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Strange Blue Light Follows A Cruise Ship

AlchoPwn

Public Service is my Motto.
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Nov 2, 2017
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I am hoping the collective brilliance of you fine Forteans can help me with an interesting sighting one of my neighbors told me about that I have frankly not heard the likes of before.

She saw the same thing on two occasions while on a P&O cruise in the Pacific in 2006. I don't want to dump the report straight into the "Ghost" basket until we can rule out all more mundane answers.

The first time she saw it she was on her own, and it was a little after mid-day, she had eaten early to avoid the lunch rush, and saw it towards the bow of the ship, up near the foremost funnel. She described it as a translucent light, of light-globe shape i.e. pear shaped but upside down, and a blue color, darker than the bright blue sky. Pacific cruise ships generally avoid having any reflective surfaces, as they discomfort passengers and crew alike, so a reflection is unlikely. It was also seen against the sky, and didn't have the funnel behind it. The Sun was almost directly above, and she had a sun hat and sun glasses on. When she went up to get a closer look she lost eye contact with it due to the stairs, and it was gone. The dimensions of the apparition were roughly 3mx2.3m.

The second time, she was at the bow of the ship, watching the wake of the water. The time was around 4:30pm and she was watching the darker side of the ship. This time the same blue glow appeared above the water some 50m from the ship riding about a meter above the water. She was able to point it out to another passenger who described the same thing she was seeing, but there were no other witnesses at the time, as no-one else was present. She didn't see it again.

So, does anyone have any suggestions as to what it might have been?
 
She described it as a translucent light, of light-globe shape i.e. pear shaped but upside down, and a blue color, darker than the bright blue sky.

Hmm, I am having a bit of difficulty visualising this. A light that is actually darker than the background it was against? Are you sure that is what she said?

My first thought is that is was some sort of reflection in the sunglasses. I don't suppose she mentioned if the other passenger who saw it was wearing sunglasses too?
 
Hmm, I am having a bit of difficulty visualising this. A light that is actually darker than the background it was against? Are you sure that is what she said? My first thought is that is was some sort of reflection in the sunglasses. I don't suppose she mentioned if the other passenger who saw it was wearing sunglasses too?

That is what she said, it was glowing, and yet a darker color than the surrounding sky, perhaps suggesting a contrasting shadow at the boundary that defined the shape. That is however myself putting words in the informant's mouth. If you think about it, a navy blue (much darker than the informant suggested) light-bulb set against a sunny sky could still visibly shine. Nevertheless, your question is a valid one Min, and thanks for raising it, I will certainly ask her to clarify. She also didn't specify if the other passenger was wearing sunglasses. Again a fair question. I will make a list of fresh questions people raise to put to her.
 
I am hoping the collective brilliance of you fine Forteans can help me with an interesting sighting one of my neighbors told me about that I have frankly not heard the likes of before.

She saw the same thing on two occasions while on a P&O cruise in the Pacific in 2006. I don't want to dump the report straight into the "Ghost" basket until we can rule out all more mundane answers.

The first time she saw it she was on her own, and it was a little after mid-day, she had eaten early to avoid the lunch rush, and saw it towards the bow of the ship, up near the foremost funnel.
The funnels are usually towards the rear end of the ship.
 
Does she remember which ship it was? Maybe we can find pictures if it's still in service.
 
Does she remember which ship it was? Maybe we can find pictures if it's still in service.

According to Wikipedia ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P&O_Cruises_Australia ):

No cruise ships currently operated by P&O Australia were in that company's service during 2006.

Of the 4 prior / retired cruise ships once operated by P&O Australia, only 3 were in service during 2006. They were then named as follows:

- Pacific Sky ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Star_(cruise_ship) )
- Pacific Sun ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henna_(ship) )
- Pacific Star ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_Dream_(1982_ship) )

Photos of these three ships can be seen within the Wikipedia articles cited above.
 
According to Wikipedia ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P&O_Cruises_Australia ):

No cruise ships currently operated by P&O Australia were in that company's service during 2006.

Of the 4 prior / retired cruise ships once operated by P&O Australia, only 3 were in service during 2006. They were then named as follows:

- Pacific Sky ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Star_(cruise_ship) )
- Pacific Sun ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henna_(ship) )
- Pacific Star ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_Dream_(1982_ship) )

Photos of these three ships can be seen within the Wikipedia articles cited above.
Thanks. As can be seen, the funnels are towards the rear.
I suspect what they saw was not a funnel, but one of the radar towers. Maybe something was hanging from a wire attached to the tower?
 
... So, does anyone have any suggestions as to what it might have been?

I agree with prior posters that more specifics would be welcome, but for now ...

The first incident was just past midday, and the second was late afternoon. Absent claims to the contrary I assume the weather was clear and sunny (certainly for the first incident).

The description of a darker-than-sky apparition against the sky strikes me as more akin to an after-image (after looking at brightly-illuminated objects) than anything else.
 
Surely this must be a candidate for St Elmo's Fire ?

St. Elmo's fire is a bright blue or violet glow, appearing like fire in some circumstances, from tall, sharply pointed structures such as lightning rods, masts, spires and chimneys, and on aircraft wings or nose cones. St. Elmo's fire can also appear on leaves and grass, and even at the tips of cattle horns. Often accompanying the glow is a distinct hissing or buzzing sound. It is sometimes confused with ball lightning.
220px-Elmo%27s_fire-2.jpg
 
Surely this must be a candidate for St Elmo's Fire ?

The St Elmo's Fire theory has the following problems:

- The visible whatever-it-was didn't occur under low light conditions (dusk / night / storm).

- As reported, the sighted apparitions weren't claimed to be located on or around any peaked / pointy object(s).*

- The second sighting places the oddity out over the open water.

- One must wonder what would generate the requisite electrical charge(s) under (presumably) clear and sunny conditions.

*NOTE: I'd be happy to say the forward (radar / comm) tower fulfills this requirement if only there were a claim the glowing thingie was on or closely surrounding it.
 
The description of a darker-than-sky apparition against the sky
...also reminds me of the style displayed by some optical mirages, especially those associated with temperature inversions/boundary trapping of laminar air; resulting in ripples with darked interferometric stripes. There can sometimes be an auric 'fug' around or above chimneys and venting stacks, which generates a surreal quasi-transparent pseudocumulus effect...almost like a real-life Photoshop blooper.
 
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