ball that shot over the horizon. It seem to dive down as it went over the horizon as though it was following the curve of the earth. It left a long orange vapor trail that took 2 or 3 minutes to fade away. It was absolutely amazing. The man asked me if I thought it was a rocket. I told him no way, I've seen rockets before, and even rockets can't move that fast. Especially from a dead stop.

We spoke for a few minutes. The man asked me if I was going to report it. I told him I didn't know who you would report it to. I left and drove home. I told my father, but he was half-asleep and I don't think he heard me. I told some co-workers the next day who laughed at me. That made me angry. But I did hear some reports on the local radio station where a few people had called in and reported this object. So that made me feel a little better, and I pointed it out to my co-workers. I have no idea what this object was, but it was spectacular. I will never forget.

Other Comments

I am e-mailing you a drawing.

Reported Sighting? 

Reported To: 

Age: