2003-10-07 - Tampa, FL - Oval

Two unidentified crafts noted over the Gulf of Mexico.

Two crafts, identical in shape and size. Neither craft were emitting any lights. Their color was dull metallic grey with a dark tint, the sun was reflective off their hulls. The size of the crafts was somewhat smaller than a USAF/USMC C130 transport aircraft.

Location: Gulf of Mexico; 20 nautical miles west of the Egmont Key entrance to Tampa Bay.

We (two adults) were sailing back to Tampa from a deep Gulf run. From a distance of 2 miles we noted a tanker heading east towards Tampa Bay. The seas were calm and the sky only slightly cloudy. Directly behind or astern of the tanker were the two crafts. They were an estimated 500 yards behind and an estimated 1,000 feet above the tanker. The crafts, flying somewhat in formation, one slightly ahead of the other, decended until they were no more than 200 feet above the water, and as they decended they altered course, moving in our direction. I changed course so as to prevent the sails from blocking our view of them and as I did so the crafts begin to gain altitude and move off in a westernly direction. Their speed was an estimated 150 knots while in the area and continually increasing while leaving the area.

I am very familiar with Military and civilian aircraft and could not identify either craft.Neither craft, seen very clearly through binoculars, displayed any semblence of a wing assembly, a tail section or visible engines. Neither craft displayed navigation lights, tail identification numbers, wings or a tail assembly; they were oval in shape with the 'forward' section somewhat smaller in height to the 'tail'.