Gulf of Mexico, LA - Oval

I would like to know if anyone else from the USCG Venturous has reported this.

In 1968 I was stationed on the USCG cutter Venturous 625 sailing from Lorraine Ohio, where it had been built, to San Diego Calif. where it was going to be stationed.

Somewhere between Jamaica and the Panama Canal is where the sighting happened.

After galley duty myself and another seaman had gone up on the flight deck to relax and cool off before going to bed. We were both laying down on our backs looking up at the night sky and talking. When I noticed a bright star. It seemed to be getting larger this went on for maybe minute or two.

I finally mentioned it to Gary and asked him if he saw it. At that time it sped up and was above us in a second.

It was a Huge sphere that was a bright light that lit up the water around the ship. It was so close I wanted to run but could not move. It circled the ship twice then shot straight back up where it came from.

There was just a slight humming noise that it made.

There were three of us that I know of who saw it. Gary, Frank, the seaman on watch on top of the bridge and myself. The people on watch in the bridge had to see it also.

I asked Frank the next morning what had been put in the log about it. He told me the watch commander did not write anything. I never went up to the bridge to look at the log book myself.

I have tried to locate Frank and Gary via the Internet but have not been successful.I wanted to ask them if they remember this because it seems like a dream but one I will never forget; perhaps I'm in denial but I know what I saw that night and deep down I know it wasn't a dream but rather a reality.